“[I]t’s hard for me to convey how important freedom is,” Thorsness later said. “And I didn’t appreciate it and I don’t know that anyone can until they’ve lost it. . . . It’s gotta be re-earned by every generation or at least every other generation. If you let it slip very long, it’s gone.” Prophetic words! Wisdom that every generation should heed. Too many don’t appreciate or even understand the value of freedom. Many men and women gave everything they had to preserve it. Air Force pilot Leo Thorsness is one such man. Excellent MOH post, Tara. Great start to the week.
As Ronald Reagan once said, “ Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it along to our children in the bloodstream! It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.”
And yes, Tara, thank you for doing such an excellent job bringing history to life for us! And we must pass it along to our children and grandchildren!
Thorsness showed bravery far beyond anything I've seen in my own life, then suffered POW status for SIX YEARS!!! Thank you for your extreme service, sir. You deserve all that honor!!!
What brave men who fought in the Vietnam war both on the ground and in the air, not to mention the POWs. Thanks for a great story of bravery, I can't wait for the "rest of the story"!
Thank you Tara for another MOH Monday. Leo K Thorsness was an extremely brave pilot who suffered much as a prisoner of war for 6 years and the most important lesson he learned first hand was that freedom is not free. It must be defended by everyone in every generation or we could end without those freedoms like the six years experienced by Leo Thorsness.
God bless you Mr. Thorsness and God bless all who have served or currently serve this great nation. We have to protect our freedoms.
The final quote of Thorsness, in this piece, is what appears to be a lost understanding, today. He stated that losing freedom may not be understood nor appreciated until it is lost. But then he capitalized that by remarking the need for freedom to be earned...over and over.
It is not a common courage for anyone to risk their all for fellow airmen, soldiers, or sailors . What a tremendous action-oriented crew of that Wild Weasel.
[I]t’s hard for me to convey how important freedom is,” Thorsness later said. “And I didn’t appreciate it and I don’t know that anyone can until they’ve lost it. . . . It’s gotta be re-earned by every generation or at least every other generation. If you let it slip very long, it’s gone.
As a country we are missing the opportunity to pass our legacy of freedom on to the people that follow us. Yes we have organizations who are patriot organization and they work hard to spread the word, but they compete with the public school and college and university systems that have the ears of our impressionable youth. Everything starts at the top and it’s no secret that we need an infusion of patriot leaders. Oh boy, do we need leaders who are patriots!
Wow, another great American hero. What courage he displayed. A pilot that knew his stuff. He also knows why America is so great. May we never vote our freedom away.
POW training camp gave me a taste but I know that feeling of losing freedom. I am glad he survived to receive the MoH and that he was there that day to help his wingman. Thank you Tara.
“[I]t’s hard for me to convey how important freedom is,” Thorsness later said. “And I didn’t appreciate it and I don’t know that anyone can until they’ve lost it. . . . It’s gotta be re-earned by every generation or at least every other generation. If you let it slip very long, it’s gone.” Prophetic words! Wisdom that every generation should heed. Too many don’t appreciate or even understand the value of freedom. Many men and women gave everything they had to preserve it. Air Force pilot Leo Thorsness is one such man. Excellent MOH post, Tara. Great start to the week.
As Ronald Reagan once said, “ Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it along to our children in the bloodstream! It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.”
And yes, Tara, thank you for doing such an excellent job bringing history to life for us! And we must pass it along to our children and grandchildren!
My sentiments exactly Patty 💯 👌 👏
Thorsness showed bravery far beyond anything I've seen in my own life, then suffered POW status for SIX YEARS!!! Thank you for your extreme service, sir. You deserve all that honor!!!
What brave men who fought in the Vietnam war both on the ground and in the air, not to mention the POWs. Thanks for a great story of bravery, I can't wait for the "rest of the story"!
Thank you Tara for another MOH Monday. Leo K Thorsness was an extremely brave pilot who suffered much as a prisoner of war for 6 years and the most important lesson he learned first hand was that freedom is not free. It must be defended by everyone in every generation or we could end without those freedoms like the six years experienced by Leo Thorsness.
God bless you Mr. Thorsness and God bless all who have served or currently serve this great nation. We have to protect our freedoms.
I wish people understood how valuable our freedoms are.
I wished folks could understand our freedom is precious, but comes at a price for men like this.
The final quote of Thorsness, in this piece, is what appears to be a lost understanding, today. He stated that losing freedom may not be understood nor appreciated until it is lost. But then he capitalized that by remarking the need for freedom to be earned...over and over.
It is not a common courage for anyone to risk their all for fellow airmen, soldiers, or sailors . What a tremendous action-oriented crew of that Wild Weasel.
[I]t’s hard for me to convey how important freedom is,” Thorsness later said. “And I didn’t appreciate it and I don’t know that anyone can until they’ve lost it. . . . It’s gotta be re-earned by every generation or at least every other generation. If you let it slip very long, it’s gone.
As a country we are missing the opportunity to pass our legacy of freedom on to the people that follow us. Yes we have organizations who are patriot organization and they work hard to spread the word, but they compete with the public school and college and university systems that have the ears of our impressionable youth. Everything starts at the top and it’s no secret that we need an infusion of patriot leaders. Oh boy, do we need leaders who are patriots!
Thank you Tara for another wonderful story of heroism and self sacrifice.
Great story! Thank you!
Thank you, Tara.
What a true hero this man was. I am in awe of his courage. May God always bless the men and women who live courage in defense of the USA. thank you.
🇺🇲 Colonel Thorsness was not only brave, but also very wise. R.I.P.🇺🇸
Wow, another great American hero. What courage he displayed. A pilot that knew his stuff. He also knows why America is so great. May we never vote our freedom away.
POW training camp gave me a taste but I know that feeling of losing freedom. I am glad he survived to receive the MoH and that he was there that day to help his wingman. Thank you Tara.