I just finished reading an excellent book written by Congressional Medal of Honor recipient Col. Leo K. Thorsness who spent six years in various prisons in North Vietnam after being shot down, along with his backseater Harry Johnson, in a Republic F-105F Wild Weasel. The book was published a year ago, and Thorsness says it took him 35 years (after his release from the hell of North Vietnamese incarceration and torture) before he had acquired the perspective needed to write the book. The book is Surviving Hell: A POW’s Journey (Encounter Books, 2008).
In the introduction, Thorsness notes that he “wanted to write something that would be helpful to people going through tough times.” After spending six years in POW camp hell, he says, “In the 35 years since my relase from prison, I’ve never had a really bad day.” Read the book and you’ll see he has achieved his goal and you’ll understand what he means.
Thorness received the CMOH for a 19 April 1967 mission in which his wingman was shot down. The F-105 was never intended as a dogfighter, and its only real strength in combat was impressive speed at low altitude. However, when Thorsness saw a flight of MiGs lining up to strafe the two crewmen drifting earthward under their parachutes, he went “above and beyond the call of duty” and engaged them all. He managed to shoot down two of the much more maneuverable MiGs and chase the rest away from the two defenseless airmen. At the conclusion of this mission, Thorsness and Johnson needed only another dozen missions to reach the coveted 100 total that would result in their returning stateside.
However, 11 days later on 30 April, Thorsness and Johnson flew over a North Vietnamese valley 60 miles west of Hanoi at 600 knots and were jumped by a flight of MiGs orbiting out of sight in that valley. One Atoll air-to-air missile flew up their tailpipe and exploded. The two men had no choice but to eject at 600 knots, far above the recommended maximum ejection speed. Both of Thorsness’s knees were bent outward to almost 90 degrees. He was captured trying to crawl to safety in hopes of rescue.
And so began his sojourn in Hell.
The rest of the book details his six years of captivity and, often, daily torture. This was not the kind of “torture” that liberals have been condemning when revealed at Abu Ghraib or the alleged “torture” inflicted on detainees at Gitmo. In comparison, those “tortures” were little more than humiliation and a touch od dope slaps. Thorsness and the other 300 or so other POWs were tortured by men who were willing to torture them to death if necessary. After many days of repeated torture, Thorsness was chagrined and embarrassed when he finally gave up more than just his name, rank, and serial number, but much relieved when another POW informed him that everyone either broke down, died, or both. There are limits to the amount of abuse the human body and mind can endure, and our POWs in North Vietnam each found their own limits…but never truly gave up.
Thorsness says his “first three years were brutal,” spent mostly in solitary or, on occasion, with one or two others. If they spoke or made any noise, they were beaten. He spent his last three years in large cells with up to 40 other POWs where talking, at least, was allowed.
Thorsness never dwells on the torture and abuse, although he also does not shy away from it. Instead, he explains how he and his fellow POWs developed techniques for survival and how they found ways to fight back and resist the brutality and abuse inflicted on them. He explains how they used the POW tap code to communicate throughout the camps even when in solitary. He also describes their triumphs — as when they won the hard-fought battle to hold church services every Sunday (despite their initial attempts leading to brutal torture of five senior ranking POWs in turn). Or how they pooled their knowledge and began conducting their own extension courses in a wide variety of subjects to combat the boredom and keep their minds active.
The chapter about “Mike’s Flag” will choke you up, especially when Thorsness, in a later chapter, describes the short speech he gave in support of an anti-flag-desecration bill in the Washington State Senate as a state senator. I wouldn’t recommend trying to tell him that the flag is just a piece of cloth.
When Thorsness describes the way the POWs thrived on the few letters (each limited to six lines) and photos that their captors allowed to reach them or the boxes of goodies (first ransacked and looted by their jailers) that got through, only the hardest heart will not be moved.
He describes the POWs were elated as the B-52s of Lineback II in December 1972 pummeled Hanoi night after night, even though they all knew those bombs could easily land on their own camp, One way or the other they knew those raids would lead to the end of the nightmare for them.
Thorsness was finally released on 4 March 1973. If you can read last two chapters — “Leaving Hell” and “Home” — without tears, there’s something wrong with you.
Thorsness required multiple surgeries to repair his knees and back (which had been repeatedly broken during torture).
Despite the descriptions of brutality, the book is less about the Hell in which Thorsness spent those seemingly interminable six years than it is about survival and the unquenchable faith in God and family that brought him through.
I think this book should be required reading for every high school student as part of the curriculum for coverage of the Vietnam War, as well as for all those foolish liberals who persisted in shouting obscenities and “baby killer” at those of us in uniform during that war and who, today, insist that all cultures are equally justifiable and valuable. For over 200 years, men like Leo Thorsness have suffered to preserve their right to say such things.
Thank you, Col. Thorsness. Your country owed you far more than you received.
This 132-page book is available in hardcover and in Kindle format.
It’s also available in the Sony Ebook Store for the Sony Readers.
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