Surviving Hell

Dr. Kevin Keough, host of the Warrior Traditions and North Star Guardians podcast, interviews Air Force Colonel Leo Thorsness about his book, Surviving Hell: A POW's Journey published by Encounter Books.

Colonel Thorsness enlisted in the Air Force at the age of 19, mainly because he had a brother serving in Korea. Though he didn’t make it to Korea himself, he stayed in the military, becoming an officer and a fighter pilot. In 1966, he went to Vietnam as part of a squadron of specially modified two-seat F-105 “Wild Weasel” aircraft that had the job of finding and destroying surface-to-air missile (SAM) sites. On April 19, 1967, Colonel, then Major, Thorsness and his electronic warfare officer, Captain Harold E. Johnson, were on a 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 site with bombs. In the attack on the second missile site, Colonel Thorsness’ wingman was shot down by intensive antiaircraft fire and the two crew members abandoned their aircraft. Colonel Thorsness circled the descending parachutes to keep the crew members in sight and relay their position to the Search and Rescue Center. During this maneuver, a MIG-17 was sighted in the area. Thorsness immediately initiated an attack and destroyed the MIG.

Because his aircraft was low on fuel, Colonel Thorsness 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, despite his low fuel condition, Colonel Thorsness decided to return through a hostile environment of surface-to-air missiles and antiaircraft defenses to the downed crew’s position. As he approached the area, he spotted four MIG-17 aircraft and immediately initiated an attack, 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, Thorsness, although critically short on fuel himself, helped 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. Just as Thorsness landed, his fuel ran out and the engine shut down.

Two weeks later, he was shot down over North Vietnam on his ninety-third mission. He bailed out and was captured and wound up as a prisoner of war for a period of six years during which time he suffered torture on a regular basis. He was released in March, 1973 and was presented with his Medal of Honor on October 15, 1973. Ten days later, no longer able to fly fighters due to injuries sustained in captivity, he retired from the Air Force.

During his career, Colonel Thorsness earned the Medal of Honor, the Silver Star, the Distinguished Flying Cross with five Oak Leaf Clusters, and the Purple Heart with one Oak Leaf Cluster. He currently serves as Vice Chairman of the Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation. He and his wife Gaylee reside in Saddlebrook, Arizona.