MoH recipient visits base, dedicates plane

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Nathan Allen
  • 19th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
LITTLE ROCK AIR FORCE BASE, Ark. --  A real American hero visited Little Rock Air Force Base Sept. 25, speaking with Airman Leadership School students and dedicating an F-105 aircraft at the Jacksonville Museum of Military History.

Retired Col. Leo Thorsness, a former prisoner of war and Medal of Honor recipient, also spoke at the base's Community Council Luncheon at the Jacksonville Community Center.

The F-105 was the plane Colonel Thorsness was piloting when he was shot down near Hanoi on a mission to rescue a previously downed wingman during the Vietnam War. He evaded the enemy for 10 days before he was captured by the North Vietnamese army. He remained there as a prisoner of war for six years. 

According to Colonel Thorsness, his imprisonment was broken up into two sections. The first three years consisted primarily of solitary confinement, a lot of torture and no speaking. The second three were spent in larger rooms with other prisoners, less torture and talking out loud was permitted. 

Besides the torture and constant oppression, Colonel Thorsness said keeping his mind occupied was key to surviving captivity. 

"The real enemy there, besides the [North] Vietnamese, was boredom. You mentally solved long-handed math problems or some people designed and built houses in their minds. We all had different gimmicks. I kept track of all the different subjects we talked about. Mentally, I built a file cabinet about the 20 or so things we talked about. I thought as aviators, we would talk about our work mostly. It turns out work comes in 17th place. We talked about friends, family, faith and fun. Those four subjects dominated 80 or 90 percent of our conversations." 

While the military faces an increased deployment tempo due to the conflict in the Middle East, every Airman, Soldier, Sailor and Marine is at risk to become a prisoner of war. According to Colonel Thorsness, it helps to keep faith in country and love of family in mind to keep morale high. 

"It's so tough to motivate people to go into harm's way, especially multiple times. [A POW must] continue to understand why you're there, believe in the mission and believe in the freedoms we fight for. The troops today are fighting so hard and going through so much. It's hard to stay motivated and see the big picture and say 'I'm doing it for my family, I'm doing it for the country and my kids are going to be better off as long as we stay free.'" 

Colonel Thorsness has a first-hand account on the importance of having a standing military to keep the general population of America safe. Therefore, Colonel Thorsness recognizes that the work each Airman does is vital, no matter the job. 

"There's nothing more important. I don't care what your job is, it fits into the big scheme of things. Just because you're not out there on the tip of the spear, your job is as important as the guy flying the airplane. As our budget tightens and we trim down, it becomes more important to do our job better and more efficiently. There are bad guys out there in the world and there always will be."