Leo Thorsness: American Hero

  

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Written by Chris YogerstcloseAuthor: chrisyogerst Name: Chris Yogerst
Email: chris@parcbench.com
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About: Editor for Parcbench and NewsReal Blog as well as contributor to Big Hollywood.See Authors Posts (88) on January 7, 2010

Anyone who has seen or listened to Sean Hannity has heard the phrase “great American.”  But what exactly is a great American?  Hannity seems to refer to anyone who agrees with him as a great American, which may be a little over the top.  Of course, many of these people are good Americans, don’t get me wrong.  However, the term “great” should be reserved for someone who is truly extraordinary.

I had the pleasure of meeting a truly great American while attending the David Horowitz Restoration Weekend in Palm Beach, Florida last November.  After an excellent panel discussion on the political state of Hollywood, I found myself in the hallway talking with a woman and another man.  After a few minutes the woman realized I didn’t know who this man was.  She dropped subtle hints that this man next to me was really something special.

“Hi, I’m Leo Thorsness,” he said and shook my hand.  I still didn’t know who he was and he didn’t seem bothered by it.  In fact, he is so modest the women talking with us had to tell me he was a famous fighter pilot and Medal of Honor recipient.  Then it hit me.  David Horowitz had mentioned him at breakfast…this man is a war hero, spent 6 years in a Vietnamese prison, and survived to tell the tale!

On April 19, 1976 Leo was flying a mission over Communist North Vietnam when he and his wingmen were ambushed. While his wingmen ejected and were parachuting down, Leo was able to shoot down and hold off many enemy aircraft that were gunning for the vulnerable pilots floating in the sky.  He also saved another aircraft all while being low on fuel in a plane not designed for combat.  Read a more descriptive story here (I’m no expert on military lingo).  Leo summed up his mission in his book, Surviving Hell:

“We had delivered our payload, shot down two enemy fighters in a plane not designed for aerial combat, kept our wingmen from getting murdered in their parachutes, and saved another U.S. aircraft.  But as I retracted the canopy and stepped out of the plane, I felt like a failure, dejected at having left two good men behind in the jungles of North Vietnam where they had probably been captured-or worse-by now.  If someone had told me that I would receive the Medal of Honor for this mission, I would not have believed him.  If he had told me that I’d learn about receiving the Medal of Honor while I was in a Hanoi prison, I still would not have believed him.”

Unfortunately, soon thereafter he was shot down and eventually captured by the North Vietnamese.  His book is an excellent story of survival, but instead of dwelling on the gruesome aspects we are awarded insight into how his mental toughness allowed him to survive the pain of both physical and mental torture.  His story should inspire anyone who has or will ever endure truly hard times (hopefully not at hard as the Hanoi Hilton!).  Surviving Hell teaches us how to bear the unbearable.

While it is common knowledge that prisoners of war generally go through Hell and back, Leo highlights many important aspects of war that far too many people overlook.  At one point during his duration as a POW, an interrogator once told him: “We know we cannot defeat the United States military in the jungle, but we will defeat you in the streets of Washington, New York, and Los Angeles.”  The POW’s were primarily used as a tool for propaganda, attempting to force them to create voice recordings condemning the war effort.  Think about this when critiquing the current anti-war movement and remember that the enemies try to fuel it here because they cannot defeat us abroad.

Leo and the other POW’s at the Hanoi Hilton refused to let the prison guards stifle their love for both America and Christianity.  They held church on Sundays, despite being beaten for doing so.  One of Leo’s cellmates also made an American flag for them to salute, until it was taken away and its creator was also beaten.  Leo’s love for his country, despite enduring six years in a POW camp, continues to run deep.  After the war, he got involved in politics and eventually became a Washington state senator from 1988 to 1992.

After meeting Leo one that afternoon at Restoration Weekend, I realized he was the keynote speaker that night at dinner.  The entire evening was dedicated to our military.  We heard from soldiers and families of lost soldiers, all standing in front of a giant American flag.  It was a very touching event that brought many to tears.  When Leo finally got up to speak I realized how overwhelmed I was with him.

I still find it hard to believe how someone could go through what he did and still grow into such a warm, kind, modest and approachable man that he is.  God knows that most people could not have survived what he did.  I know that I never would have.  His courage and drive to live through years of what can only be described as Hell, proves that he is truly extraordinary.  While I believe that most of us in the audience that night are good Americans, Leo Thorsness is truly a great American.

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