A story of Honor, Sacrifice, and Commitment
Michael Edwin Thornton is a Medal of Honor recipient for his actions as a United States Navy SEAL Engineman Second Class during the Vietnam War. He enlisted in the United States Navy in 1967 and entered basic training at the Naval Training Center, San Diego, California. Subsequently, he was selected for specialized training in Basic Underwater Demolition training in Coronado, California and the Navy's elite SEAL community. During the period of October 1968 to January 1973, he completed several tours of duty in the Republic of Vietnam and Thailand.
Thornton was a member of the Strategic Technical Directorate Assistance Team 158 (STDAT-158), which had previously been known as the Studies and Observations Group. His most prestigious decoration, the Congressional Medal of Honor, was bestowed for heroic actions on his last tour of duty in Vietnam which resulted in saving the life of a fellow SEAL and fellow Medal of Honor recipient, Lieutenant Thomas R. Norris. Thornton displayed conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of one’s life above and beyond the call of duty while participating in a daring operation against enemy forces in the Republic of Vietnam.On October 31, 1972, Petty Officer Thornton accompanied a three-man Vietnamese patrol on an intelligence gathering and prisoner capture operation against an enemy-occupied naval river base. The patrol reached land and continued 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 his senior advisor had been hit by enemy fire, Petty Officer Thornton returned through a hail of fire to the lieutenant's last position, quickly disposed of two enemy soldiers about to overrun the position, and brought the seriously wounded and unconscious senior naval advisor to the water's edge. He inflated the lieutenant's life jacket and towed him seaward for approximately two hours until they were both picked up by support craft. By his extraordinary courage and perseverance, Petty Officer 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 United States Naval Service.
Lieutenant Thornton's personal decorations include:- The Congressional Medal of Honor- Silver Star- (3) Bronze Star Medals with Combat "V"- Purple Heart- Meritorious Service Medal- (3) Navy Commodation Medals with Combat "V"- Navy Achievement Medal- The Combat Action Ribbon with Gold Star- The Vietnamese Service Medal with one Silver Star and - Two Bronze Stars- as well as, numerous unit citations.
In May 1992, Lieutenant Thornton retired being the last Congressional Medal of Honor recipient serving on active duty in the Navy.
