Leo K. Thorsness

Leo Keith Thorsness was a United States Air Force colonel who received the Medal of Honor for his extraordinary heroism during the Vietnam War. On April 19, 1967, Thorsness led an F-105 Thunderchief flight on a suppression mission against surface-to-air missile sites in North Vietnam, repeatedly engaging enemy MiG fighters and defending his wingmen despite running critically low on fuel.

Just two weeks after his Medal of Honor action, Thorsness was shot down and taken prisoner by North Vietnamese forces. He endured nearly six years of brutal captivity as a prisoner of war in the infamous "Hanoi Hilton" before being released in 1973 during Operation Homecoming.

Following his repatriation and retirement from the Air Force, Thorsness transitioned to civilian life and entered politics. He served one term as a Republican member of the Washington State Senate and remained an active advocate for veterans and civic affairs until his death in 2017.