Posted on 05/03/2017 6:06:52 PM PDT by US Navy Vet
Col. Leo K. Thorsness, one of the most highly decorated American airmen of the Vietnam War and a belated recipient of the Medal of Honor for his heroism on a mission that took place 11 days before he was shot down and taken prisoner, died Tuesday in Jacksonville, Fla. Colonel Thorsness, who had been brutalized during his six years of captivity at the notorious North Vietnamese prison known as the Hanoi Hilton, where he was a cellmate of John McCain’s, was 85.
His death was announced by the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, which said he had been treated for cancer. Colonel Thorsness, who lived in St. Augustine, Fla., died at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, WHNT News 19 in Huntsville, Ala., reported. He had been living in Alabama before moving to Florida.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
My promised article concerning McCain and the USS Forrestal(CV-59) FireDocumentary: USS Forrestal Aircraft Carrier Disaster 1:25:00
John McCain escapes Forrestal explosion 1:17 Raw film of the Forrestal fire.
Diagram of planes on Forrestal deck.
NS025929.– This diagram was taken from a drawing provided by USS Forrestal and shows the location of CVW-17 aircraft spotted for launch moments before the fire broke out. From "Naval Aviation News," October 1967 issue.
FReeper dunblak was on the Forrestal during the fire.
McCain and the Forrestal fire 3:23 Aug. 3, 2008 (Democrat election propaganda)
That Youtube video is where the Democrat propaganda about the BS "Wet Start" began.
Maybe you'll friggin' look at the links this time.
I had the honor of meeting Col. Thorsness during the Swift Boat / POW effort in 2004. Rest in peace....
Please stick to memories of Col. Thorsness and not waste time on McCain. Leo was too fine a man.
My memory is a bit fuzzy from the years of playing football and rugby (OK, I’m getting old), but....
I think I remember speaking to Col. Thorsness in about 1983. I was working on SDI (Pres. Reagan’s “Star Wars” program) and was often called upon as a speaker for the Air Force Association. That was probably the connection that had me speaking to him.
At the time, I was totally ignorant of Col. Thorsness’ fame and heroism. My focus was totally on engineering and the programs that I worked in.
I don’t even remember what we talked about except that they wanted me to debate at some university. What an ignorant young pup I was!
I also repped for High Frontier, LTG (Ret) Danny Graham’s non-profit. I ended up debating commie college profs at several universities.
At first, I could not believe there were Americans who WANTED the USSR to prevail in a nuclear war, but I soon learned that they existed.
Just sent this article to a friend of mine who spent almost 7 years in the Hanoi Hilton (and know, he’s NOT a fan of McLame).....thanks for posting.
RR, now we weep.
In 1974, Thorsness ran for Senate in South Dakota against George McGovern, but lost. This was the “Watergate election” in which Republicans were shellacked nationwide.
I wish this was a headline for McCain.
We’re all waiting for that day, but his mother is still alive at 101.
We helped on his campaign in the early 70’s. McGovern still won. He was a truly great man and patriot.
RIP. It’s a shame he didn’t end up as U.S. Senator, either from South Dakota or Washington State.
“My memories of the time I spent with John McCain as a prisoner of war in Hanoi are still vivid. I still see us sitting on a bed slab in a 6-by-7-foot cell talking about the questions we always talked about: When would the war end? Would we ever be able to catch up with our peers, our families, our faith and our friends?
“Many things happened during those six years that made us better men, better Americans. I know that every year my respect for our founders grew. We saw communism from its bowels — it was a terrible system. We frequently said, “If we could bring every American to this prison for just one day, without subjecting them to torture, their appreciation for everyday freedoms would soar.”
“While looking at a guard through a peephole in my cell’s bricked-up window, I marveled that by chance I had been born an American. As if by the flip of a coin I had been given the most precious gift in the world — freedom — and a platter full of rights, opportunities and freedoms.
“All of us in the prison were aviators, so we had at least a bachelor’s degree. But there is a difference between knowledge and wisdom, and though most people acquire knowledge, few become wise. Great minds like Socrates, Homer, Confucius, Gandhi, Thoreau and Churchill believed that meditation or suffering could lead to wisdom. For anyone who is imprisoned for years and who is subjected to frequent torture, meditation is automatic. Most P.O.W.’s from Vietnam came home wise.
“In war, wisdom stops you from crossing the line from courage to brutality. Wisdom is needed to avoid entering a war not in the national interest, while not hesitating to defend America’s liberty if threatened.
“The years in a brutal prison were equivalent to earning a Ph.D. in psychology. We saw that peace without freedom is empty. We gained a deep appreciation for justice and courage. We learned that survival depends on teamwork. We were colorblind — whites, blacks, Asians, we were all the same. We learned the value of always doing what is right regardless of consequence, as John did by refusing early release though he knew he would be tortured for it. A president who has been tested in this way can be counted on to make wise decisions.”
— LEO THORSNESS, “Surviving Hell: A P.O.W.’s Journey”
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