SEAL Team One

Naval Special Warfare Community Mourns Loss of SEAL Team One Commander

SEAL Team 1 commanding officer Robert “Bobby” Ramirez was found dead in his San Diego area home on December nineteenth at the age of forty-seven. He is survived by his wife, Anne, and their four children. Naval Special Warfare Command officials have announced in a statement that there is no suspicion of foul play in the high-profile SEAL’s death. However, an investigation by the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department remains ongoing. His cause of death has not been immediately disclosed.

Ramirez is pictured here with his wife, Anne. Image courtesy of Facebook/Anne Ramirez

Accolades & Rememberance

Captain David Abernathy, Commander of Naval Special Warfare Group 1 (who oversees all four Coronado-based SEAL Teams), said in a statement to Navy Times, “Bobby was an outstanding leader, devoted husband, and father, and a good friend to us all. This is a devastating loss to our community and all who knew him. We will remain in support of Bobby’s family, friends and teammates during this extremely difficult time.”

Ramirez enlisted in the Navy in 1996 and was commissioned as an officer in 2004. In 2019 he was promoted to the rank of Commander. He had only been in command of Team 1 for one month at the time of his death, having arrived at the unit in June from his last assignment with the Seventh Fleet in Yokosuka, Japan. In his 27-year career, Ramirez was awarded three Combat Action Ribbons and five Bronze Stars, two with “V” devices for valor.

The late Commander attended recruit training in Great Lakes, Illinois, shortly after his enlistment, followed by Combat Systems school in Virginia Beach, Virginia. His next move was to Coronado, California, where he went through Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) training in 1997.

Commander Ramirez and his family with the children’s faces not shown for the sake of privacy. Image from Facebook/Anne Ramirez

Following BUD/S, Ramirez was assigned to an East Coast SEAL Team, where he stayed until 2001 when he became a student in the Seaman to Admiral Program at Old Dominion University in his native Virginia. After his 2004 commissioning, he saw combat in multiple theaters across the globe, including Iraq (where he was deployed four times) and Afghanistan (where he was deployed twice). He worked his way up the SEAL ranks and attended the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California.

In addition to the awards noted above, Ramirez was also a recipient of the Joint Service Commendation Medal, the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals, two Good Conduct Medals, and two Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals.

Other Recent Command Losses

Ramirez was the second SEAL team commander to die in just over the span of one year. Commander Brian Bourgeois, who led SEAL Team 8, fell to his death during a fast rope training evolution on December fourth, 2021. He was forty-three years old and had spent almost half of his young life (20 years) in the Navy. The decorated combat veteran fell approximately 40 feet from an Army Black Hawk helicopter on the 4th, was taken to a local hospital, and succumbed to his injuries on the 7th with his family by his side.

Army Special Operations Command (USASOC) took charge of the accident investigation because the aircraft involved in the mishap belonged to and was being operated by the Army’s 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (SOAR), also known as the Night Stalkers. Factors involved in Commander Bourgeois’s death included communications issues with the aircraft, an early release of the rope that the SEAL was using to descend into the target area, and, according to special operation officials, “a lack of adequate communication between the aircrew and the partner ground force.”

In a review of the accident, USASOC spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Michael Burns said, “USASOC has taken several steps to prevent future events of this nature, including rewriting multiple procedures to ensure both aircrew and partner ground force take appropriate steps to ensure communication is clear and safety remains an utmost concern for all.”

A 2001 graduate of the US Naval Academy, Bourgeois was selected as a Surface Warfare Officer before he attended BUD/S and became a graduate of class 253. He went on to earn his master’s degree in Defense Analysis from the Naval Postgraduate School. He left behind a wife and five children.

Michael E. Thornton, SEAL, MOH Oct. 31, 1972

Michael Thornton was a Navy SEAL and was awarded the U.S. military’s highest decoration, the Medal of Honor, for his actions during the war in Vietnam. He was decorated for saving the life of his senior officer, Lieutenant Thomas R. Norris, who also a recipient of the Medal of Honor in another combat action in Vietnam.

Thornton was born in Greenville, SC and graduated from high school in 1967 and immediately joined the U.S. Navy. He was trained as a gunner’s mate and served on a destroyer until he volunteered for Naval Special Warfare. Thornton graduated from Class 49 Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL Training in Coronado, CA in November 1968 and was assigned to SEAL Team One and served in several tours in Vietnam between 1969 and 1972.

He was a member of MACVSOG (Military Assistance Command Vietnam, Studies and Observations Group), the Special Operations Forces joint command in Vietnam. During the final year of the U.S. involvement in Vietnam during 1972, only a handful of Navy SEALs remained in Vietnam. But the combat didn’t lessen for those who were there. And Thornton, now a Petty Officer would see some horrific combat where he’d be awarded the nation’s highest honor.

Quang Tri Mission:

Thornton and Lt. Thomas Norris would accompany three South Vietnamese troops on a mission on October 31, 1972, to gather intelligence and capture enemy personnel. The three Vietnamese were members of their Special Forces and they had worked extensively with the two SEALs in the past.

They boarded Vietnamese junks and then after dark took rubber boats ashore near the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone). The five men slipped around several North Vietnamese encampments and began their reconnoiter.

Realizing too late they had actually landed in North Vietnam, they scouted several bunkers and large amounts of NVA troops. Moving back toward the shore, they scouted two NVA troops which they would attempt to capture.

When one of the NVA troops broke towards the jungle, Thornton chased him to prevent him from alerting the others. That is when all hell broke loose. All of a sudden, 50 NVA troops were turning the tables on Thornton and firing at him. He moved from position to position trying to link back up with his small team as he was taking fire.

Thornton was constantly moving about, giving the NVA troops the impression there were many more Americans on the ground than they thought. He called for Naval gunfire from two destroyers nearby but they had been driven off by shore fire from several North Vietnamese artillery batteries.

The tiny band of five men held off a force of about 150 NVA for the next four hours. One of the South Vietnamese junks had a mortar on board and Thornton called for them to come in and lend some indirect fire support but the destroyers wouldn’t allow them to get close enough.

Near dawn, Norris had the men withdraw towards the beach, but bounding while he covered them from the rear. He called in a fire for effect mission from the cruiser USS Newport News (CA-148) to cover their withdrawal. As he was attempting to fire a LAW rocket to suppress the enemy. He was shot thru the head. The South Vietnamese assumed he was dead.

When they told Thornton, he raced to Norris’ position to recover his body. To his shock, Norris was alive but “the whole side of his head was completely gone.” He took down several NVA who tried to overrun their position. He then hoisted Norris over his shoulders despite having suffered a wound in his back from grenade shrapnel, he ran to the beach.

Just then the first shells from Newport News hit the beach. The concussion threw both Thornton and Norris 20 feet into the air. He then dragged the barely alive Lieutenant into the surf and began swimming out to sea. One of the South Vietnamese was shot thru his hip and into his butt and couldn’t swim. Thornton pushed, pulled both he and Norris out to sea as bullets rained around them. The Newport News left believing the team was dead.

One of the other South Vietnamese reached a junk and reported the rest of the team had been killed. Despite this, Thornton bandaged Norris’ head as best he could and then fired his AK-47 to draw the attention of the junks. They were finally picked up and transported to the Newport News. Thornton carried his SEAL Lt to the operating room. The doctor there told him that there was no way that Norris would survive.

But he did and Norris was the guest of President Gerald Ford on March 6, 1976, at the White House as he was awarded the Medal of Honor for his rescue of Air Force LTC Iceal Hambleton in the famous “BAT 21” story.

Thornton would receive the Medal of Honor from President Richard Nixon at the White House on October 15, 1973, nearly one year from the action that took place. In doing so, he became the first man ever to receive the Medal of Honor for rescuing another man who was a fellow MOH awardee. Thornton also was awarded a Silver Star, Bronze Star with “V” device with two oak leaf clusters, and the Purple Heart. He later served in Desert Shield and Desert Storm.

After the war in Vietnam, Thornton would continue to serve in the SEALs and from 1974 -1977, Thornton served as a BUD/S instructor at NAB Coronado. In 1978 he was selected to serve two years with the British Royal Marines’ Special Boat Squadron (SBS) in an exchange program. In 1980, the Navy was putting together SEAL Team Six, which was the Navy’s first Counter-Terrorism Force. Thornton was personally chosen by the first Commander, Richard Marcinko to be a founding member of the team.

Thornton later became a commissioned officer in June 1982 and retired as a Lieutenant in 1992.

Under heavy gunfire from dozens of North Vietnamese soldiers, Navy SEAL Mike Thornton lifted critically injured fellow SEAL Tom Norris onto his shoulders and carried him in the darkness down the beach into the South China Sea surf. (Navy SEAL Museum)

Medal of Honor citation:

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while participating in a daring operation against enemy forces. PO Thornton, as Assistant U.S. Navy Advisor, along with a U.S. Navy lieutenant serving as Senior Advisor, accompanied a 3-man Vietnamese Navy SEAL patrol on an intelligence gathering and prisoner capture operation against an enemy-occupied naval river base.

Launched from a Vietnamese Navy junk in a rubber boat, the patrol reached land and was continuing on foot toward its objective when it suddenly came under heavy fire from a numerically superior force. The patrol called in naval gunfire support and then engaged the enemy in a fierce firefight, accounting for many enemy casualties before moving back to the waterline to prevent encirclement.

Upon learning that the Senior Advisor had been hit by enemy fire and was believed to be dead, PO Thornton returned through a hail of fire to the lieutenant’s last position; quickly disposed of 2 enemy soldiers about to overrun the position, and succeeded in removing the seriously wounded and unconscious Senior Naval Advisor to the water’s edge. He then inflated the lieutenant’s lifejacket and towed him seaward for approximately 2 hours until picked up by support craft.

By his extraordinary courage and perseverance, PO Thornton was directly responsible for saving the life of his superior officer and enabling the safe extraction of all patrol members, thereby upholding the highest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service

Photos: Michael Thornton (right) and LT Tom Norris, US Navy

Bob Kerrey, SEAL, Awarded the MOH For Actions on 14 March 1969

Joseph Robert (Bob) Kerrey was a U.S. Navy SEAL in Vietnam during the 1960s and was awarded the Medal of Honor by President Richard Nixon in the White House in May of 1970 for actions he conducted where he lost the lower part of his leg in Vietnam during an action on March 14, 1969. His wounds would end his military service.

But Kerrey later entered politics and served as a U.S. Senator from Nebraska and as the 35th Governor of Nebraska. He ran unsuccessfully in 1992 as a Democratic nominee for President, losing to Bill Clinton.

He also briefly dated actress Debra Winger while she was in Omaha to film the motion picture, “Terms of Endearment”. Hounded by the press over the affair, Kerrey responded, “She swept me off my foot,” making light of his Vietnam injuries.

Military service: Kerrey entered Naval Special Warfare after completing Officer Candidate School in 1967. He went thru and successfully completed Basic Underwater Demolition/Sea, Air, Land (BUD/S) training with class 42 in 1968.

Kerrey volunteered to be assigned to SEAL Team One which was in the Republic of Vietnam. After pre-deployment training, he was assigned to Vietnam as an assistant platoon commander with Delta Platoon, SEAL Team ONE in January 1969.

On March 14, 1969, he was assigned to a mission to Hon Tre Island off of Nha Trang to capture a high-value target which was Viet Cong cadre. It was during this action that Kerrey and the SEALs would have to scale a 350-foot cliff to get to a position above the enemy village to achieve their mission.

While assaulting down the hill into the village under heavy fire, a Vietnamese grenade exploded right at his feet, severely injuring his lower body and hurling him backward. Despite his painful wounds, he directed his men, split into two teams into neutralizing the enemy’s fire. He then directed his men to secure and defend an extraction site despite being immobilized by his wounds which were severe.

The Viet Cong POWs captured were instrumental in the extraction of intelligence for the war effort. Eventually, he and the SEAL team were extracted back to their base. Kerrey’s wound resulted in the loss of the lower part of his leg.

On May 14, 1970, President Richard Nixon, awarded Kerrey the Medal of Honor at the White House.

Medal of Honor Citation:

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty on 14 March 1969 while serving as a SEAL Team Leader during action against enemy aggressor (Viet Cong) forces in the Republic of Vietnam.

Acting in response to reliable intelligence, Lieutenant (jg) Kerrey led his SEAL Team on a mission to capture important members of the enemy’s area political cadre known to be located on an island in the bay of Nha Trang.

In order to surprise the enemy, he and his team scaled a 350-foot sheer cliff to place themselves above the ledge on which the enemy was located. Splitting his team into two elements and coordinating both, Lieutenant (jg) Kerrey led his men in the treacherous downward descent to the enemy’s camp.

Just as they neared the end of their descent, an intense enemy fire was directed at them, and Lieutenant (jg) Kerrey received massive injuries from a grenade which exploded at his feet and threw him backward onto the jagged rocks. Although bleeding profusely and suffering great pain, he displayed outstanding courage and presence of mind in immediately directing his element’s fire into the heart of the enemy camp. Utilizing his radioman, Lieutenant (jg) Kerrey called in the second element’s fire support which caught the confused Viet Cong in a devastating crossfire.

After successfully suppressing the enemy’s fire, and although immobilized by his multiple wounds, he continued to maintain calm, superlative control as he ordered his team to secure and defend an extraction site. Lieutenant (jg) Kerrey resolutely directed his men, despite his near-unconscious state, until he was eventually evacuated by helicopter. The havoc brought to the enemy by this very successful mission cannot be overestimated. The enemy who were captured provided critical intelligence to the allied effort.

Lieutenant (jg) Kerrey’s courageous and inspiring leadership, valiant fighting spirit, and tenacious devotion to duty in the face of almost overwhelming opposition sustain and enhance the finest traditions of the United States Naval Service.

The incident at Thanh Phong:
The New York Times and 60 Minutes in 2001 ran a story about a SEAL raid in February 1969 about a month after Kerrey arrived in-country. On February 25, Kerrey led a raid on the village of Thanh Phong, Vietnam, targeting an HVT (high-value target) Viet Cong leader whom intelligence believed would be present.

During the raid, Kerrey’s team took fire from a house in the village, they returned fire and upon moving thru the objective area were surprised to find several villagers, civilians, women and children killed in the fire.

Kerrey, in 1998 interviews, recalls the horror of what they found. “The thing that I will remember until the day I die is walking in and finding, I don’t know, 14 or so, I don’t even know what the number was, women and children who were dead”, he said. “I was expecting to find Vietcong soldiers with weapons, dead. Instead, I found women and children.”

One member of Kerrey’s SEAL platoon, Gerhard Klann told a completely different tale, which was corroborated by a Vietnamese survivor that the SEALs rounded up the civilians and killed them for fear that they’d warn the Viet Cong.

When Kerrey was pushed to respond to Klann’s account of the raid, he stated that his recollections of it were different than his. Kerrey’s other former SEAL platoon members all stuck to his account of the events. Kerrey stated that Klann had very hard feelings against him because he wouldn’t support Klann’s possible Medal of Honor award during a later mission and was jealous of him.

Kerrey did express regret over the mission and the lives taken during it. He was subsequently awarded a Bronze Star for the raid. He said of killing in combat, “You can never, can never get away from it. It darkens your day. I thought dying for your country was the worst thing that could happen to you, and I don’t think it is. I think killing for your country can be a lot worse. Because that’s the memory that haunts.”

In 2016, Kerrey was announced as the Chairman of the Board of Trustees for the Fulbright University in Vietnam. Some Vietnamese civilians complained over this and Kerrey later resigned his post although he hasn’t been replaced.

Photos: Wikipedia