His Sacrifice Must Not Be In Vain

By Art Gallagher

This Memorial Day has a special meaning to me, and the hundreds of participants at the Battle of the Bulge Survivor Reunion and Monmument Rededication Ceremony that took place last Thursday at the Thorne Middle School in the Port Monmouth section of Middletown.

The event, which included a general assembly of the student body at Thorne and over 86 veterans of the Battle of the Bulge was organized by Edith Nowles of Brielle.  Nowles is the sister of Cpl. Horace Marvin “Bud” Thorne, namesake of the school, who was post-humanously awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his heroism in the battle that cost him his life.

There was so much to be impressed with and moved by at this event. From the pride and happiness of the veterans present to the attentiveness and enthusiasm of the students, staff and faculty.  From the courage of the eigth grade nominee for the Corporal Thorne Award who got out of her wheel chair and walked with assistance to accept her citation from Freehold John Curley and to join her fellow nominees on stage to the ovation her fellow students gave her when she did so.

Hopefully this slideshow will give a sense of how special the event was:

One of the most moving elements of the Reunion and Rededication was that all present got to “meet” Cpl. Bud Thorne.  A video biography of Thorne, his life, heroic death and legacy,narrated by his sister Anita, that was originally produced for the 50th anniversary of the Thorne Middle School was shown to the assembly.

By virtue of the generousity of Edith Nowels, MMM is able to share the video with you.  I encourage you to take the 12 and 1/2 minutes it takes to view it.  It will make Memorial Day personal.  It will give you an even greater sense of who the men and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom were and are:

Posted: May 29th, 2011 | Author: Art Gallagher | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Battle of the Bulge Reunion, Bud Thorne, Thorne Middle School | 3 Comments »

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