US Navy LT Michael Thornton: Vietnam War Medal of Honor Recipient

Welcome back, everyone!

Before I share today’s story, please listen to the Medal of Honor story of US Army CPL Benito Martinez. CPL Martinez’s actions while surrounded by the enemy, inspired the other men of his unit to reorganize and continue the fight.  

While stationed at a forward listening post ahead of the main defensive line on Sep. 6, 1952 in Korea, CPL Benito Matinez’s position came under heavy attack from a reinforced enemy company. As the intense fighting raged and the enemy breached the defensive perimeter, Cpl Martinez realized they were about to be encircled. Choosing to hold his ground, he unleashed devastating fire on the attackers, inflicting heavy casualties.

Despite repeated contact, CPL Martinez refused rescue, knowing the risks were too great to others. As enemy forces closed in, he was forced to make a limited withdrawal, armed only with an automatic rifle and pistol. For six grueling hours, he bravely held off the enemy. Just before dawn, he made one final call, reporting that the enemy was closing in on his position. His heroic stand bought critical time, allowing his company to regroup, counterattack, and reclaim the key terrain.  For his actions that day, CPL Benito Martinez was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. 

Like many of the Forgotten War in Korea, CPL Martinez’s story is seldom told.  His courage and ultimate sacrifice stand as a testament to his commitment to his fellow soldiers, even in the face of certain death. 

Now on today’s main story, I’m going to share the story of  US Navy Seal LT Michael Thornton.  Facing overwhelming odds deep behind enemy lines in Vietnam, Thornton risked his life to save a fellow SEAL in a daring rescue that would see him being awarded the Medal of Honor.  This is his story. 

Michael was born on March 23, 1949 in Greenville, South Carolina.  After graduating from Torrence High School, he was inspired to join the Navy after watching the movie The Frogmen, which told the story of Navy underwater demolitions teams fighting against Japanese forces in WWII.  

After enlisting in the Navy in 1967, he initially served as a gunner’s mate apprentice until November 1968 when he was accepted into the Navy Seal selection and training.  Of the 129 sailors that were part of Thornton’s Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL training, or BUD/S class, only 18 survived the grueling 24 week course. This course is designed to push each candidate beyond the normal limits of mental and physical endurance and approximately only 20% of candidates successfully complete the training.

After completing Seal training, Thornton was assigned to SEAL Team ONE, and as a member of Charlie Platoon, he deployed to South Vietnam in December 1969 to June 1970. 

By October 31, 1972 Thornton, now a Petty Officer, had served multiple tours in Vietnam and was said to be one of only a dozen Navy Seals still in Vietnam.  On that day, he was part of a five man mission along with US Navy LT Thomas Norris, and three South Vietnamese special forces operators.  PO Thornton personally picked two of the South Vietnamese seals, as he referred to them, as he had previously worked with them on two previous tours in Vietnam.  The purpose of the mission was to capture prisoners and gather intelligence just south of the demilitarized zone.  

The men boarded a rubber boat after sunset and began quietly paddling.  When they were a mile off shore they slipped into the water and swam the remainder of the distance.  After reaching land, the team began patrolling the area.  LT Norris took the lead position with the three south Vietnamese operators following and PO Thornton providing rear security. 

As they made their way, they began to realize that there was no way that North Vietnamese forces could have built up the area to the extent they were seeing.  What they didn’t know at first, but were beginning to conclude, was that they were much further north than they should have been.  The reason they were this far from their intended area of operation, was that a Navy destroyer miscalculated the coordinates and sent them into North Vietnam.

To their south they could hear dogs barking in a nearby village.  To remain undetected, they had to move away from there, even though it meant moving further north.  The team spotted and made their way towards a large lagoon.  Once there they took cover and planned their next move, but before they could do anything, one of the South Vietnamese Seal’s spotted a two man patrol heading their way.   

Thornton gave one of the South Vietnamese a silenced 22 weapon and positioned the man approximately 200 yards away.  Thornton told him that he was to wait until he eliminated the first man and he was then to move behind the second and eliminate him as well.      

As the first North Vietnamese soldier was passing him, PO Thornton clubbed him in the head with the butt of his rifle and knocked him out cold.  He then dragged the man to the beach where he was handcuffed by another team member.  The second soldier was unaware of the silent attack against his team member and continued on his patrol.  PO Thornton motioned to his teammate to eliminate him with the silenced weapon.  Instead of shooting, he yelled at the man to stop and come here.  The man then unslung his AK-47 and began firing and turned to run away.  

As the man began running, PO Thornton shot at him but missed.  So he had no choice but to chase after him.  As the two men raced south, the north Vietnamese soldier entered a trail heading towards the village.  Thornton dropped to a knee and let off two shots that hit the man in the back.  But just as the man fell, PO Thornton saw a quick reaction force of 50 men racing towards him from the village.  He turned and ran back as quickly as he could.  When he made it back to where LT Norris was, the LT fired a single shot LAW rocket towards the assaulting enemy.  His shot wasn’t aimed directly at them, rather his intention was to create as much chaos as he could.  The round hit a tree and shattered it, the advancing soldiers were unaware of what they were up against and dropped to the ground for safety.  

In an effort to keep the enemy from realizing that they were facing a small five man team, they continually moved from position to position to make it seem as though they were up against a much larger force. 

Though they suffered heavy casualties the North Vietnamese made progress.  With fire coming at him from multiple directions, PO Thornton was eventually pinned down at a sand dune.  During an assault, an enemy soldier was able to throw a grenade directly into Thornton’s position.  He saw the grenade land and he immediately turned over, but shrapnel from the blast hit him in the back.  

Suffering from six painful wounds, he managed to roll over onto his back just as four attackers raced over the top of the dune and ran towards him.  He was able to eliminate all four of them, with one man falling directly on top of him.  By this point in the fighting, PO Thornton reported that they had lost approximately 30 men, so they stopped their assault on their positions. 

Around that same time, he noticed another 75 enemy soldiers heading their way from one direction and about as many from another.  PO Thornton radioed a nearby Navy destroyer for fire support, but by this time, the ship had been hit by North Vietnamese shore batteries and it was unable to fire on the enemy.  

Over the next several hours, the five man team fought against the numerically superior enemy force and were able to slow the enemies advance on their positions, but not stop it completely.   With the enemy slowly closing in on them, LT Norris radioed for mortar fire support from a south Vietnamese junk offshore, but they were prevented from getting close enough to effectively fire on the enemy.

At this time, LT Norris ordered that they move towards the beach to keep from being encircled and called in fire support from the cruiser USS Newport News.  Using a leapfrog maneuver, each man took a turn covering the withdrawal of the others.  While LT Norris was readying his LAW rocket launcher to cover the other’s movements, he was hit in his head by an enemy bullet and fell.  

As PO Thornton reached the beach and was contemplating what to do next, one of his team members raced to his side.  Thornton asked him where LT Norris was and the man said that he was dead.  Following the SEAL mantra of “leave no man behind”, PO Thornton made his way to LT Norris’ last known position, some 400 yards away.

As he reached LT Norris, PO Thornton saw five enemy soldiers overrun the position.  He took aim and eliminated all of them and then raced to LT Norris’ side.  When he looked down he saw that “the whole side of his head was completely gone.”  

Without hesitation, PO Thornton picked up the LT’s body and put him on his shoulders and began engaging the enemy in an attempt to make it back to the beach.  Nearly as soon as he started moving, PO Thornton heard an incoming 8 inch round from the Newport News.  The round exploded just behind the men and the concussion threw them both 20 feet into the air. 

As he regained his bearings, PO Thornton moved to pick up LT Norris again.  When he made it to his side, he was shocked to learn that the LT was still alive.  With no time to provide any medical aid, he once again put the LT on his shoulders and ran towards the beach.  As he was doing this, a number of the enemy who had been slowed by the incoming Naval rounds, noticed him and began moving to cut him off.  Thornton saw their movements and began firing at them, which bought him enough time to make it back.

As he reached the beach, he was relieved to see his other teammates alive.  By this point, all had run out of ammunition except for Thornton, who was just about out himself, so he told the others to start swimming.  Thornton then inflated LT Norris’ life vest, held him to his chest and began swimming himself.  As he pulled the LT further from shore, the enemy was still firing at them non-stop.  PO Thornton could see the bullets hitting the water all around them.

One round found its target, hitting one of his other teammates.  The bullet hit the South Vietnamese Seal in his right hip, and he struggled to stay above water.  PO Thornton grabbed the man, placed him in front of him and had the other man grab onto LT Norris as he towed the two men further out into the water. 

Another of the South Vietnamese was picked up by a junk and reported that the others were dead.  And once notified of their fate, the Newport News left the area.  

With no hope of immediate rescue, PO Thornton focused on keeping the others alive, even bandaging LT Norris as best he could.  He swam with the two men further away from shore.  After about three hours, a South Vietnamese junk was spotted in the distance.  PO Thornton then took LT Norris’ AK-47 and fired into the air to get their attention.  Luckily, the junk heard the gun fire and made their way to three men and pulled them aboard.  The Newport News was told that the men had survived and returned to the area where PO Thornton and LT Norris were taken aboard.   As he helped get LT Norris to the operating room, PO Thornton was told by doctors that “there’s no way he’s going to make it.”

LT Norris was transported to De Nang and then to Clark Air Base in the Philippines where he underwent a 19 hour surgery.  Even after this surgery, doctors still believed that he wouldn’t survive.  But he did.  

For his actions in saving his teammates, PO Michael Thornton was recommended for the Medal of Honor.  As the recommendation made its way through the approval process, it was questioned by the Joint Chiefs of Staff.  They questioned the chief of Naval operations and asked “how can a guy do all this and still be alive?” His response was “you tell me how a dead man does it and I’ll answer your question General.”  The recommendation was approved and PO Thornton was awarded the Medal of Honor from President Nixon at a White House ceremony on October 15, 1973.

PO Thornton became a BUD/S instructor and was later a founding member of SEAL Team Six.  He received a commision in 1982 and retired from the Navy in 1992 at the rank of Lieutenant.  

While speaking to students, LT Thornton showed his humility about being awarded the Medal of Honor when he said “I feel honored, but I’m not a hero…This medal belongs to every man and woman who died in serving their country.  I feel honored to represent them.”

LT Thomas Norris recovered from his wounds and went on to serve as a special agent with the FBI for 20 years. His Navy SEAL legacy, however, was not defined by the events of October 31, 1972, but rather by an earlier rescue mission which he was awarded the Medal of Honor for.

 LT’s Thornton and Norris are still alive today and are among the 60 living Medal of Honor recipients.  

LT Michael Thornton's unwavering courage and selflessness in the face of impossible odds remind us that true heroism is born in moments of sacrifice. His actions on October 31, 1972, risking everything to save others, serve as a powerful testament to the strength of the human spirit and the bonds of brotherhood.

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Please join us for our next episode, where we'll be sharing the inspiring story of another American hero who served with pride and lived with humility.