Re: A Real Live American Hero

Date: April 15, 2004

"Ex-POW relates story of courage
Leo Thorsness spent six years in captivity during Vietnam War

BY CLARE MARIE CELANO Staff Writer

FREEHOLD TOWNSHIP — U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Leo Thorsness is a real live American hero.

Yet, if you ask him to speak about events in Vietnam that led to his being awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor, he will modestly say he was just doing his job.

Thorsness was the guest speaker at the Freehold Rotary Club’s March 23 meeting at the Freehold Gardens, Route 537. The program was arranged by Jody Gilpin, assistant governor and past president of the club.

Thorsness was introduced by Rotary Club member Michael Mangini, who said he was "in awe" and inspired by just being in the presence of the colonel. Mangini, who is a veteran of Desert Storm, spoke of Thorsness’ devotion to duty, his loyalty to his country and to his comrades.

"His story is important to all of us," Mangini said. "His story is what makes America great."

Thorsness, 72, is one of 132 living recipients of the Medal of Honor and now spends time telling people about his experiences. He received the Medal of Honor from President Richard M. Nixon on Oct. 15, 1973 in recognition of his extraordinary heroism on April 19, 1967.

According to accounts of his action, on April 19, Thorsness, then a major, was on a surface-to-air missile suppression mission over North Vietnam. He and his wingman attacked and silenced a surface-to-air missile site with air-to-ground missiles and then destroyed a second surface-to-air missile site with bombs.

During the attack, Thorsness’ wingman was shot down. Both crew members had to abandon the aircraft. Thorsness kept the parachuting crew members in site so he could relay their position to search and rescue teams. He then attacked and destroyed an MiG-17 enemy fighter.

Then, because his plane was low on fuel, he was forced to turn back and seek a tanker. He was advised that two rescue helicopters circling in the area of the downed pilots were being threatened by hostile MiG’s and he returned to the area through surface-to-air missles and antiaircraft defenses.

He encountered four enemy aircraft, damaging one and driving off the others. As he attempted to refuel a second time, Thorsness diverted his plane to a forward operating base so that another U.S. aircraft in the area that was critically low on fuel could have immediate access to the tanker. Thorsness’ action prevented the crew of the second plane from abandoning their aircraft.

His Medal of Honor citation reads, "His extraordinary heroism, self-sacrifice and personal bravery involving a conspicuous risk of life were in the highest traditions of the military service."

On April 30, 1967, while flying his 93rd mission, Thorsness’ plane was shot down. He and his crewman were captured and taken as prisoners of war, joining the two airmen whose plane had been shot down on April 19. Thorsness remained a prisoner of war until 1973.

On the day his plane was shot down, Thorsness was seven missions short of the 100 he needed to complete his tour of duty.

"I almost beat the odds," he said.Thorsness said that as he was "floating," tumbling to the ground, after his aircraft came apart, he had several thoughts: one, that he was a total failure to his family, and two, that if he died his family would never know what happened to him.

He said he heard a voice that told him, "Leo, you’re gonna make it." He believes that voice was God.

Thorsness said he listened to the voice and took it as gospel truth. That voice and his strong faith were what kept him going from the time he hit the ground through his six years of captivity in Hanoi.

He said that when he hit the ground the last thing he remembered seeing before someone put a black bag over his head was "a guy pulling a machete back, pointing it right at my stomach."

Thorsness said he did not re?member being afraid.

"Either I didn’t have the time or I was in shock," he said.

A day later, Thorsness found himself in Hanoi where he spent six years in captivity. He told the group the first three years were brutal and the last three years were boring.

Torture was normal during those first three years, Thorsness said, noting that the North Vietnamese never honored the terms of the Geneva convention that protects POWs from brutality and only re?quires them to give their name, rank and serial number.

He spoke of the three years he spent in solitary confinement and momentarily relived his past with reflection and a sense of sadness. He recalled the days and nights that he said "made him a better person."

Thorsness spoke about the brutal beatings that POWs were regularly exposed to and other things that were done to them to "make them talk."

"Either you broke, or you died," he said, adding there were times "when you did both."

He spoke of the isolation he and his fellow soldiers felt when they were sent to solitary cells, called "Heartbreak."

"As long as we could communi?cate, we could do OK," he said.

He remembered one soldier who was placed in solitary confinement and went on a hunger strike.

"We could have saved him if only we had been able to talk to him," Thorsness said.

POWs were not allowed to talk, not really, but that didn’t stop them from attempting to communicate in any way they could. Thorsness said the prisoners developed what he called a "tap code." He said this form of communication did much to keep them sane and hopeful.

It even allowed them some at?tempt at humor.

"We used to tell jokes," he said, laughing. "After awhile, we got tired of tapping the same jokes. It took so long. We’d just tap number 24," to which the men responded with a predictable laugh.

"It wasn’t funny that way, though, so we went back to tap?ping," he told the audience.

Thorsness said two things that helped the POWs get through their years of captivity were the rela?tionships they had before they came to Vietnam and the relation?ships they made once they were there. He developed a formula for living during his time in Hanoi. He calls it the four F’s — Family, Friends, Faith and Fun.

"You need some of these things every day," he said. "We tried to get something out of every day."

POWs have a bond, according to Thorsness, that may be difficult for others who have not "been there" to understand. He said he once told his wife that he felt he knew his cell mate better than he would ever know her.

His wife understood.

Thorsness and his wife live in a retirement community, where he plays tennis and golf. He said he runs into a lot of people who utter the phrases, "If I were a younger person..." or "If I had my life to do over again, I’d..."

His advice to people who say those types of things can be summed up in the philosophy he adheres to every day.

"If you have a real passion for something, do it now. You only go through this life once," he said."