Congressional Medal of Honor recipient and one-time Limestone County resident Col. Leo Thorsness died Tuesday in St. Augustine, Florida, according to a press release from the Congressional Medal of Honor Society.

The Walnut Grove, Minnesota, native was 85. He is survived by his wife, Gaylee, a daughter and two granddaughters.

He was one of only 74 living Medal of Honor recipients.

Thorsness and his wife moved from Tuscon, Arizona, to Madison-annexed Limestone County in 2008 to be closer to family. According to published media reports, Thorsness had lived in Florida since November 2015.

While living in North Alabama, Thorsness was active with veteran events and was often a guest of honor at those events. In July 2009, he was honored at Decatur’s Spirit of America Festival with the prestigious Audie Murphy Award.

Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle on Wednesday said he had the “honor and privilege” of meeting and working with Thorsness on community activities.

“We are deeply saddened at the loss of Leo Thorsness. An icon for our country and community, Leo was a patriot, a hero, and most of all, a truly great person,” Battle said. “After giving so much through his service in the military, Leo continued to play an active role as mentor and volunteer. He will be missed; our hearts and prayers are with his family.”

Former News Courier reporter Karen Middleton wrote a lengthy profile on Thorsness in 2009 and recalled him as youthful and “a pretty tough guy.” She recalled his Republican leanings and his support of Arizona Senator and former Republican presidential candidate John McCain’s campaign.

Thorsness and McCain were both imprisoned in same POW camp in Vietnam dubbed the “Hanoi Hilton.”

Thorsness book about his six-year captivity, “Surviving Hell: A POW’s Journey,” was published in 2008 by Encounter Books of New York. McCain wrote the jacket blurb for the book: “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 souls.”

Service to country

Thorsness grew up in Walnut Grove, where he attended school and earned the rank of Eagle Scout. He attended South Dakota State College in 1950. He enlisted in the Air Force a year later and went on to graduate from the Aviation Cadet Program with a commission earning his wings.

He served as a fighter pilot with Strategic Air Command and Tactical Air Command before being assigned to Vietnam with the 357th Tactical Fighter Squadron. While flying a mission in April 1967, his wingman was shot down.

Thorsness, critically low on fuel, circled their parachutes and engaged four MIG-17 aircraft in a dogfight damaging one and driving the others away. Eleven days after this dramatic mission he was shot down over North Vietnam and subsequently captured and interned by the North Vietnamese.

He was released on March 4, 1973, almost six years after he was shot down. He was awarded the Medal of Honor by President Richard M. Nixon at a White House ceremony on Oct.15, 1973. Thorsness retired from the Air Force in 1973 at the rank of colonel.

Thorsness later entered the political arena and narrowly lost a U.S. Senate race in 1974 to George McGovern. Four years later, he ran for the U.S. House of Representatives but lost to Democratic nominee Tom Daschle.

After moving to Washington state in the 1980s, Thorsness was elected to the state Senate in 1988.

For more on Thorsness, visit http://www.cmohs.org/recipient-detail/3433/thorsness-leo-k.php.