• The KillerFrogs

Has anyone seen my specialty plates?

Ron Swanson

Full Member
That’s my Dad in Vietnam
That’s a great bleeping pic. Looks like a scene from Forrest Gump.

I’m a little late for the Veterans Day post, but here’s a cool pic of my uncle Hal (mom’s brother) on the left and two of his SEAL team members just before going on a mission in Vietnam. That’s Mike Thornton in the middle (Medal of Honor winner). The other guy (Mike Lacaze) isn’t famous. They’re all still close to this day.

Mike Thornton is a bull of a man (you can’t really tell in that pic) who is known for always carrying tons of ammo, and I guess that got started early on in his career, ha....

907DC213-09C3-49E6-8322-5A1851DE4608.jpeg

My uncle hosts a SEAL reunion every year and there was a great pic posted recently of Mike Thornton with Tommy Norris. Norris is the team member who Thornton saved to earn the MOH. I can’t remember if he was shot in the face or took shrapnel from a grenade, but the injury is still very evident 50 years later. I’ll post it later if I can find it.
 

HFrog1999

Member
That’s a great bleeping pic. Looks like a scene from Forrest Gump.

I’m a little late for the Veterans Day post, but here’s a cool pic of my uncle Hal (mom’s brother) on the left and two of his SEAL team members just before going on a mission in Vietnam. That’s Mike Thornton in the middle (Medal of Honor winner). The other guy (Mike Lacaze) isn’t famous. They’re all still close to this day.

Mike Thornton is a bull of a man (you can’t really tell in that pic) who is known for always carrying tons of ammo, and I guess that got started early on in his career, ha....

View attachment 8136

My uncle hosts a SEAL reunion every year and there was a great pic posted recently of Mike Thornton with Tommy Norris. Norris is the team member who Thornton saved to earn the MOH. I can’t remember if he was shot in the face or took shrapnel from a grenade, but the injury is still very evident 50 years later. I’ll post it later if I can find it.

Your uncle might know my Dad’s buddy Coy Payne who I believe was on Seal Team One.

Coy tried to get my dad in the Seals, thankfully he washed out and ended up in the SeaBees. Coy got shot up pretty bad in Vietnam and my dad thought he was dead for over 30 years. We even looked for his name on the traveling Wall.

Then one day he got a Facebook message from him and learned he survived, stayed in the Navy and had been teaching scuba diving in Hawaii.

He had moved back here and they reconnected. A weird coincidence is that a few years later, Coy’s wife and my Mom died within a couple weeks of each other so they are buried near each other in Arlington National Cemetery. Coy and my Dad meet each other up there, next to the lake where they used to fish and scuba dive in high school.
 

Ron Swanson

Full Member
Your uncle might know my Dad’s buddy Coy Payne who I believe was on Seal Team One.

Coy tried to get my dad in the Seals, thankfully he washed out and ended up in the SeaBees. Coy got shot up pretty bad in Vietnam and my dad thought he was dead for over 30 years. We even looked for his name on the traveling Wall.

Then one day he got a Facebook message from him and learned he survived, stayed in the Navy and had been teaching scuba diving in Hawaii.

He had moved back here and they reconnected. A weird coincidence is that a few years later, Coy’s wife and my Mom died within a couple weeks of each other so they are buried near each other in Arlington National Cemetery. Coy and my Dad meet each other up there, next to the lake where they used to fish and scuba dive in high school.
It’s a pretty small and tight knit group, I would imagine they know each other.
 

TCURiggs

Active Member
That’s a great bleeping pic. Looks like a scene from Forrest Gump.

I’m a little late for the Veterans Day post, but here’s a cool pic of my uncle Hal (mom’s brother) on the left and two of his SEAL team members just before going on a mission in Vietnam. That’s Mike Thornton in the middle (Medal of Honor winner). The other guy (Mike Lacaze) isn’t famous. They’re all still close to this day.

Mike Thornton is a bull of a man (you can’t really tell in that pic) who is known for always carrying tons of ammo, and I guess that got started early on in his career, ha....

View attachment 8136

My uncle hosts a SEAL reunion every year and there was a great pic posted recently of Mike Thornton with Tommy Norris. Norris is the team member who Thornton saved to earn the MOH. I can’t remember if he was shot in the face or took shrapnel from a grenade, but the injury is still very evident 50 years later. I’ll post it later if I can find it.

Yeah, Norris was shot in the head, Ron.

I listen to Jocko Willink's (badarse SEAL) podcast on occasion, and I listened to the episode with Mike Thornton. I've met Ron's Uncle, Hal, so I text Ron when I heard Mike mention Hal in that podcast. Pretty damn cool. Mike's story of Tommy is incredible. Don't remember all of the details, but Mike carried him a long way after he was shot in the head, got him into the water and then swam him a long way as well. All of that while being under fire.

I can nerd-out on some military/special forces stuff. Amazing humans... all military folk, really.
 

Mean Purple

Active Member
Yeah, Norris was shot in the head, Ron.

I listen to Jocko Willink's (badarse SEAL) podcast on occasion, and I listened to the episode with Mike Thornton. I've met Ron's Uncle, Hal, so I text Ron when I heard Mike mention Hal in that podcast. Pretty damn cool. Mike's story of Tommy is incredible. Don't remember all of the details, but Mike carried him a long way after he was shot in the head, got him into the water and then swam him a long way as well. All of that while being under fire.

I can nerd-out on some military/special forces stuff. Amazing humans... all military folk, really.
If you ever get time, check out the Ones Ready. I think they have them on youtube. And there is a podcast. There are 4 operators that host. I think they have a PJ, a CCT, and an SR. (Don't think they have anybody from Fairchild. Although those guys have a great job.) They'll bring on other guys like a TACP or other CCTs or SRs. With the transition from SOWT to SR, its been pretty interesting.

Edit: stand corrected ... sorta. They have an episode where they interview a SERE instructor.
 
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Peacefrog

Degenerate
If you ever get time, check out the Ones Ready. I think they have them on youtube. And there is a podcast. There are 4 operators that host. I think they have a PJ, a CCT, and an SR. (Don't think they have anybody from Fairchild. Although those guys have a great job.) They'll bring on other guys like a TACP or other CCTs or SRs. With the transition from SOWT to SR, its been pretty interesting.

Edit: stand corrected ... sorta. They have an episode where they interview a SERE instructor.
Is it OK if I set an ETA of ASAP to check this out? BRB.
 
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