Re: KW Ex-POW Passes

Date: January 13, 2004

"Honored veteran dies at 81

Sheila Ingram
@PensacolaNewsJournal.com

Retired Navy Capt. John W. Thornton, a war hero who served in World War II, the Korean War and Vietnam, died last week.

Mr. Thornton had lived in Pensacola for many years but moved to Virginia several years ago.

A helicopter pilot, Mr. Thornton was held as a prisoner of war during the Korean War after his helicopter was shot down during a rescue attempt.

"He made some dangerous, dangerous rescues," said Capt. E. Earle Rogers II, a retired Navy pilot and vice president for communications at the Naval Aviation Museum Foundation. "He was a magnificent, wonderful Navy hero."

Mr. Thornton, 81, was captured April 10, 1951. He was the last prisoner released during the Korean War on Sept. 6, 1953.

He co-authored a book with his son on his experiences, entitled "Believed to be Alive."

Rogers said Mr. Thornton survived horrendous conditions in captivity.

"It was absolutely brutal," Rogers said. "A lot of people died in that prison camp."

Mr. Thornton was awarded the highest honor in the Navy - the Navy Cross - along with the Legion of Merit, the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Navy and Marines Corps Medal, the Bronze Star, the Air Medal, the Purple Heart and 22 other citations and campaign ribbons.

His book received a George Washington Honor Medal from the Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge, Pa.

Pensacola resident Billy Blackwelder, a retired lieutenant commander and a former Navy helicopter pilot, first met Mr. Thornton in 1958, when Blackwelder was a flight student in Pensacola. Mr. Thornton spoke to training squadrons about his experiences as a prisoner of war.

"He was just an outstanding man," Blackwelder said.

Mr. Thornton is survived by his wife Virginia, children and grandchildren. Services will be private, but memorials can be sent to the Naval Aviation Museum Foundation, 1750 Radford Blvd., Suite B, Naval Air Station, Pensacola, FL 32508, or to St. Christopher's Episcopal Church, 3200 North 12th Ave., Pensacola, FL 32503."