CYPRESS : Medal of Honor Winner to Speak
An Air Force pilot who was decorated with the Medal of Honor for extraordinary heroism during the Vietnam War will be the guest speaker Sunday at special Independence Day weekend services at Grace Church, 5100 Cerritos Ave.
Retired Col. Leo K. Thorsness, who lives in Indianola, Wash., will speak at the 8:30 and 10:15 a.m. services at the church. Thorsness was shot down by an air-to-air missile while flying his 93rd combat mission over North Vietnam in 1967.
He was captured and held prisoner in North Vietnam for six years. Upon his release in 1973, Thorsness received the Medal of Honor from President Richard Nixon.
David Scott, an associate pastor at Grace Church, said Thorsness was invited to speak “because he certainly can address the price that has been paid for our freedom.”
The services are open to the public. Grace Church is a nondenominational, evangelical institution.
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