Why this book: I know both Tom Norris, Mike Thornton, as well as their co-writer Dick Couch.  I was interested in getting more of the details of their stories, which I thought I knew pretty well.  Indeed I learned a lot – there was much more to their stories than I knew.  

Summary in 4 sentences:  These are two inter-related Medal of Honor stories – in that Tommy Norris was a key player in each, and Dick Couch knew both of these men well and had served with them.   The first of these stories is Tommy Norris’s, how he went into enemy controlled territory 3 times to rescue downed aircrew near the end of the war when North Vietnam was rapidly consolidating its control over what was then South Vietnam. The second story takes place several months later, when Norris and Mike Thornton are leading a group of Vietnamese SEALs on a reconnaissance mission which for a number of reasons, goes bad. As they are trying to exfil under fire, Norris is shot in the head, left for dead by the Vietnamese, but Thornton fought his way back to Norris, engaged the enemy, and was able to get him to the beach and swim him out to ships off the coast. 

My Impressions: Not just a great historical look at operations during the final years of the Vietnam War, but a great true story of American heroes in action.  By Honor Bound provides an excellent perspective of what life was like for SEALs in Vietnam toward the end of the war, as well as offering great first person accounts of two operations that are legendary in the SEAL Teams.  Tommy Norris and Mike Thornton are living legends in the SEAL community, not only for the missions described in this book for which each was deservedly awarded a Medal of Honor, but for their lives since. 

Dick Couch had been a SEAL officer himself in Vietnam and had gone thru SEAL Training with Tommy Norris. He does a great job providing context to Tommy’s and Mike’s stories, explaining what was happening in Vietnam at the time and how the missions they conducted fit into other operations and the overall strategy of US efforts to keep North Vietnam from overrunning the South.   I grew up in the teams reading and hearing about these and other Special operations during this time window, but the context Dick provides between and around Mike’s and Tommy’s narratives added a lot of clarity to my understanding of their actions as well as this very tumultuous period of the war.  

The book was broken into four parts:  

Part 1 entitled “Bat 21” was Tommy’s story of one failed attempt and two successful rescues of downed aircrew who were deep in enemy controlled territory in Vietnam.  These were extremely dangerous missions, and highly unlikely successes, given the conditions, and the concentrations of enemy forces in the are around the men he rescued.  Tommy was fiercely committed to rescuing these Americans  – his focus, fearlessness, and tactical acumen are remarkable, even among Navy SEALs.   Tommy was preparing to rescue a third crewman when it was learned the crewmen had been discovered and killed by the North Vietnamese.  Afterward, Tommy then went on to continue serving as an experienced SEAL lieutenant in charge of other SEAL operations in Vietnam.

Part 2 is entitled “Not without my Lieutenant,” and transitions to Mike’s story – and of course Tommy was a thread that connected these two stories together. Tommy was in charge of the SEAL operations running out of their base, and insisted on going on this mission, and selected Mike to go with him and the other Vietnamese SEALs.  Both Mike and Tommy provide their inputs to preparations for the mission for which Mike was awarded his medal, describing the insertion, realizing they were inserted on the wrong beach, how they were discovered by the North Vietnamese, how Tommy was shot and how Mike went back to rescue him as the enemy was closing in on his position.  It also begins the story of Tommy’s long road to recovery after being shot in the head and losing his left eye. 

Part 3, entitled  “The Award and Life After the Award” is each of them telling  their stories of receiving the Medal of Honor, and then their lives and careers as Medal of Honor recipients after Vietnam. Tommy describes his multiple operations and years of treatment, the after effects of losing a piece of his head and brain, and learning to live with only one eye.  And then how he was able to enter the FBI and became a valued member of their elite Hostage Rescue Team,  describing some of the undercover FBI operations he participated in.   After 20 years of service in the FBI, he retired to a farm in northern Idaho.  Mike stayed in the Navy and continued to serve in the SEAL Teams, eventually getting commissioned and serving as an officer in the Diving and Salvage branch of the Navy.  Since retiring, both are quite active in the Medal of Honor Society, speaking at engagements and inspiring young and old around the nation. 

The fourth part is brief – entitled “Epilogue” in which Dick Couch shares some of his thoughts on writing this book, his own friendship with and impressions of these two very different men. Dick accurately describes Mike as having a presence and personality so large he has his own weather (!), and Tommy as the quintessential quiet and self-deprecating hero.  Mike and Tommy have remained very close over the years, and have continued to serve and take care of each other for nearly 50 years.  In this epilogue, Dick provides bit of an addendum to Tommy’s and Mike’s stories.  

This is a relatively short and very engaging read and a great story of American heroism in war.  I read the paperback, but I’d recommend purchasing hardback version – the quality of the pictures in the paperback version is poor – one can hardly recognize the people in the pictures, whereas the hardback pictures are glossy and add a lot to the story.