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Praise for Surviving Hell

This book is both an authentic look at the POW experience and also an often amusing account of one man’s way of coping with a brutal captivity. Leo Thorsness, my friend and fellow alumnus of the Hanoi Hilton, shows why the North Vietnamese may have had our bodies but never controlled our soul.

—Sen. John McCain

Our nation’s Medal of Honor recipients are the ultimate heroes among us, but the members of this elite fraternity have their own heroes, and Leo Thorsness is one of them. Taken to the edge of human existence, he came back with his dignity intact. Leo emerged from the darkness of his brutal confinement in Hanoi because he was armed with a keen intellect, unbreakable mental discipline, and the love of family.

Surviving Hell is a story for all those who think life’s challenges are unbearable. What happened to Leo seems like too much for any human to bear, yet he survived and thrived—the ultimate revenge on his captors. In this gripping and harrowing book, Thorsness offers timeless lessons on perseverance, mental focus, and old-fashioned patriotism.

—Brian Williams, anchor and managing editor, NBC Nightly News; director, Medal of Honor Foundation Board

In business as in life, the essential building blocks of leadership are character, courage, faith, and loyalty. Leo Thorsness tells a riveting story that speaks of these values with eloquence and uncommon humility. The lessons of this book apply to all those who must confront adversity or meet challenging demands by doing the right thing. It is an uplifting and inspiring guide that should be required reading for leaders everywhere.

—Robert J. Stevens, chairman, president, and CEO, Lockheed Martin Corporation

In my career as an actor I have had the opportunity to portray a few fictional war heroes. It is my pleasure to know a real war hero, Leo Thorsness. As a Wild Weasel fighter pilot in Vietnam, he was awarded the Medal of Honor for a mission he flew shortly before being shot down. He spent six years in the brutal Hanoi Hilton as a POW. Surviving Hell tells it like it was in combat and in prison, but the story is also uplifting and helpful for anyone going through tough times. Leo is a survivor who shows us that, even in hell, we are much stronger than we think.

—Gary Sinise, actor

For three years I lived in cells with or near Leo Thorsness at the Hanoi Hilton, and I vouch for his account of captivity in that hellhole.

It was especially bad for Leo because his back was fractured from torture, which required him to be strung up by the feet to sleep. Yet in our many POW conversations, we were optimistic that we would someday be free and upbeat about how we would use our freedom. The most important thing was to return home with honor; and that, Leo has certainly done.

—Col. Bud Day, USAF (ret.); Medal of Honor recipient; fellow POW with Leo Thorsness; author of Return With Honor

In a brisk and vivid style, Leo Thorsness transports us into the darkness of the POW’s world without ever succumbing to despair. His story is a saga of uncommon valor, told with humility and good humor.

I first met this extraordinary American hero—who cleverly disguises himself as “just another guy”—on the set of The Hanoi Hilton, where he served as my technical advisor and became my friend. To watch Leo relive his experiences with those who would portray him and his comrades-in-arms was an inspiration to us all. Now, in Surviving Hell, he makes that journey accessible to everyone in a way that brings hope.

Freedom is certainly not free, and here’s a chance to understand why some people are willing to pay the price, yet never lose their humanity.

—Lionel Chetwynd, filmmaker; Oscar and Emmy nominee; writer and director of The Hanoi Hilton

How can a simple man have so much to say to every reader? Leo Thorsness grew up “average,” as he says, but then decided to serve our country in the Air Force, a commitment that led him into the horrors of a North Vietnam prison. His story will inspire you to do more. This book conveys the message that Leo has been taking to corporate executives, “Do What’s Right—Help Others (DWR-HO),” and the lesson he teaches America’s children about the “4 F’s: Faith, Family, Friends, Fun.” Surviving Hell shows how to frame your life for the better, regardless of the hand you’ve been dealt. Leo did it; you can too!

—Tom Matthews, president, Medal of Honor Foundation; former president and CEO, Smith Barney Global Private Client Division

The human spirit is amazingly resilient! In this incredible story of one man’s deliverance from “hell on earth,” Leo Thorsness shows that he truly understands these words from the Bible: “The Lord is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid?” Your heart will be stirred to sadness, then anger, then despair, and finally to hope as the journey home for Leo becomes a reality. This is an astounding account of God’s faithfulness to one man.

—Rev. Dale Seley, pastor, Downtown Baptist Church, Alexandria, Virginia

It is my high honor and privilege to be a close friend of the Thorsness family. Leo is a genuine hero who always demonstrates his love for America. Surviving Hell: A POW’s Journey is a reminder that freedom isn’t free, and an enduring tribute to those who made supreme sacrifices under the most intolerable conditions. After reading this book, you will never again think you are having a bad day.

—Bruce N. Whitman, president and CEO, FlightSafety International

One never knows the tests that the road of life will bring, but Surviving Hell demonstrates that the virtues of honor, courage, sacrifice—undergirded by an unshakable faith and the love of family—enable one to triumph even in the most unthinkable circumstances. As one who is privileged to know Col. Leo Thorsness and his wife, Gaylee, I am grateful for their willingness to share this story so that it may provide a beacon of hope and a guidebook for the rest of us on our life’s journey.

—David McIntyre, president and CEO, TriWest Healthcare Alliance

I first met Leo Thorsness at Spangdahlem, Germany, in 1960; but I really got to know him when I wrote the recommendation for his Medal of Honor in 1967. Leo is unique in combining the skills of an expert fighter pilot with a keen analytical ability. He developed tactics that allowed the Wild Weasels to accomplish our mission in North Vietnam and reduced our losses by over 50 percent. No one single person did more for those who flew to Hanoi. The United States Air Force owes Leo a huge debt, and I am personally in his debt because he gave me the tools to survive my forty-seven trips to Hanoi.

—Lt. Col. Billy R. Sparks, USAF (ret.)

Leo was the boss of our Wild Weasel SAM hunters, and if he was on our daily trip to Hanoi, it was no sweat. I saw him being shot down, and as I set up the rescue attempt and talked to him on his fragile survival radio, the last thing he said to me was “Get me out of here!” We could not, and thus began this remarkable story of skill, heroism, and bravery.

—Col. Jack Broughton, USAF (ret.)

Leo Thorsness describes the combat mission of a lifetime, which would earn him our nation’s highest award for valor, the Medal of Honor. But the exhilaration of aerial victories over enemy MiGs and coaxing the last measure of performance out of his fuel-thirsty “Thud” was followed in an instant by a low-tech experience that would deprive him of his freedom for six years. Thorsness will make you cry and make you laugh as he describes the highs and lows of his extended visit to a hell that most of us can hardly imagine. It would change his life forever.

—Lt. Gen. Nick Kehoe, USAF (ret.); president, Medal of Honor Foundation

I came away ... with renewed gratitude for our freedom, but also especially for great-souled men such as Thorsness. The sacrifices of such men, it cannot be recalled often enough, make us the land of the free because we’re also the home of the brave.

—Power Line Blog: John Hinderaker, Scott Johnson, Paul Mirengoff