Leo K . Thorsness Leo Keith Thorsness ( born February 14 , 1932 ) is a retired 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 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 career . Thorsness was born in Walnut Grove , Minnesota , where he earned the Eagle Scout award from the Boy Scouts of America . He is one of only nine known Eagle Scouts who also received the Medal of Honor . The others are Aquilla J . Dyess and Mitchell Paige of the U . S . Marine Corps , Robert Edward Femoyer and Jay Zeamer , Jr . of the U . S . Army Air Forces , Arlo L . Olson , Benjamin L . Salomon of the United States Army , and Eugene B . Fluckey and Thomas R . Norris of the United States Navy . In 2010 , Thorsness received the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award . He enlisted in the Air Force at the age of 19 because his brother was then serving in Korea . Through the Aviation Cadet program , Class 54 - G , in 1954 he received his commission as an officer and his wings with a rating of pilot . He later earned a bachelor ' s degree from the University of Omaha , and a Masters in systems management from the University of Southern California . Thorsness completed training as a fighter pilot and flew both F - 84 and F - 100 jets before transitioning to the F - 105 Thunderchief . In the autumn of 1966 , after completing F - 105 " Wild Weasel " training at George AFB , California , he was assigned to the 355th Tactical Fighter Wing based at Takhli Royal Thai Air Force Base in Thailand , flying as aircraft commander in F - 105F ' s , tasked with locating and destroying North Vietnam ese surface - to - air missile ( 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 . The strike force target was JCS target 22 . 00 , the Xuan Mai army training compound , near heavily defended Hanoi . Thorsness directed Kingfish 03 and 04 , the second element of F - 105s , to troll north while he and his wingman maneuvered south , forcing defending gunners to divide their attention . Thorsness located two SAM sites and fired a Shrike missile to attack one , whose radar went off the air . He destroyed the second with 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 , flying aircraft F - 105F 63 - 8341 , was hit by anti - aircraft fire and both crewmen had to eject . Unknown to Thorsness , Kingfish 03 and 04 had been attacked by MiG - 17 s flying a low - altitude wagon wheel defensive formation . The afterburner 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 command HC - 130 , Johnson spotted a MiG - 17 off their right wing . 8301 , though not designed for air - to - air combat , responded well as Thorsness attacked the MiG and destroyed it with 20 - mm cannon fire , just as a second MiG closed on his tail . Low on fuel , Thorsness outran his pursuers and left the battle area to rendezvous with a KC - 135 tanker over Laos . Thorsness described the incident : 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 A - 1E " Sandies " — arrived to locate the position of the downed crewmen before calling in the waiting HH - 53 Jolly Green helicopters orbiting at a holding point over Laos . Thorsness , with only 500 rounds of ammunition left , turned back from the tanker to fly RESCAP ( 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 : 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 . 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 . 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 . Again low on fuel and facing nightfall , Thorsness was headed towards a tanker when Panda 03 ( Capt Howard L . Bodenhammer ) , an F - 105 of the flight that had rescued Sandy 02 , transmitted by radio that he was lost and critically low on fuel . Thorsness quickly calculated that Kingfish 01 had sufficient fuel to fly to Udorn , near the Mekong River 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 . The mission was recreated by The History Channel as part of Episode 12 ( " Long Odds " ) of its series " Dogfights " , and first telecast on January 19 , 2007 . 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 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 . While still inbound over northwest North Vietnam , communications were disrupted when an ejection seat emergency beeper went off aboard one of the F - 105s . Despite being observed by early warning radar locations , two MiG - 21s approached Carbine flight from behind and unseen . Just as Thorsness got an instrument indication that the flight was being painted by airborne radar , he saw an F - 105 going down in flames that eventually was identified as his own wingman , Carbine 04 ( 1st Lt Robert Abbott , in F - 105D , AF Ser . No . 59 - 1726 ) , shot down by an Atoll missile . Within a minute , his own aircraft was also hit with a heat - seeking missile 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 RESCAP ( as Tomahawk flight ) until the search and rescue ( SAR ) forces could arrive on station . Both aircraft were hit by Atoll missiles from MiG 21 s , with F - 105D 61 - 0130 , piloted by Capt Joe Abbott being shot down , and wingman Maj Al Lenski limping back to Thailand . In addition , one of the A - 1 " Sandy " aircraft was hit while one of the rescue Jolly Green s developed hydraulic problems and had to abort , thus ending the SAR mission . Poor communications , heavy MiG engagements and standard operating procedures which did not allow only one SAR helicopter to remain on station , made the effort futile and all the men were captured . SAR forces were again launched the next day but none of the downed airmen were located . The mission is described in great detail , including verbatim transcripts of radio transmissions , in both " Thud Ridge " and " Thud " , 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 by the United States Congress 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 . Capt . Abbott was released from captivity on February 18 , 1973 , while Thorsness , Johnson , and 1st Lt Abbott were released on March 4 , 1973 . 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 . Post - military life . Thorsness served as Director of Civic Affairs for Litton Industries from 1979 to 1985 . He then served as a State Senator in Washington . He is currently retired and serves 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 . He is married to the former Gaylee Anderson . They are the parents of a daughter , Dawn . 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 $ 1 , 000 , 000 gift organized by W . Thomas Matthews , President and CEO of the Global Private Client Group at Smith Barney . Thorsness is currently serving as Distinguished Leader in Residence at the Jepson School . The Thorsness chair is held by John Donelson Forsyth , a social psychologist with expertise in group dynamics . Thorsness ' autobiography , " Surviving Hell : A POW ' s Journey " , was published in December 2008 . Political career . In 1974 , he made an unsuccessful race as the Republican nominee for U . S . Senate against the incumbent Democrat , Senator George S . McGovern . In 1978 , Thorsness was the Republican nominee for the U . S . House of Representatives in a race for an open seat in the First District of South Dakota . Democratic nominee Tom Daschle won the Congressional race by a margin of 139 votes , following a recount , out of more than 129 , 000 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 . [ 21 ] 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 . 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 . Awards and decorations . 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 : 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 .