By Honor Bound Read online

  Bat 21:

  airman rescues and

  shoot-down of

  Bat 22

  Biet Hai, see Vietnamese Sea Commandos

  bin Laden, Osama

  Bonelli, Gary

  Boyhan, Tom

  Brady, Pat

  Brister, USS

  Butler, Richard

  Cam Lo, Cam Lo Bridge, Cam Lo River:

  airman rescues and

  Easter Offensive and

  Camper, Frank

  Camp Fay

  Carley, Norm

  Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)

  Chau, Nguyen

  Chu Phu

  Civil War

  Clark, Mark:

  and attacks on outpost

  rescue of

  Clark Air Force Base

  communists

  Congressional Medal of Honor

  benefits and burdens of

  criteria for

  of Dix

  history of

  of Kerrey

  new recipients of

  of Norris

  of Petry

  physical appearance of

  posthumous

  presentations of

  recommendations for

  of Thornton

  Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation

  Congressional Medal of Honor Society

  diverse membership of

  Dix on

  purpose of

  Couch, Julia

  Coulson, Danny

  Crandall, Bruce

  Cressini, Chief

  Cua Viet Naval Base

  intel and recon mission on

  location and mission of

  Custer, George

  Custer, Tom

  Cutler, Elden “Bud”

  Da Nang

  airman rescues and

  Easter Offensive and

  Norris’s medical treatment and

  Deng (LDNN)

  enemy soldier captures and

  escape from enemy soldiers of

  and firefight with enemy soldiers

  injuries of

  and intel and recon missions

  medical treatment of

  naval recovery of

  Norris’s injuries and

  Norris’s rescue and

  Dix, Drew

  Domino Theory

  Dong Ha

  airman rescues and

  and attacks on outpost

  Cua Viet base and

  Easter Offensive and

  fall of

  location of

  Doolittle, Jimmy

  Dorman, Craig

  airman rescues and

  Easter Offensive and

  Norris’s meeting with

  Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA)

  Eagle Claw, Operation

  Easter Offensive

  airman rescues and

  casualties in

  civilians in

  Dong Ha and

  and North on defensive

  North’s strategy and objectives in

  prisoners in

  Ripley and

  stumbling blocks in

  Vietnamese SEALs and

  Edenton, USS

  Eisenhower, Dwight

  Enoch, Barry

  F-4 Phantoms

  Falkey, Mark

  Falkland Islands

  Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI):

  Hill Air Force Base case and

  HRT of

  Norris’s career with

  Norris’s retirement from

  undercover work of

  Fellers, Chuck

  Flanagan, Dick

  Ford, Gerald

  Freeman, Ed “Too Tall”

  Frisk, Steve

  Fulchiero, Greg

  Gaddafi, Muammar

  Gallagher, Bob

  Gandhi, Indira

  Gandhi, Rajiv

  Geneva Conference

  Giai, Vu Van

  Giap, Vo Nguyen

  Glasscock, Jim

  Gordon, Gary

  Grand, Walter

  Great Britain

  Grenada

  Groberg, Florent A.

  Gulf War

  Hambleton, Iceal “Gene”:

  famous quote of

  final exchange between Norris and

  illnesses and injuries of

  physical appearance of

  rescue of

  sampan use and

  and shoot-down of Bat 21

  weakness and moving problems of

  Hancock, USS

  Henderson, Bill

  Hill Air Force Base case

  Hostage Rescue Team (HRT)

  Hue, Hue City

  Easter Offensive and

  and intel and recon missions

  siege of

  Huey, Al

  Huth, Doug

  Indo-China War

  Iran hostage crisis

  Iraq

  Johnson, Jack

  Jukoski, Mike

  junks

  and firefight with enemy soldiers

  and intel and recon missions

  and naval recovery of SEALs

  and typical operations of Vietnamese SEALs

  Kerrey, Bob

  Medal of Honor of

  Kiet, Nguyen Van

  airman rescues and

  sampan use and

  Kontum, siege of

  Korean War

  Kuwait

  Kuykendall, Hal

  Lal, Bhajan

  LaPlante, John

  Libya

  Lien Doi Nguoi Nhai (LDNN), see Vietnamese SEALs

  Luat, Nguyen Trung

  Lucas, Jack

  McCain, John

  McCombie, Ryan

  and intel and recon missions

  and naval recovery of SEALs

  Norris’s carpentry and

  Norris’s medical treatment and

  Macheteros, Los

  Mahan, USS

  Manis, Wayne

  Marcinko, Richard

  Market Time operations

  Marshall, Winton

  Matthews, Robert

  Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV)

  airman rescues and

  Vietnamese SEALs and

  Military Assistance Command, Vietnam, Studies and Observation Group (MACVSOG)

  and airman rescues

  downsizing of

  Norris’s trip to

  and Vietnamese Sea Commandos

  Mireles, Ed

  Mogadishu, Battle of

  Monsoor, Mike

  Moore, Ed

  Morton, USS

  Moses, Cecil

  Moy, Terry “Mother Moy”

  Murphy, Mike

  naval gunfire support (NGFS):

  brief primer on

  and firefight with enemy soldiers

  and naval recovery of SEALs

  Naval Special Warfare Center

  Navy, U.S.

  A-4 Skyhawks and

  airman rescues and

  and attacks on outpost

  counterterrorism missions and

  Cua Viet base and

  diving and salvage in

  and escape from enemy soldiers of SEALs

  F-4 Phantoms and

  and fighting in Quang Tri City

  and firefight with enemy soldiers

  HRT and

  and intel and recon missions

  Kerrey’s career in

  and Medal of Honor

  and medical treatment of SEALs

  and naval recovery of SEALs

  Norris’s ambitions and

  Norris’s retirement from

  Schaible’s career in

  Seabees and

  SEAL training and

  and siege of Hue

  Thornton as seaman in

  Thornton’s ambitions and

  Thornton’s enlistment in

  Thornton’s retirement from

  after Vietnam

  Navy SEAL Foundation

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p; Navy SEALs

  airman rescues and

  casualties among

  counterterrorism missions and

  Dix on

  Dorman’s career in

  East and West Coast

  escape from enemy soldiers of

  and firefight with enemy soldiers

  and intel and recon missions

  Kerrey’s career in

  and leaving no one behind

  McCombie’s career in

  and Medal of Honor

  medical treatment of

  naval recovery of

  Norris’s personality and

  Norris’s rescue and

  origins of

  physical appearance of

  radios of

  Schaible’s career in

  Thornton’s ambitions and

  Thornton’s first platoon deployment with

  Thornton’s instructing career and

  Thornton’s personal life and

  Thornton’s retirement and

  at Thuan-An

  training of

  after Vietnam

  work of Vietnamese SEALs with

  Nelson, Tommy

  Newport News, USS

  gunnery incident and damage to

  and medical treatment of SEALs

  and naval recovery of SEALs

  NGFS and

  Nha Trang

  Nixon, Richard

  Norris, Jim

  Norris, Kenny

  Norris, Tom:

  airman rescues and

  and attacks on outpost

  carpentry of

  cars wrecked by

  childhood of

  comparisons between Thornton and

  Couch on

  Dix on

  Dorman’s meeting with

  Easter Offensive and

  education of

  enemy soldier captures and

  escape from enemy soldiers of

  FBI career of

  FBI retirement of

  and firefight with enemy soldiers

  headaches of

  Hill Air Force Base case and

  HRT work of

  injuries of

  and intel and recon missions

  interviewing of

  Kerrey on

  Medal of Honor of

  and Medal of Honor Society

  medical treatment of

  naval recovery of

  Navy retirement of

  nickname of

  personality of

  personal life of

  physical appearance of

  Prouty’s relationship with

  radio use and

  as rancher

  rescue of

  sampan use and

  sense of humor of

  stomach flu of

  and Thornton’s escape from enemy soldiers

  Thornton’s injuries and

  and Thornton’s Medal of Honor

  Thornton’s relationship with

  at Thuan-An

  training of

  undercover work of

  after Vietnam

  work of Vietnamese Sea Commandos with

  work of Vietnamese SEALs with

  wrestling of

  Obama, Barack

  Ojeda Rios, Filberto

  Olivera, Vince

  Order

  Paris Peace Talks

  patrol orders

  Patterson, Bob

  Petraeus, David

  Petry, Leroy

  Portland, USS

  Potts, Larry

  Prouty, Charles “Sandy”

  FBI career of

  Norris’s relationship with

  Quan (enlisted LDNN)

  enemy soldier captures and

  escape from enemy soldiers of

  and firefight with enemy soldiers

  injuries of

  and intel and recon missions

  medical treatment of

  naval recovery of

  Quan, Lieutenant

  Quang Tri Province, Quang Tri City

  Cua Viet base and

  Easter Offensive and

  fall of

  fighting in

  recapture of

  Ragle, Henry

  Reagan, Ronald

  Ripley, John

  Saginaw, USS

  sampans

  Sapp, Denny

  Saudi Arabia

  Schaible, Dave “Uncle Dave”:

  and intel and recon missions

  Thornton’s relationship with

  Vung Tau and

  Schamberger, Bob

  Shughart, Randall

  Sikh sting

  Sligh, Bob

  Smith, Ron

  Solano, Rich

  South Vietnam, South Vietnamese

  airmen rescues and

  and attacks on outpost

  Cua Viet base and

  Easter Offensive and

  and fighting in Quang Tri City

  and intel and recon missions

  moving around in

  Norris’s medical treatment and

  Norris’s rescue and

  Norris’s tours in

  Tet Offensive and

  Thornton’s tours in

  U.S. withdrawal from

  withdrawal of Navy SEALs from

  Special Boat Service, British (SBS)

  Stanton, Robert F.

  Stockdale, Jim

  Stockdale, Sybil

  Stubblefield, Gary

  terrorism

  casualties of

  counterterrorism and

  Sikh sting and

  Tet Offensive

  Thailand

  Thornton’s deployment in

  Thames, Jim

  Tho, Vu Ngoc

  airman rescues and

  and attacks on outpost

  Thornton, Mike:

  ambitions of

  British deployment of

  charity work of

  chief petty officer promotion of

  childhood of

  children of

  comparisons between Norris and

  Couch on

  counterterrorism missions and

  diving and salvage career of

  Dix on

  education of

  enemy soldier captures and

  enemy soldiers killed by

  escape from enemy soldiers of

  and firefight with enemy soldiers

  injuries of

  instructing career of

  and intel and recon missions

  Kerrey on

  Medal of Honor of

  and Medal of Honor Society

  medical treatment of

  misbehavior of

  naval recovery of

  Navy enlistment of

  Navy retirement of

  Navy seaman career of

  Norris’s FBI retirement and

  Norris’s injuries and

  and Norris’s Medal of Honor

  Norris’s medical treatment and

  Norris’s relationship with

  Norris’s rescue and

  as officer

  personality of

  personal life of

  physical appearance of

  swimming of

  Thailand deployment of

  at Thuan-An

  training of

  after Vietnam

  Vietnam tours of

  work of Vietnamese SEALs with

  Thuan, Lieutenant

  enemy soldier captures and

  escape from enemy soldiers of

  and firefight with enemy soldiers

  and intel and recon missions

  medical treatment of

  naval recovery of

  Thuan-An

  Easter Offensive and

  and intel and recon missions

  and naval recovery of SEALs

  Navy SEALs at

  Norris at

  Thornton at

  Vietnamese SEALs at

  Vietnamese Sea Commandos
:

  airman rescues and

  and attacks on outpost

  Norris’s work with

  training of

  Vietnamese SEALs

  creation of

  enemy soldier captures and

  escape from enemy soldiers of

  and firefight with enemy soldiers

  and intel and recon missions

  MACV and

  medical treatment of

  naval recovery of

  Norris’s rescue and

  Norris’s work with

  Schaible and

  Thornton’s work with

  at Thuan-An

  training of

  work of Navy SEALs with

  Vietnam War

  airman rescues and

  casualties in

  Dix on

  Dorman’s SEALs career and

  Easter Offensive in

  Hancock in

  Kerrey on

  Market Time operations in

  and Medal of Honor

  missing in action (MIA) in

  Navy after

  Navy SEALs after

  Norris after

  peace negotiations in

  prisoners in

  Tet Offensive in

  Thornton after

  winding down of

  Vung Tau

  and intel and recon missions

  physical appearance of

  Schaible and

  Wagner, Louis

  Walker, Bruce:

  death of

  rescue of

  Walker, Mary

  Webster, William

  Woodruff, Bill “Woody”

  and firefight with enemy soldiers

  and intel and recon missions

  and naval recovery of SEALs

  Norris’s injuries and

  Norris’s medical treatment and

  Norris’s rescue and

  World War I

  World War II

  Zartman, Captain

  Zendner, Chuck

  Zumwalt, Elmo

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  A book like this, with some of the seminal events taking place close to a half century ago, does not get done without the help of a great many people—former teammates, shipmates, platoon mates, training cadre, colleagues, and friends. The authors and their narrator would like to thank the following individuals for their help with this book. Your input, support, recollections, and above all, your humor, are sincerely appreciated. In no particular order:

  Craig Dorman, Charles “Sandy” Prouty, Mike Jukoski, Nguyen Kiet, General Louis Wagner, Terry Moy, Dick Flanagan, Bill Woodruff, Ryan McCombie, Hal Kuykendall, Ed Moore, Chuck Zedner, Dr. Wally Grand, Gary Stubblefield, Dick Marcinko, Norm Carley, Mark Falkey, Wayne Manis, Cecil Moses, Bob Sligh, Rear Admiral Gary Bonelli, Ron Rand, Chris Seger, Carol Fleisher, and Darrel Whitcomb.

  And a special note of thanks to our brother special operators Bob Kerrey and Drew Dix. Your kind words set the tone for this effort and are much appreciated.

  And finally, we would be remiss if we failed to mention our teammates at St. Martin’s Press, to include Charles Spicer and April Osborn, who have stood solidly with us on this literary combat deployment.

  An early photo of Mike Thornton, here at the age of four. Always a talkative fellow, Mike began at an early age.

  (Courtesy of Mike Thornton)

  Senior Class photo of Tommy Norris at Montgomery Blair High School, Maryland, 1962.

  (Courtesy of Montgomery Blair High School)

  Tommy Norris as a varsity wrestler at the University of Maryland, 1966. For tournament competition, Tommy wrestled at 115 pounds.