Lawrence Joshua Thorne, Jr.
| NAME: Lawrence Joshua Thorne, Jr. |
NICKNAME: — |
SERVICE NUMBER: 473048 |
|||||
| HOME OF RECORD: 216 Prospect Street, Farmingdale, NY |
NEXT OF KIN: Mother, Mrs. Jessie Thorne |
||||||
| DATE OF BIRTH: 1/30/1923 |
SERVICE DATES: 10/9/1942 – 1/26/1945 |
DATE OF DEATH: 6/17/2003 |
|||||
| CAMPAIGN | UNIT | MOS | RATE | RESULT | |||
| Roi-Namur | B/1/24 | 653 | PFC | ||||
| Saipan | B/1/24 | 653 | Corporal | WIA | |||
| INDIVIDUAL DECORATIONS: Purple Heart |
LAST KNOWN RANK: Corporal |
||||||
Would like to find out about the circumstances regarding the Purple Heart Awarded to my father.
Hi Michael,
I don’t know too much about the particulars of Corporal Thorne’s wounding. He is reported as “wounded and evacuated” from the battle of Saipan on 19 June, 1944. You can read an account of that day’s fighting here: http://1stbattalion24thmarines.com/the-battles/saipan/d4/
He was evacuated to the hospital ship USS Solace (AH-5) which sailed from Saipan the following day. He disembarked at US Naval Base Hospital #6 (at Espiritu Santo), thus beginning his trip back to the United States for his eventual discharge from the service.
I’ve found a few newspaper reports of his being wounded in action, but none provide any specifics. Check back soon, and I’ll have those uploaded here to the biography.
Cheers,
Geoffrey