Medal of Honor recipient and fellow POW endorses McCain
posted at 7:40 pm on July 21, 2008 by Ed Morrissey
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Earlier today, Veterans for John McCain held a press conference at the World War II memorial to announce the endorsement of Col. Leo Thorsness (USAF, retired). Col. Thorsness is, I believe, Minnesota’s only living Medal of Honor recipient, having received it for tremendous heroism in an incident eleven days before he himself was shot down in Vietnam. He spent six years in Hanoi POW camps, along with McCain. His captors may have beaten and tortured him, but Thorsness still has a delicious sense of humor, as this clip shows:
Thorsness had quite a bit to say about McCain’s performance as a POW. In his friendly but firm way, he debunked the smears that certain people have tried spreading about his supposedly preferential treatment in Hanoi. Thorsness says that he and his colleagues can personally account for every day of McCain’s detention, and he testifies to McCain’s dedication to honor and service. He also explains what that says about the current choice in a typical Minnesota Nice fashion.The event had an impressive number of veterans in attendance, and I tried to get them all in the shot a few times. Their service came from World War II all the way to the present conflicts. The man holding the American flag in place, just to its left in the shot, is my friend Lt. Col. Joe Repya, who returned to service in his 50s to serve in Iraq in the 101st Airborne. Joe has his own new blog, Eagles Nest.
Afterwards, I got a brief moment alone with Col. Thorsness — who was very popular with the local press — and asked him to elaborate on the difference between McCain and Obama. For Thorsness, it comes down to character:
I’ll have a little more from this event later as I get the video uploaded to Eyeblast.
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Chickenhawk!
Oh, wait…
amerpundit on July 21, 2008 at 7:42 PM
Funniest thing I’ve heard all day.
doodleduh on July 21, 2008 at 7:45 PM
Well,buckle up,its going to be a rough ride!
Now the Liberal Lefties will have a new fresh
target,to spin it their way in the next few day’s!
canopfor on July 21, 2008 at 7:46 PM
Well CAIR is already attacking Medal of Honor Winner Bud Day for being an “Islamophobe” so Im sure they will keep slandering those that they disagree with.
William Amos on July 21, 2008 at 7:49 PM
Major Leo Thorsness, U. S. Air Force Medal of Honor Page
William Amos on July 21, 2008 at 7:51 PM
BTW Discovery channel focused on Leo in their series Dogfights. Can watch a little of his missin here on youtube
William Amos on July 21, 2008 at 7:58 PM
All you crybabies around here should listen to this guy.
LtE126 on July 21, 2008 at 8:00 PM
Major..
William Amos on July 21,2008 at 7:51PM.
William Amos:Thank-you for that link,(FYI),
there are a lot of really good
video’s on youtube,DOGFIGHTS
from the history channel,covering
a lot of WW2,up to Desert Storm fighter
plane stories!————-:)
canopfor on July 21, 2008 at 8:02 PM
“After his release, he pursued prosecution for those he felt collaborated with the enemy while in captivity”
Sounds like a great guy.
At least he didn’t dump his first wife for a wealthy child bride.
alphie on July 21, 2008 at 8:05 PM
LOL! that guy is funny. :}
Chakra Hammer on July 21, 2008 at 8:09 PM
the second vid is classic. vice president Leo Thorsness. o’well it sounded good for a second. lmao
vinllo on July 21, 2008 at 8:11 PM
Chakra Hammer is one MN vote McCain.
Chakra Hammer on July 21, 2008 at 8:11 PM
I am still curious on the Veep. Wouldn’t it be neat to have Thorsness for Veep!
upinak on July 21, 2008 at 8:17 PM
BTW I read Thorsness’ Wiki Page apparently in 1974 he ran against George McGovern in South Dakota for the Senate.
William Amos on July 21, 2008 at 8:17 PM
Col. Thorsness - many thanks for your service. It’s people like you who inspire me.
HotAirJosef on July 21, 2008 at 8:29 PM
Nice catch Ed! Very well done.
But I still cannot support McCain.
Zorro on July 21, 2008 at 8:31 PM
it’s funny how the military branches have their rivalries.. :}
And they all seem to “gang up” on the Marines.. LMAO..
Poor guys.. >:D
Chakra Hammer on July 21, 2008 at 8:35 PM
Indeed. It’s amazing what some people have endured and accomplished. These people are truly the best of all of us.
And now, words from one of the worst.
That’s a funny line, alphie. I think I saw it on thinkprogress first. Is that were you got it?
wise_man on July 21, 2008 at 8:37 PM
It’s a pet peeve of mine but you don’t win medals in the military. You earn them as it’s not a contest.
yeff on July 21, 2008 at 8:38 PM
Liberal talking points. Just keep throwing those zingers in.
Glynn on July 21, 2008 at 8:40 PM
Don’t feed the troll, it give him orgasms.
Chakra Hammer on July 21, 2008 at 8:54 PM
At least he didn’t dump his first wife for a wealthy child
bride.
alphie on July 21,2008 at 8:05PM.
alphie: I’ll try the third attempt,are you a former
member of the United States Military?
canopfor awaits, as the crickets are a chirpin!
canopfor on July 21, 2008 at 9:07 PM
I believe he was already accused in another thread of being a premature ejaculator…I could be wrong.
Glynn on July 21, 2008 at 9:13 PM
As it should be — duly noted and changed. It’s a hard habit to break, and I’m aware of the difference. Bad blogger! No biscuit!
Ed Morrissey on July 21, 2008 at 9:59 PM
If we have a troll that does nothing but repeats liberal talking points, then is there any recourse to dealing with this? If alphie is indeed who he seems to be. Surely there are those who do not wish a conservative site be plagues with these who seek not to discuss and exchange ideas, but to deliberately troll and represent the typical huffington post denizen.
Ed? Any insight on this?
wise_man on July 21, 2008 at 10:10 PM
I was living in South Dakota when Leo ran for Congress. He lost by 189 votes to a moron named Tom Daschle. Don’t blame me, I voted for Leo.
I met Leo during the campaign. He was every bit as impressive then as he is now.
Dr. Bob on July 21, 2008 at 10:16 PM
check that 139 votes… and Daschle is still a moron.
Dr. Bob on July 21, 2008 at 10:16 PM
That’s a heartbreaker.
Glynn on July 21, 2008 at 10:28 PM
[sarcasm]Its not like he did anything… I mean, he was shot down and lost a very expensive piece of U.S. government equipment. Who knows how many
evil American invadersmen died because he talked to the noble North Vietnamese patriots. He should be charged for the lost aircraft.-J. Fonda[/sarcasm]
Hang in there, Mr McCain. This man did…
Claypigeon on July 22, 2008 at 12:12 AM
Quit this nonsense. By the time he came home they both had agreed to get a divorce, amicably. The first wife will support him for president and all your claims are not substantiated, favored leftie and McCain-hating talking points as they are…you should be better than this.
Entelechy on July 22, 2008 at 1:39 AM
Plus Cindy was not a child bride. Once again, I think your brain is capable of more than this. I’ll be watching.
Entelechy on July 22, 2008 at 1:40 AM
To quote a famous song, “What’s it all about, alphie??
robo on July 22, 2008 at 4:09 AM
Sadly, the liberals will spin this as “yet another crazy old vet” endorsing McCain and will just pound the drum about how McCain is a throwback to another era, etc. So few people realize what it actually takes to win a medal of honor, or what true heroism is. (After Vietnam, liberals stopped calling soldiers babykillers and instead called them “victims” — neither of which connotes heroism. Smart strategy on their part, though very insidious.)
Outlander on July 22, 2008 at 7:29 AM
“Sadly, the liberals will spin this as “yet another crazy old vet”
Liberals? How about the deranged Paulnuts patrolling Hot Air, hot to denounce “Juan” while not uttering a peep about their mancrush, Barack Obama.
NoDonkey on July 22, 2008 at 8:30 AM