Mr. Thornton was born on June 12, 1914. He entered the service on October 15, 1942. He received his education in grammer school in Cairo and at the Montpelier High School. His church was the old Montpelier Baptist Church.

After induction into the service he was sent to Camp Shelby, Mississippi for training and then to Louisiana for jungle trainging. Subsequently, he was sent to India where he became a member of "Merrell's Marauders."

When he left home, he told his mother that he would not be back until the war was over. Indeed, he never returned until after his death. He was killed in action in Burma on March 29, 1944, at the age of 29 years, by a sniper's bullet.

His body was buried in Ledo, India and returned to Cairo after the War.