The Rescue of Bat 21: Lieutenant Thomas Norris

In April of 1972, Lieutenant Thomas Norris was tasked to lead a mission in Vietnam to rescue Lieutenant Colonel Iceal Gene Hambleton. Hambleton had been shot down in enemy territory, and was surrounded by 30,000 enemy NVA soldiers.

Rescuing Hambleton was a top priority for the U.S.. As the navigator of a light bomber (with the call sign Bat 21 Bravo), he was an expert in surface-to-air missile countermeasures and was privy to top secret strategic air command operations, so if he was captured and turned over to the Russians, it could result in “irreparable damage to American National Defense”.

Norris’ team was also tasked with rescuing 1st Lieutenant Mark Clark, an aviator who had been shot down while trying to rescue Hambleton.

On the night of April 10th, 1972, Norris’ team successfully evaded multiple patrols, located Clark, and brought him to safety.

After two more days of unsuccessful attempts to find Hambleton, many were ready to give up the search. Norris and a South Vietnamese soldier named Petty Officer Nyguen Van Kiet decided to give it one more shot. 

Again they successfully maneuvered around multiple enemy patrols, and located Hambleton, who was suffering from hunger and exhaustion. On their way back, they encountered two enemy positions, and came under machine gun fire once. Both times they radioed for assistance, and allied airstrikes took out the danger. All three made it back alive.

On March 6th, 1976, Lieutenant Thomas Norris was awarded the Medal of Honor for his part in the rescue. Even after many had tried and failed, Norris showed selfless dedication in the face of extreme danger, resulting in the safe return of 1st Lieutenant Mark Clark and Lieutenant Colonel Iceal Gene Hambleton.

If you’d like to hear Lieutenant Hambleton tell the story from his perspective, listen to his interview on Warriors In Their Own Words. 

If you’d like to hear about how Norris was almost killed in a patrol that earned his teammate the Medal of Honor, listen to our episode about Lieutenant Michael Thornton.

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