Here are a few of the Congressional Medal of Honor heroes you should be remembering.
Lt. Col. Thorsness pilot of an F 105 fighter was on a surface-to-air missile suppression mission over North Vietnam. Lt. Col. Thorsness and his wingman attacked and silenced a surface-to-air missile site with air-to-ground missiles, and then destroyed a second surface-to-air missile site with bombs.
In the attack Lt. Col. Thorsness' wingman was shot down by intensive antiaircraft fire, and the 2 crewmembers abandoned their aircraft. Lt. Col. Thorsness circled the descending parachutes to keep the crewmembers in sight and relay their position to the Search and Rescue Center.
During this maneuver, a MIG-17 was sighted in the area. Lt. Col. Thorsness immediately initiated an attack and destroyed the MIG.
Because his aircraft was low on fuel, he was forced to depart the area in search of a tanker. Upon being advised that 2 helicopters were orbiting over the downed crew's position and that there were hostile MlGs in the area posing a serious threat to the helicopters, Lt. Col. Thorsness, despite his low fuel condition, decided to return alone through a hostile environment of surface-to-air missile and antiaircraft defenses to the downed crew's position.
As he approached the area, he spotted 4 MIG-17 aircraft and immediately initiated an attack on the MlGs, damaging 1 and driving the others away from the rescue scene. When it became apparent that an aircraft in the area was critically low on fuel and the crew would have to abandon the aircraft unless they could reach a tanker, Lt. Col. Thorsness, although critically short on fuel himself, helped to avert further possible loss of life and a friendly aircraft by recovering at a forward operating base, thus allowing the aircraft in emergency fuel condition to refuel safely.
Pvt. Crawford was a squad scout in Italy during World War II, attacked as base platoon for the company. After reaching the crest of the hill, the platoon was pinned down by intense enemy machinegun and small-arms fire.
Locating 1 of these guns, Pvt. Crawford, without orders and on his own initiative, moved over the hill under enemy fire to a point within a few yards of the gun emplacement and single-handedly destroyed the machinegun and killed 3 of the crew with a hand grenade, thus enabling his platoon to continue its advance.
When the platoon, after reaching the crest, was once more delayed by enemy fire, Pvt. Crawford again, in the face of intense fire, advanced directly to the front midway between 2 hostile machinegun nests located on a higher terrace and emplaced in a small ravine. Moving first to the left, with a hand grenade he destroyed 1 gun emplacement and killed the crew; he then worked his way, under continuous fire, to the other and with 1 grenade and the use of his rifle, killed 1 enemy and forced the remainder to flee.
Seizing the enemy machinegun, he fired on the withdrawing Germans and facilitated his company's advance.
Amos Chapman, Scout United States Army, September 12, 1874 at a buffalo wallow on the Washita River on a mission of supply held off with another infamous Scout Billy Dixon and their party hostile Indians numbering in the hundreds in freezing cold rain and hypothermic temperatures
while wounded and providing care and comfort for the dying.
Thomas Custer, brother of General George Armstrong Custer, twice awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.
Sgt. Louis Cukela, near Viller-Cottertes, France, 18 July 1918 advanced alone against an enemy strong point that was holding up his line.
Disregarding the warnings of his comrades, he crawled out from the flank in the face of heavy fire and worked his way to the rear of the enemy position.
Rushing a machine-gun emplacement with is bayonet, he killed or drove off the crew, bombed out the remaining part of the strong point with German hand grenades, and captured two machineguns and four men.
Try remembering these more than 3000 heroes and the millions more who served God, family and nation on this Memorial Day, May 30th.
