Maj. Leo Thorsness and his backseater, Capt. Harold Johnson, were attached to the 357th Tactical Fighter Squadron, 355th Tactical Fighter Wing out of Takhli Royal Thai Air Force Base in Thailand. On April 30, 1967, while flying a Republic F-105F Thunderchief tail #62-4447 on his 93rd mission, just seven shy of Maj. Thorsness' going home, they were shot down over North Vietnam. They were captured and held as Prisoners of War. They were repatriated and returned to U.S. control on March 4, 1973.