Medal of Honor recognition

Thomas Norris is humbled to have his name among the 13 North Idaho Medal of Honor recipients honored on Highway 3 signs between Rose Lake and Spalding.

Norris will be the keynote speaker during Saturday's ceremony at noon at St. Maries High School that will dedicate the 118-mile stretch North Idaho Medal of Honor Highway.

"You don't think about awards during combat," the Hayden Lake man said of his actions to rescue two downed pilots during the Vietnam War. "It was something that needed to be done. I did it, didn't think anything of it, went on with the operations and I was nominated later.

"I don't think any of us consider ourselves extraordinary or above what some of our fellow combat veterans and brothers did. It was one act."

Norris, who was a Navy SEAL, and Petty Officer Third Class Nguyen Van Kiet went behind enemy lines disguised as fishermen in a sampan during the rescue in 1972. Norris received the Medal of Honor from President Gerald R. Ford in 1976.

Norris, 71, is one of only two Medal of Honor recipients still living in Idaho. The other is Arthur Jackson, a 90-year-old Boise man who served in the Marine Corps during World War II.

The Legislature designated Highway 3 as North Idaho Medal of Honor Highway in 2011. Signs along the highway were provided through private donations and through fundraising efforts of local veterans' groups. Two larger signs are at the ends of the route, and smaller ones are posted along the way. The Medal of Honor is the highest award for valor in action against an enemy force.

Saturday's ceremony at the St. Maries High football field, which is off Highway 3, will dedicate the Medal of Honor Highway. It is organized by the Lloyd G. McCarter American Legion Post 25 of St. Maries and the Marine Corps League's Pappy Boyington Detachment 966 of Coeur d'Alene.

"We contacted ITD (Idaho Transportation Department) last summer to get permission to dedicate the highway," said Jim Shubert, commander of the Legion in St. Maries. "We've been working on this since last fall and have extended invitations to a number of veteran and motorcycle groups to participate with flags and color guards."

Water will be sold at the ceremony for a donation. Medallions will be on sale for $32 each, patches $13 and T-shirts $20. Proceeds will help the Legion recover costs associated with the ceremony.

Shubert said the event is a chance for motorcyclists and motorists to enjoy the scenic highway and visit the logging and veteran memorials in St. Maries.

Jim Flowers, of the Marine Corps League, said he hopes the public comes for the ceremony.

"We're blessed and honored here in the Inland Northwest to have Medal of Honor recipients," he said. "They received the nation's highest military honor during some of the hardest times. Take the kids, rub elbows with veterans and hear a Medal of Honor recipient as our guest. It's not too often that happens."

North Idaho Medal of Honor recipients

Here are the North Idaho Medal of Honor recipients honored on signs from Rose Lake to Spalding east of Lewiston:

* Vernon Baker, Army, World War II, St. Maries

* Gregory "Pappy" Boyington, Marine Corps, World War II, Coeur d'Alene

* John Wesley Conaway, Army, Civil War, Post Falls

* Lloyd G. McCarter, Army, World War II, St. Maries

* Thomas R. Norris, Navy, Vietnam, Hayden Lake

* Frank S. Reasoner, Marine Corps, Vietnam, Kellogg

* Paul Foster, Navy, Mexican War, Moscow

* Richard M. Longfellow, Army, Philippine Insurrection, Lewiston

* Gurdon H. Barter, Army, Civil War, Moscow

* John Hayes, Army, Civil War, Moscow

* Francis Oliver, Army, Indian Campaigns, Lewiston

* Charles F. Humphreys, Army, Indian Campaigns, Clearwater

* Oscar Werner Peterson, Navy, World War II, Richfield