Veterans visit Hutchinson to campaign for McCain

Leo K. ThorsnessJohn 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.

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.

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.

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.

Thorsness gives McCain his enthusiastic support. “John’s a very bright man,” he said. “If he becomes president, he will never put us into a war unless our national interest is at stake.”

For more on this story, see the Leader’s Oct. 30 print edition.

(Jorge Sosa is a staff writer for the Hutchinson Leader. He can be reached at sosa@hutchinsonleader.com)