Biography of Leo K. Thorsness

October 2004

Born and raised in Walnut Grove, Minnesota – the southwestern Minnesota community immortalized by Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House on the Prairie books – Leo K. Thorsness joined the U.S. Air Force in 1951 at age 18. At the time, he never imagined the impact this decision would have on the lives of others, nor the extraordinary courage he would elicit in a treacherous moment that later merited him national praise.

Thorsness graduated from the 54-G Aviation Cadets and became an officer and jet pilot. In 1966, Thorsness was sent to Vietnam, part of a squadron of F-105s. The F-105s were large, potent aircraft of the 1950s and ‘60s, designed to destroy enemy missile sites. During an April 1967 mission, Thorsness exhibited the extraordinary courage for which he won national praise and the Congressional Medal of Honor. He and his wingman destroyed an enemy missile site. They next bombed a second site. After the second attack, the wingman radioed Thorsness that his plane was going down. Thorsness replied that he would keep the wingman in sight. Then he noticed an enemy fighter, prepared to gun down the wingman. Thorsness obliterated the enemy fighter and valiantly drove the remaining enemy fighters away, protecting his downed crew from the perils of the North Vietnamese soldiers.

Before he could return home, Thorsness was required to complete 100 missions. On his ninety-third mission, he was shot down over North Vietnam. In a recent interview, Thorsness said, “I kept thinking, I wonder how my family will take this…because the odds I knew were pretty high I…may never end up alive after I got to that jungle down there.” Indeed, the badly injured Thorsness was taken prisoner.

Thorsness spent six years in the “Hanoi Hilton,” a prisoner-of-war camp. He describes his experience like this: “Three years were brutal, torture was normal. Three years were boring, torture was abnormal. Three years you lived in solitary or two or three per cell, couldn’t talk out loud. ... The last three years I lived in big cells, you could talk out loud, you got to pour a bucket of water over you most days for a bath, and life was a little better.”

When the war ended in 1973, Thorsness returned stateside. On Oct. 15, 1973, President Richard Nixon presented him with the Congressional Medal of Honor, America’s highest award for military heroism. It is bestowed upon those in military service who have executed their duties with exceptional valor and self-sacrifice. The citation

Thorsness went on to serve as director of civic affairs for Beverly Hills, California-based Litton Industries from 1979 to 1985. He then moved to Washington and served as a state senator from 1988 to 1992.

He serves as vice chair of the board of directors and is vice chairman of the Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation. The foundation engages in a range of projects to educate Americans, particularly youth, about the values the Medal of Honor embodies. The foundation is working with the Smithsonian National Museum of American History on a permanent display called “The Price of Freedom.” This display, which will be a tribute to the role played by the American military throughout the history of the Republic, will include an area dedicated to the Medal of Honor. The “Price of Freedom” display is due to open in late 2004. Other projects include films and oral histories about the medal and its recipients.

Thorsness was featured in best-selling author Peter Collier’s 2003 book Medal of Honor: Portraits of Valor Beyond the Call of Duty. In the preface to the book, former President George Bush writes, “The Medal of Honor epitomizes the very best of what America stands for and honors the gallant individuals who have received it. These special people represent the very heart and soul of America.” The book, a project sponsored by the foundation, is billed "as a stirring tribute to our bravest military heroes, men who have earned their place in history, men who have inspired and continue to awe their fellow citizens with their sacrifice and character."

Medal of Honor resided on the New York Times hardcover, non-fiction best-seller list for more than one month in late 2003 and is now in its fifth printing with more than 120,000 copies in print.

In 2004, the University of Richmond announced the establishment of an endowed chair in leadership and ethics named in honor of Thorsness. The Colonel Leo K. and Gaylee Thorsness Endowed Chair in Ethical Leadership was funded by a generous $1 million gift organized by W. Thomas Matthews, President and CEO of the Global Private Client Group at Smith Barney. The chair honors Thorsness for extraordinary heroism. More about endowed chairs

Thorsness received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Omaha, and he went on to earn a master’s degree in systems management at the University of Southern California. He is married to the former Gaylee Anderson, and they are the parents of a daughter, Dawn. He and his wife make their home in Saddlebrooke, Arizona.

Article about Col. Thorsness, July 2006 (PDF)
Scholars to Discuss Leadership and Courage at Event Honoring Col. Thorsness, October 2004
University of Richmond Establishes Endowed Chair in Honor of Vietnam-Era Medal of Honor Winner, October 2004

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