http://hutchinsonleader.com/news/national-politics/veterans-visit-hutchinson-campaign-mccain-10661 Comments for "Veterans visit Hutchinson to campaign for McCain" xx http://hutchinsonleader.com/news/national-politics/veterans-visit-hutchinson-campaign-mccain-10661 <!--paging_filter--><p><span class="inline right"><img src="http://hutchinsonleader.com/sites/hutchinsonleader.com/files/images/leot.thumbnail.jpg" alt="Leo K. Thorsness" title="Leo K. Thorsness" class="image thumbnail" height="211" width="152"><span class="caption"><strong>Leo K. Thorsness</strong></span></span>John McCain’s presidential campaign deployed two battle-tested veterans on a tour of west central Minnesota last Thursday (Oct. 23). Their mission? To make the case that McCain is the best candidate for commander-in-chief.</p> <p>Minnesota native Leo K. Thorsness served in the Air Force from 1950 to 1973. He was deployed to Vietnam in 1966. As a fighter pilot, his job was to take out surface-to-air missile launchers.</p> <p>If the SAM sites were camouflaged, he had to use his own plane as bait, getting them to open fire so he could spot them and dive bomb them. “It was a deadly game,” he explained. </p> <p>He won the game on 92 missions, but during his 93rd, Thorsness was shot down. He and his co-pilot were captured and taken to Hoa Lo Prison — aka the “Hanoi Hilton” — where Thorsness shared a cell with McCain for about two years.</p> <br class="clear" /><p><a href="http://hutchinsonleader.com/news/national-politics/veterans-visit-hutchinson-campaign-mccain-10661">read more</a></p> http://hutchinsonleader.com/news/national-politics/veterans-visit-hutchinson-campaign-mccain-10661#comments National Politics Wed, 29 Oct 2008 16:41:40 -0500 Jorge Sosa 10661 at http://hutchinsonleader.com