Text ‘CRAIG’ to 77944 to help Thorne Middle School win $10K for school supplies

You can help Thorne Middle School in Middletown win $10,000 from WPIX-TV by texting the word CRAIG to 77944 starting at 8am on Friday morning through 9am Monday morning, according to Middletown Patch’s Carly Baldwin. Read the rest of this entry »

• Tweet

Middletown Military Shout Out

Middletown – The three Middletown Middle Schools, in conjunction with ‘Middletown 350‘, will be honoring World War II veterans at “MIDDLETOWN MILITARY SHOUT OUT”, beginning at 10 a.m. on Saturday, May 24, 2014.  The theme of this multi-faceted event is to “Remember, Educate, and Entertain,” culminating in an authentic World War II U.S.O. Show performed by students from the Thorne, Bayshore, and Thompson Middle Schools.

Thorne Middle School, home of the WWII Battle of the Bulge Monument, will host the event.  Special guests will include survivors of that battle, and other World War II Veterans.  The school is named for Corporal Horace Thorne, Middletown’s only Congressional Medal of Honor recipient.  The Medal was awarded posthumously for Corporal Thorne’s heroism during the Battle of the Bulge.  The “MIDDLETOWN MILITARY SHOUT OUT” event is part of a series commemorating Middletown’s 350th Anniversary.

“MIDDLETOWN MILITARY SHOUT OUT” will feature three events, beginning with a wreath-laying ceremony at the Battle of the Bulge Monument in front of the school.  This Monument, previously housed at Fort Monmouth, was relocated to Thorne in May of 2011, with a re-dedication ceremony that included over 90 survivors of the Battle.  Next, attendees will be welcome to visit inside the school to see a “WALL OF HEROES” and showcases of World War II gear and uniforms.  There will be a special presentation by Mr. Frank McGinley, an artist who captures history through painting.  Several of Mr. McGinley’s original paintings depicting the Battle will be on display.  The program will conclude with the U.S.O. Show, which will take place outside, behind the school.

Veterans who wish to attend “MIDDLETOWN MILITARY SHOUT OUT” should contact the school at (732) 787-1220.  Families and the general public are welcome to attend any part of the program, and need not contact the school.  For the U.S.O. Show, seating will be available for veterans and their families.  Other attendees are encouraged to bring chairs or blankets for seating.  Thorne Middle School is located at 70 Murphy Road, in the Port Monmouth section of Middletown.     For more information Middletown 350 and planned events, please visit http://www.middletownnj.org/content/middletown 350.

• Tweet

MMM Year in Review – May

Seal Team 6 killed Osama Bin Laden.

Having lost the legislative map battle, Governor Christie made a deal with Senate President Stephen Sweeney over Supreme Court Justice nominees’ confirmation hearing.  In making the deal, six months before the general election, Christie implicitly conceded that the Democrats would retain control of the State Senate and the Sweeney would remain Senate President.

Howard Birdsall resigned as chairman of the Brookdale College board of trustees.

The world did not end.  The Rapture was rescheduled for October.

The State Supreme Court reaffirmed the Abbott decision, assuring that New Jersey’s educational system would remain racially segregated  and funded by the highest property taxes in the nation.

The Neptune Board of Education made a deal with the ACLU that prevented litigation and kept the high school graduation at the Ocean Grove Great Auditorium.

Governor Christie pulled New Jersey out of the RGGI cap and trade scheme.

86 veterans of the Battle of the Bulge and their families attended a Survivors Reunion and Monument Rededication Ceremony at Thorne Middle School in Middletown.

Rutgers paid Snooki $32,000 to bestow her wisdom upon the student body. They paid retiring University president Richard McCormick $550,000 to take a year off and will pay him $335,000 per year to teach history when he returns.

• Tweet

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:

• Tweet

EUROPEAN DIPLOMATS TO ATTEND THORNE SCHOOL WW II BATTLE OF THE BULGE SURVIVOR’S REUNION

When over 60 surviving members of World War II’s Battle of the Bulge reunite on May 26, 2011 at Middletown’s Thorne Middle School, they will be joined by representatives of Belgium and Luxembourg.  Thorne School Principal, Mr. Thomas Olausen, announced today that Mr. Francois Knaff, Consul General of Luxembourg, Mr. Herman Portocarero, Consul General of Belgium and Lieutenant Colonel Patrick Eeecloo, Deputy Military Advisor of the Belgium Permanent Mission to the United Nations, would be attending the event.

The reunion will take place as the World War II Battle of the Bulge Monument, which is presently located at Fort Monmouth, is relocated and rededicated at the Thorne Middle School. 

“It is so very appropriate that these diplomats, representing the countries where the Battle of the Bulge took place, be on hand as we honor these survivors of the battle”, Mr. Olausen noted.  The Thorne Middle School is named for Corporal Horace “Bud” Thorne, Congressional Medal of Honor recipient, who was killed in December 1944 during the battle that the monument commemorates.  Surviving members of the Battle of the Bulge, from different parts of the country, will be in attendance.  Principal Olausen further stated: “It is a wonderful honor for us to be able to host these members of the Greatest Generation and their families as we rededicate this symbol which honors the sacrifices made by so many.  It will be a lasting and productive educational tool for our students as well.”

The event will commence at 9 AM in the school auditorium and the Middle School students will read essays especially prepared for the occasion.  The Corporal Thorne Award will be presented to an 8^th Grade Student who exhibits the attributes of Pride, Respect, Integrity, Determination, and Excellence, which are the standards of Thorne Middle School’s Character Education Program.  The school’s Chorus and Band will participate in the event. The monument will then be rededicated in an outdoor ceremony.  Following the ceremonies there will be a reception at VFW Post 2179 in Port Monmouth.  Special awards will be given to all of the surviving members of this historic battle who are in attendance.  All World War II Battle of the Bulge survivors and their families are encouraged to register for the event.

The Thorne Middle School is located at 70 Murphy Road in Port Monmouth.  VFW Post 2179 is located at 1 Veterans Lane, also in Port Monmouth.  For more information and to register for the event please contact (732) 233-9443 or (732) 747 0160.

• Tweet