![]() ![]() Thorton went on to have a successful career in Naval Special Warfare, becoming a plankowner of SEAL Team 6 in 1980. Thornton swam with his two wounded comrades for hours until a Navy warship picked them up. Finally, the team entered the water and swam to avoid certain death in the hands of hundreds of North Vietnamese. Then, a Vietnamese SEAL was also wounded, and Thornton carried him too. Indeed, many have been awarded posthumously. Only those who served in frontline units are likely to earn the Medal of Honor. In World War II alone, more than 12 million Americans served in the military. That is an astoundingly low percentage when compared to the number of troops who have served. Since 1862, when the Medal of Honor was established, only 3,527 medals, not counting the three presented this week, have been awarded. The three soldiers enter a very select cadre. 1st Class Christopher Celiz, a Ranger, put himself in between Taliban fighters and a helicopter in Afghanistan in 2018. Earl Plumlee, a Green Beret, fought off a Taliban suicide attack on his base in Afghanistan in 2013. ![]() 1st Class Alwyn Cashe suffered fatal wounds saving his troops from a burning vehicle in 2005 in Iraq. In the last days of a year of struggle for the US military, the White House is presenting the Medal of Honor, the military’s highest award for valor under fire, to three service members. ![]()
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