By Honor Bound: Two Navy SEALs, the Medal of Honor, and a Story of Extraordinary Courage

I enjoy reading stories of warriors. Both Tom & Mike's stories are phenomenal and extremely motivational. I get a lot of my books from the Library but wanted to ensure I contributed to the Authors of this book and thank them for documenting for future generation's benefit.

Great story..loved it

Sly stalone, recommended this book!

Moving ...the BEST of the BEST!!!

Being a book about Medal of Honor recipients, I had to read it. FANTASTIC book, great read and even made me laugh. A lot of detail and its easy to follow. I had trouble putting it down.

Great read. Action plus history by great men

What a hero story

This book contains two incredible stories about bravery, perseverance, and brotherhood. It’s a quick read and if you’re an American, you need to read this.

My book is missing 33 pages in the middle of the book. Pretty much the whole story about how Tom Norris was shot is just not there.

There's nothing to add to other reviews lauding Tom Norris and Mike Thornton's eye-watering courage and exceptional ability. Their story is well told by fellow SEAL Dick Couch. Their watery escape under direct gunfire, told alternately from both points of view, is as compelling as any combat episode you are likely to find.

The rescue of "Bat 21," Air Force Lt. Col. Iceal Hambleton, has been well documented in fact and fiction for decades. The critical factor missing in those tellings--and here--is why he was flying combat at all. His knowledge of strategic targeting immediately placed him in the "must have" category for retrieval, and in fact he said that if he'd been captured he would have been on the next express to Moscow. Couch's text addresses the beyond-top-secret nature of Hambleton's value to the enemy, and further notes the high cost paid in men and planes to recover him. As I recall, an Air Force history stated that the airpower diverted to cover Bat 21 may have contributed to the loss of Quang Tri during the North Vietnamese offensive of 1972 (though the city was retaken.)

The text contains some factual errors, peculiar for naval officers. Two involve the attack carrier USS Hancock (CVA-19). One passage says that F-4 Phantoms off "Hanna" provided close air support to SEALs when in fact no Essex-class ships ever operated Phantoms. The fighters were Vought F-8 Crusaders, far better suited to smaller decks.

Similarly, the text states that Hancock was a three-war ship when she missed Korea entirely, being modified during that period before returning to service in 1954. And while there were in fact 24 Essex-class ships, 17 were commissioned during WW II, not all 24.

Meanwhile, Honor Bound screams for consideration as a major movie. Are you listening, Hollywood?