Magnusen, Steve: - Steve Magnusen enjoyed a nationally recognized engineering career in north suburban Chicago after receiving his degree from Purdue University. He has led several professional and non-profit organizations, and served fifteen years as an infantry and armor officer in the US Army Reserve. Steve's particular interest in the Civil War's elite Iron Brigade led him to diligently research the life of Rufus R. Dawes, the intrepid young commander of the Sixth Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry. Extensive original documentation not only revealed extraordinary battlefield heroism, but also an incredible wartime romance involving delightful Mary Beman Gates of historic Marietta, Ohio. Steve was inspired to bring their captivating personal saga to life in To My Best Girl.