National heroes share message of value, ethics and hard work





HIGHEST HONOR—Navy SEAL Michael Thornton, left, and U.S. Army Col. Bruce Crandall, both retired, display the Congressional Medal of Honor each received for heroic actions in Vietnam.

HIGHEST HONOR—Navy SEAL Michael Thornton, left, and U.S. Army Col. Bruce Crandall, both retired, display the Congressional Medal of Honor each received for heroic actions in Vietnam.

A national tour promoting a book about living Medal of Honor recipients included a stop in Westlake Village last week, where retired Navy SEAL Michael Thornton addressed an invited audience at the Four Seasons Hotel.

“Take this great country of America, love it, respect it and honor it. Be responsible for your part to make this country grow and be here for future generations,” Thornton said.

Thornton, 62, is one of 85 living recipients of the Medal of Honor, the United States military’s highest decoration.

He and retired U.S. Army Col. Bruce Crandall, who received the Medal of Honor for his actions in the Battle of Ia Drang during the Vietnam War, were at the hotel to autograph a newly published edition of “Medal of Honor: Portraits of Valor Beyond the Call of Duty.”

The book tour is sponsored by wealth management firm Morgan Stanley Smith Barney and the Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation. Guests participated in a question-and-answer session with Thornton before the screening of a film about the history of the Medal of Honor.

Thornton, who lives in Texas, served several tours in Vietnam and Thailand between October 1968 and January 1973. On his fourth tour, at the age of 23, the petty offi cer saved the life of his senior offi- cer during an intelligence gathering and prisoner capture operation.

The small team of two Navy SEALs and three South Vietnamese commandos was discovered by a larger North Vietnamese Army force, and a fire fight ensued. SEAL Lt. Thomas Norris, who had earned the Medal of Honor months earlier, was shot in the face and believed dead.

Thornton ran into a hail of enemy fire to retrieve Norris’ body and found him badly wounded, unconscious but alive. Thornton dragged Norris to the beach, infl ated his life vest and swam out to sea with Norris and a wounded South Vietnamese commando. They floated for two hours before they were rescued.

“I don’t think I deserved the medal. I was just doing my job, just like every other veteran who served,” said Thornton, who received the Medal of Honor on Oct., 15, 1973, from President Richard Nixon.

The 77-year-old veteran, who began his career in the Navy in 1967 and retired as a lieutenant in 1992, said his experiences deepened his patriotism.

“We live in the greatest nation in the world,” said Thornton, who believes one should never quit. “When you get knocked down, you get back up.”

Instead of complaining, Thornton said, people should be thankful they live in America.

“People need to stand up for family, God and good values. We built this country by working, not by giving stuff away,” said Thornton, who works with the Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation to educate children about values, sacrifice and courage.

Crandall received the Medal of Honor on Feb., 26, 2007, for saving numerous lives in the Battle of Ia Drang.

He was drafted in 1953 and led more than 900 combat missions during two tours in Vietnam.

In late 1965, at age 32, he led the first major division operation of airmobile troops into Vietnam’s Ia Drang Valley and is credited with evacuating some 70 wounded comrades with his wing man and fellow Medal of Honor recipient Maj. Ed Freeman.

Like Thornton, Crandall remains modest about his achievements.

“ I just did my job in the military,” he said, adding that as commander it was his duty to protect the group, and all soldiers involved in the battle demonstrated the same valor.

Crandall, who was inducted into the Army Aviation Hall of Fame, was an aviation consultant on the 2002 movie “We Were Soldiers,” which dramatizes the Battle of Ia Drang.

Four months into his second tour in Vietnam in 1968, Crandall’s helicopter was downed during another rescue attempt as Air Force bombs went off too close to where he was flying. After recovering from his injuries, he continued his Army career until 1977, then worked in public administration.

Crandall, a resident of Washington state, said all 85 living Medal of Honor recipients want to leave a legacy of responsibility to self and country.

“We want (young people) to understand service, self-respect and ethics,” he said. “We want them to look in the mirror in the morning and be proud of who’s there.”


A GOOD SIGN— Former Navy SEAL Michael Thornton autographs a copy of “Medal of Honor” at a recent reception for medal recipients at the Four Seasons Hotel in Westlake Village. The Medal of Honor is the military’s highest award. Thornton received his medal for heroic actions during the Vietnam war. “I was just doing my job,” he said, modestly.

A GOOD SIGN— Former Navy SEAL Michael Thornton autographs a copy of “Medal of Honor” at a recent reception for medal recipients at the Four Seasons Hotel in Westlake Village. The Medal of Honor is the military’s highest award. Thornton received his medal for heroic actions during the Vietnam war. “I was just doing my job,” he said, modestly.

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