Leo K. Thorsness

Leo K. Thorsness
Washington Senate from the 11th district
In office January 9, 1989 – January 11, 1993
Preceded by	Eugene V. Lux
Succeeded by	Margarita Prentice
Personal details
Born	(1932-02-14)February 14, 1932 University of Omaha University of Southern California
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	United States Air Force
Years of service	1951–1973
Rank	Colonel
Unit	357th Tactical Fighter Squadron, 355th Tactical Fighter Wing
Battles/wars	Vietnam War
Awards	Medal of Honor Silver Star (2) Legion of Merit Distinguished Flying Cross (6) Bronze Star Medal (2) Purple Heart (2) Air Medal (10)

Leo Keith Thorsness (February 14, 1932 – May 2, 2017) was a colonel in the United States Air Force who received the Medal of Honor for his actions in the Vietnam War. He was awarded the medal for an air engagement on April 19, 1967. He was shot down two weeks later and spent almost six years in captivity in North Vietnam as a prisoner of war. After his military service, Thorsness served one term in the Washington State Senate.

Early life, education, and early career

Thorsness was born February 14, 1932, in

Thorsness attended South Dakota State College in Brookings, South Dakota, where he met his future wife, Gaylee Anderson, also a freshman. They married in 1953 and had a daughter, Dawn.^[7]

Thorsness enlisted in the

In the autumn of 1966, after completing F-105 "

(SAM) sites.

Medal of Honor mission

On April 19, 1967, Major Thorsness and his Electronic Warfare Officer, Captain Harold E. Johnson, flying F-105F AF Ser. No. 63-8301, led Kingfish flight (three F-105F Weasel aircraft and an F-105D single-seater) on a Wild Weasel SAM suppression mission.

cluster bombs

, scoring a direct hit.

After this initial success, matters turned for the worse. Kingfish 02, crewed by Majors Thomas M. Madison and Thomas J. Sterling,

of one of the F-105s wouldn't light and the element had disengaged and returned to base, leaving Kingfish 01 to fight solo.

As their F-105 circled the parachutes of Kingfish 02-Alpha and 02-Bravo, relaying the position to Crown, the airborne search and rescue

.

Thorsness described the incident:[13]

It appeared the MiG was going after the chutes so I took off after him. I was a little high, dropped down to about 1000 feet, and headed north after him. We were doing about 550 knots and really catching up fast. At about 3000 feet (range) I fired a burst but missed. I lined him up again and was closing very fast. I was a bit below him now. At 700 feet or so I pull my trigger and pulled the pipper through him. Parts of his left started coming off. Suddenly I realized that Harry Johnson was frantically trying to get my attention. There were a couple of MiGs on our tail! If I had hit that MiG dead on, we probably would have swallowed some of his debris. But we got him! I lit the burner, dropped down as low as possible, and ducked into the hills west of Hanoi. The MiGs could not keep up with us.

As this occurred, the initial element of the rescue force—a pair of

(rescue combat air patrol) for the Sandies and update them on the situation and terrain. As Thorsness approached the area, briefing the Sandies, he spotted MiG-17s in a wagon wheel orbit around him and attacked, probably destroying another that flew across his path.

He commented:^[14]

One of the MiGs flew right into my gunsight at about 2000 feet (range). I pulled the trigger and saw pieces start falling off the aircraft. They hadn't seen us, but they did now! Johnson shouted at me that we had four more MiGs on our tail and they were closing fast. I dropped down on the deck, sometimes as low as fifty feet, hit the burner, and twisted through the hills and valleys trying to lose them.

Pairs of MiGs attacked each propeller-driven Sandy as it came out of its turn in search orbit, shooting down the leader (Maj. John S. Hamilton in A-1E 52-133905) with cannon fire when he failed to heed warnings from Sandy 02 to break into the attack, and forced the wingman into a series of repeated evasive turns.^[11] Sandy 02 reported the situation and Thorsness advised him to keep turning and announced his return.

Although all of his ammunition had been depleted, Thorsness reversed and flew back to the scene, hoping in some way to draw the MiGs away from the surviving A-1. However, as he re-engaged, Panda flight from the 355th TFW strike force arrived back in the area.^[15] It had dropped its ordnance on the target and was en route to its post-strike aerial refueling when Kingfish 02 went down. Panda had jettisoned its wing tanks, making the rescue radar controller reluctant to use it to CAP the rescue effort, but it filled its internal tanks and returned to North Vietnam at high altitude to conserve fuel.

Panda's four F-105s burst through the defensive circle at high speed, then engaged the MiGs in a turning dogfight, permitting Kingfish 01 to depart the area after a 50-minute engagement against SAMs, antiaircraft guns, and MiGs. Panda 01 (Capt William E. Eskew) shot down a MiG, during which the surviving Sandy escaped, and he and his wingman Panda 02 (Capt Paul A. Seymour) each damaged one of the others. Two other MiGs were shot down by members of a third F-105 strike flight, Nitro 01 (Major Jack W. Hunt) and Nitro 03 (Maj Theodore G. "Ted" Tolman), in another of the 17 MiG engagements on this mission.^[16]

Again low on fuel and facing nightfall, Thorsness was headed towards a tanker when Panda 03 (Capt Howard L. Bodenhamer), an F-105 of the flight that had rescued Sandy 02, transmitted by radio that he was critically low on fuel. Thorsness quickly calculated that Kingfish 01 had sufficient fuel to fly to

and 200 miles closer, so he vectored the tanker toward Panda 03. When within 60 miles of Udorn, he throttled back to idle and "glided" toward the base, touching down "long" (mid-runway) as his fuel totalizer indicated empty tanks. Johnson told Thorsness upon touchdown, "Leo, that was a full day's work."

The mission was recreated by

, and first telecast on January 19, 2007. However, Kingfish Flight was incorrectly referred to as "Cadillac" flight.

Prisoner of war

On April 30, 1967, on their 93rd mission (seven shy of completing their tours), Thorsness and Johnson were shot down by a Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 over North Vietnam while flying aircraft F-105F, AF Ser. No. 62-4447. He had flown the morning mission to the Hanoi area as Wild Weasel leader, then assigned himself as a spare aircraft for the afternoon mission because of a shortage of crews. One of Carbine flight aborted with radio problems, and Thorsness filled in as Carbine 03, leading the second element.^[17]

While still inbound over northwest North Vietnam, communications were disrupted when an

fired by the MiGs.

Thorsness and Johnson ejected. Separated from each other by a ridge, they were the object of a three-hour rescue effort involving the entire strike force as a covering force. Two F-105D aircraft were directed by Crown to provide

written by Col Jack Broughton, member of Waco flight and another of the RESCAP crews involved in the incident.

His uncooperativeness towards his captors earned him a year in solitary confinement and severe back injuries due to torture. The Medal of Honor was awarded to Thorsness during his captivity, but not announced until his release in 1973 to prevent the Vietnamese from using it against Thorsness, as was the Air Force Cross awarded to Capt Johnson for the same mission.^[4] Capt. Abbott was released from captivity on February 18, 1973, while Thorsness, Johnson, and 1st Lt Abbott were released on March 4, 1973, during Operation Homecoming.

Injuries incurred during the ejection and aggravated by the torture Thorsness was subjected to disqualified him medically from further flying in the Air Force and he retired on October 25, 1973 at the rank of colonel.

Thorsness was a

Post-military life

From 1979 to 1985, Thorsness served as Director of Civic Affairs for Litton Industries.^[23] He then served as a state senator in Washington. Following his retirement, he served on the board of directors of the Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation. He moved from Catalina, Arizona, to Madison, Alabama, with his wife in early 2008 to be close to family.

In 2004, the

Thorsness' autobiography, Surviving Hell: A POW's Journey, was published in December 2008.[27]

Thorsness died on May 2, 2017, in St. Augustine, Florida, at the age of 85.^[28] According to his wife, Gaylee, the cause of death was leukemia.^[29] He is buried with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery.^[2][30] In August 2020, Thorsness was named the Class Exemplar for the United States Air Force Academy's Class of 2023.

Political career

In the

McGovern won re-election in November 1974 with 53 percent of the votes cast.

Thorsness settled in Seattle Washington, and was elected to the state senate on November 8, 1988. In accordance with Washington State law, he immediately became the senator from District 11 to serve the unexpired term of Avery Garrett, who died in April 1988.^[34] In January 1989, Thorsness took the oath of office for a four-year term. In the state senate Thorsness sponsored a bill dubbed the "Truth Bill" on March 3, 1990. The legislature unanimously passed the measure, SJM 8020, urging the Federal government to release information about 30,000 U.S. soldiers listed as either prisoners of war or missing in action in conflicts dating back to World War II. It further urged the United States Congress to pass a similar measure, HR3603, that would force the federal government to declassify information pertaining to over 30,000 missing American servicemen. In sponsoring the bill, Thorsness said that the government kept the information classified to protect intelligence sources, but that the sources are no longer useful because the conflict occurred decades ago.^[34] In 1992, he was an unsuccessful candidate in the Republican primary election for United States Senate. After a single term, Thorsness retired to Indianola, Washington.^[35]

Awards and decorations

Thorsness' awards and decorations include:^[22]

US Air Force Command Pilot Badge
Medal of Honor
Silver Star w/ 1 bronze oak leaf cluster	Legion of Merit	Valor device and 1 silver oak leaf cluster
Bronze Star w/ Valor device and 1 bronze oak leaf cluster	Purple Heart w/ 1 bronze oak leaf cluster	Air Medal w/ 1 silver and 3 bronze oak leaf clusters
Air Medal (second ribbon required for accouterment spacing)	Air Force Commendation Medal	Air Force Presidential Unit Citation
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award w/ Valor device	Prisoner of War Medal	Combat Readiness Medal
Army Good Conduct Medal	National Defense Service Medal w/ 1 bronze service star	Vietnam Service Medal w/ 2 silver and 2 bronze campaign stars
Vietnam Service Medal w/ 2 bronze campaign stars (second ribbon required for accouterment spacing)	Air Force Longevity Service Award w/ 1 silver oak leaf cluster	Armed Forces Reserve Medal
Small Arms Expert Marksmanship Ribbon	Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross	Vietnam Campaign Medal

Medal of Honor citation

The President of the United States in the name of the Congress takes pride in presenting the Medal of Honor to LIEUTENANT COLONEL LEO K. THORSNESS
UNITED STATES AIR FORCE for service as set forth in the following citation:^[36]

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. As pilot of an F-105 aircraft, Lieutenant Colonel Thorsness was on a surface-to-air missile suppression mission over North Vietnam. Lieutenant Colonel Thorsness 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. In the attack on the second missile site, Lieutenant Colonel Thorsness' wingman was shot down by intensive antiaircraft fire, and the two crewmembers abandoned their aircraft.

Lieutenant Colonel Thorsness circled the descending parachutes to keep the crewmembers in sight and relay their position to the Search and Rescue Center. During this maneuver, a MIG-17 was sighted in the area. Lieutenant Colonel Thorsness immediately initiated an attack and destroyed the MIG. Because his aircraft was low on fuel, he was forced to depart the area in search of a tanker.

Upon being advised that two helicopters were orbiting over the downed crew's position and that there were hostile MIGs in the area posing a serious threat to the helicopters, Lieutenant Colonel Thorsness, despite his low fuel condition, decided to return alone through a hostile environment of surface-to-air missile and anti-aircraft defenses to the downed crew's position. As he approached the area, he spotted four MIG-17 aircraft and immediately initiated an attack on the MIGs, damaging one and driving the others away from the rescue scene. When it became apparent that an aircraft in the area was critically low on fuel and the crew would have to abandon the aircraft unless they could reach a tanker, Lieutenant Colonel Thorsness, although critically short on fuel himself, helped to avert further possible loss of life and a friendly aircraft by recovering at a forward operating base, thus allowing the aircraft in emergency fuel condition to refuel safely.

Lieutenant Colonel Thorsness' extraordinary heroism, self-sacrifice and personal bravery involving conspicuous risk of life were in the highest traditions of the military service, and have reflected great credit upon himself and the U.S. Air Force.

Electoral history

1992 Republican Primary Election^[37]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Rod Chandler	228,083	42.10
	Republican	Leo K. Thorsness	185,498	34.24
	Republican	Tim Hill	128,232	23.67

Washington's 11th Legislative District State Senator, 1988 General Election^[38]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Leo K. Thorsness	18,153	50.43
	Democratic	Eugene V. Lux (Appointed Incumbent)	17,842	49.57

Washington's 11th Legislative District State Senator, 1988 Republican Primary Election^[39]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Leo K. Thorsness	5,951	73.13
	Republican	Jesse Anderson	2,187	26.87

U.S. Representative from South Dakota's 1st congressional district, 1978 General Election^[40]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Tom Daschle	64,683	50.05
	Republican	Leo K. Thorsness	64,544	49.95

U.S. Representative from South Dakota's 1st congressional district, 1978 Republican Primary Election^[41]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Leo K. Thorsness	28,325	64.79
	Republican	David Volk	15,396	35.21

from South Dakota, 1974 General Election^[42]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	George McGovern (Incumbent)	147,929	53.04	-3.75
	Republican	Leo K. Thorsness	130,955	46.96

from South Dakota, 1974 Republican Primary Election^[43]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Leo K. Thorsness	49,716	52.35
	Republican	Al Schock	35,406	37.28
	Republican	Barbara Bates Gunderson	9,852	10.37

See also

• List of Medal of Honor recipients for the Vietnam War
• In May 2010 Goodfellow AFB, TX dedicated a visiting officer's quarters in his name. Thorsness Manor.

Notes

References

• Correll, John T. "Full Day," AIR FORCE Magazine, (June 2005) detailed, illustrated summary with map
• Frisbee, John L. "Valor: Wild, Wild Weasel", AIR FORCE Magazine, (April 1985) abbreviated summary of mission
• "Rendezvous with the Rattlesnake"
• Bell, Ken (1993). 100 Missions North, Brassey's (US),
  ISBN 0-02-881012-0
• Broughton, Jacksel (1969). Thud Ridge, Bantam,
  ISBN 978-0-553-25189-0
• Davis, Larry (1986). Wild Weasel: The SAM Suppression Story, Squadron/Signal Publications.
  ISBN 0-89747-178-4
• Drendel, Lou (1986). Thud, Squadron/Signal Publications.
  ISBN 0-89747-171-7
• Michel, Marshall L. (2004). Clashes: Air Combat Over North Vietnam 1965–1972, Naval Institute Press,
  ISBN 1-55750-585-3
• Futrell, L. Frank, et al. (1976) United States Air Force in Southeast Asia: Aces and Aerial Victories – 1965–1973, Air University, Headquarters USAF, on-line edition

External links

Wikisource has original text related to this article:

Audio and transcript from the Wild Weasel mission for which Thorsness was awarded the Medal of Honor.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Leo Thorsness.

• Graphic depiction of 63–8301 Note: on the date of the MoH mission, tail codes were not yet in use in the USAF
• American Valor – Leo K. Thorsness
• Air Force bio, Leo K. Thorsness
• Thorsness Bio
• POW Network bio that includes his legislative efforts on behalf of MIA's
• Interview at the Pritzker Military Museum & Library
• Appearances on C-SPAN

Party political offices
Preceded by Archie M. Gubbrud	Class 3) 1974	Succeeded by James Abdnor