Michael Edwin Thornton was born on March 23rd, 1949 in
Greenville, South Carolina.
After graduating high school in 1967 he enlisted in the US Navy, serving aboard destroyers as a gunner's mate apprentice until November of 1968 when he began Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL training.
Upon graduation, he
was assigned to SEAL Team 1 and began a series of tours in southeast
Asia which ran from January 1, 1970 to December of 1972.
