This hardcore charger is South Carolina's finest: Michael E. Thornton.
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Enlisting in the Navy in 1967, Michael underwent BUD/S training and was deployed to SE Asia in early 1970 with SEAL Team 1. By 1972, Petty Officer Thornton was one of only a dozen "Men with green faces" remaining in Vietnam.
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On Oct. 31 1972, PO Thornton led a small team deep behind enemy lines in the Quang Tri Province. Part of his team consisted of 3 Vietnamese SEALs and Lt. Thomas R. Norris (US SEAL) and their mission was to gather information and capture prisoners in 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.
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Upon learning that Lt. Norris 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 killed 2 enemy soldiers who were about to overrun the position, and succeeded in removing the seriously wounded and unconscious Lieutenant to the water's edge. He then inflated the lieutenant's lifejacket and towed him and another wounded Vietnamese SEAL seaward for approximately 2 hours until picked up by support craft.
PO Thornton was awarded the Medal of Honor and he's one of only 3 SEALs to have received it during the Vietnam War.
This event is also the only event were a Medal of Honor recipient saved the life of another Medal of Honor recipient (Lt. Norris). #zerofoxtrot #stayzero #vietnam #seal