Michael E. Thornton

For other people named Michael Thornton, see Michael Thornton (disambiguation).

Michael Edwin Thornton
Michael E. Thornton at the Army-Navy football game on December 2, 2006 wearing his Medal of Honor
Born	March 23, 1949 (1949-03-23) (age 62) Greenville, South Carolina
Allegiance	United States of America
Service/branch	United States Navy
Years of service	1967–1992
Rank	Lieutenant
Unit	SEAL Team 1 MACV-SOG SEAL Team 6
Battles/wars	Vietnam War Operation Desert Storm Desert Shield
Awards	Medal of Honor Silver Star Bronze Star (3) Purple Heart

Michael Edwin Thornton (born March 23, 1949) is a retired United States Navy SEAL and a recipient of the U.S. military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor, for his actions in the Vietnam War. He was awarded the medal for saving the life of his senior officer, Lieutenant Thomas R. Norris, who would also earn the Medal of Honor in an unrelated incident.

Biography

Born on March 23, 1949, in Greenville, South Carolina, Thornton graduated from high school in 1967 and enlisted in the Navy later that year in Spartanburg. He served aboard destroyers as a gunner's mate apprentice until November 1968, when he began Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL school. Upon graduation, he was assigned to SEAL Team 1 and began a series of tours in southeast Asia which ran from January 1, 1970, to December 1972.^[1][2]

By the last quarter of 1972, U.S. involvement in the region had waned and Thornton, by then a petty officer, was one of only a dozen SEALs remaining in Vietnam. On October 31 of that year, he participated in a mission to capture prisoners and gather intelligence from the Cua Viet River Base near the coast of Quảng Trị Province, just south of the Demilitarized Zone. In addition to Thornton, the mission team consisted of another SEAL, Lieutenant Thomas R. Norris, and three men from the LDNN, the South Vietnamese equivalent of Navy SEALs. Approaching by sea, the group was transported by junk until sunset, then paddled a rubber boat to within a mile of shore and swam the remaining distance. Moving inland past numerous North Vietnamese encampments, the group reconnoitered through the night.^[1][2]

When morning dawned, the 5-man group realized that they had landed too far north and were actually in North Vietnam. They made their way toward the coast but were spotted by a group of 50 soldiers, beginning an intense five-hour battle. When the group's commander, Lieutenant Norris, was severely wounded, Thornton ran through heavy fire to rescue him. He then carried the unconscious Norris into the water and began swimming out to sea. When one of the LDNNs was wounded, Thornton supported him in the water as well. He swam with the two injured men for more than two hours before being picked up by the same junk which had dropped them off the night before.^[2]

For these actions, Thornton was awarded the Medal of Honor. The medal was formally presented to him by President Richard Nixon during a ceremony at the White House on October 15, 1973. The man Thornton rescued, Thomas Norris, survived his wounds and was awarded the Medal of Honor during the same ceremony for his April 1972 rescue of Lt.Col Iceal Hambleton and 1stLt. Mark Clark from behind enemy lines.^[2]

In 1980 Thornton was chosen by Commander Richard Marcinko to be a founding member of SEAL Team Six, the US Navy's first unit dedicated to counterterrorism.^[3] Thornton later became a commissioned officer and retired as a lieutenant. He currently sits on the board of advisors for Veterans Direct.

Medal of Honor citation

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while participating in a daring operation against enemy forces. PO Thornton, as Assistant U.S. Navy Advisor, along with a U.S. Navy lieutenant serving as Senior Advisor, accompanied a 3-man Vietnamese Navy SEAL patrol on an intelligence gathering and prisoner capture operation against an enemy-occupied naval river base. Launched from a Vietnamese Navy junk in a rubber boat, the patrol reached land and was continuing on foot toward its objective when it suddenly came under heavy fire from a numerically superior force. The patrol called in naval gunfire support and then engaged the enemy in a fierce firefight, accounting for many enemy casualties before moving back to the waterline to prevent encirclement. Upon learning that the Senior Advisor had been hit by enemy fire and was believed to be dead, PO Thornton returned through a hail of fire to the lieutenant's last position; quickly disposed of 2 enemy soldiers about to overrun the position, and succeeded in removing the seriously wounded and unconscious Senior Naval Advisor to the water's edge. He then inflated the lieutenant's lifejacket and towed him seaward for approximately 2 hours until picked up by support craft. By his extraordinary courage and perseverance, PO Thornton was directly responsible for saving the life of his superior officer and enabling the safe extraction of all patrol members, thereby upholding the highest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service.^[4]

Awards and decorations

Thornton visiting troops at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, in 2008

Thornton received a commission in 1982 as a Limited Duty Officer and retired as a Lieutenant. During his career he was awarded

• Special Warfare insignia
• Naval Parachutist insignia
• Surface Warfare Officer insignia
• Diving Officer insignia

	Medal of Honor	Silver Star
Bronze Star with "V" device and two gold stars	Purple Heart	Meritorious Service Medal	Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal with "V" device and gold star
Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal	Combat Action Ribbon with gold star	Navy Presidential Unit Citation with two bronze stars	Navy Unit Commendation with two bronze stars
Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation with bronze star	Navy Good Conduct Medal with bronze star	Navy Expeditionary Medal	National Defense Service Medal with two bronze stars
Vietnam Service Medal with one silver and two bronze service stars	Southwest Asia Service Medal with one bronze service star	Humanitarian Service Medal	Sea Service Deployment Ribbon
Navy Expert Rifleman Medal	Navy Expert Pistol Medal	Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Silver Star	Vietnam Armed Forces Honor Medal
Vietnam Staff Service Medal	Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation with Palm	Vietnam Civil Actions Unit Citation with Palm	Vietnam Campaign Medal

See also

	Biography portal
	United States Navy portal

• List of Medal of Honor recipients for the Vietnam War
• List of living Medal of Honor recipients

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Dockery, Kevin (1991). SEALs in Action. New York: HarperCollins. pp. 202–4. ISBN 9780380758869. http://books.google.com/books?id=JB79y_RxnVkC&pg=PA202. 
2. ^ ^{a b c d} Collier, Peter (2006). Medal of Honor: Portraits of Valor Beyond the Call of Duty. New York: Workman Publishing Company. p. 258. ISBN 9781579653149. http://books.google.com/books?id=EqH-BJ-k0NsC&pg=PA258. 
3. ^ Marcinko, Richard; Weisman (1992). Rogue Warrior. New York: Pocket Books. p. 278. ISBN 0-671-70390-0. 
4. ^ "Medal of Honor Recipients - Vietnam War (M–Z)". Medal of Honor Citations. United States Army Center of Military History. August 3, 2009. http://www.history.army.mil/html/moh/vietnam-m-z.html. Retrieved October 30, 2010. 

External links

• Interview with Michael Thornton and Thomas Norris at Pritzker Military Library

Persondata
Name	Thornton, Michael Edwin
Alternative names
Short description	United States Navy Medal of Honor recipient
Date of birth	March 23, 1949
Place of birth	Greenville, South Carolina
Date of death
Place of death