Thornton, Alvin J. (1919-2003), Papers, 1940-2001 (C4041)

2 linear feet, 1 audio disc

INTRODUCTION

The papers of Alvin "Jack" Thornton, a former World War II B-24 pilot and POW, include photographs, correspondence, diaries, and miscellaneous materials relating to his military service and family.

DONOR INFORMATION

The Alvin J. Thornton Papers were donated to the State Historical Society of Missouri by his wife, Joyce Thornton, on August 1, 2003 (Accession No. 6000).

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

Alvin J. Thornton was born May 18, 1919, in Independence, Missouri. In September 1940, he enlisted in the Army and later transferred from the infantry to the Air Corps. Thornton was assigned to pilot a B-24 in the 15th Air Force, 454th Bomb Group, 738th Bomb Squadron. He was stationed in Africa and Foggia, Italy.

On June 26, 1944 Thornton and his crew set out for their 26th mission. Their plane was hit by anti-aircraft fire and two engines were disabled. Thornton tried to pilot the plane into Allied territory but the crew was forced to bail out over Austria. Thornton was the last to exit the plane and bailed out at less than 1000 feet and broke his leg upon landing. He was beaten by local townspeople and interrogated by German military before being taken to Stalag Luft III in Sagan, Germany. Thornton remained there until January 1945, when the POWs were relocated to Stalag VII A at Moosburg, Germany. In April 1945, the camp was liberated and Thornton returned home.

A year after his return, he married Joyce Goodwin. He remained in the Air Force but did not pilot aircraft or see combat again. Thornton completed tours in Japan and the Philippines and obtained the rank of Senior Master Sergeant and USAF Reserve Major. He retired from the military in 1963. After retirement, Thornton earned a teaching degree and Masters in High School Counseling from Central Missouri State University. He would go on to work as a teacher and high school counselor in the Blue Springs, Missouri School District. Thornton stayed in contact with former members of his crew and other ex-POWs throughout his life. He attended a Stalag Luft III reunion and was a lifetime member of American Ex-Prisoners of War. Alvin Thornton died on April 27, 2003.

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE

The Alvin Thornton papers consist of letters, photographs, newspaper clippings, and other documents that primarily chronicle Thornton's time in the Air Force as a B-24 pilot and as a prisoner of war in Germany. This collection also contains material that documents his life after the war as an Air Force recruiter and his involvement with ex-POW groups. The papers are arranged into six series: Personal Correspondence, Newspaper Articles, POW Documents, Ex-POW Documents, Photographs, and Miscellaneous.

The Personal Correspondence series primarily consists of letters to and from Alvin Thornton and his mother Elva Thornton which are arranged chronologically. The first half of the series includes letters that were written while Thornton was training and serving in the Air Force and while he was a POW in Stalag Luft III. The letters from Thornton to his mother detail some of the training he underwent to become a pilot. His POW letters describe life as a POW and activities conducted to stave off boredom.

The second half of the series consists of letters to and from Thornton in his later years and are primarily addressed to and from former POWs and his old crew members. Many of the letters Thornton wrote were composed in spiral bound notebooks and photocopied. The photocopies were sent to the recipients and the originals were kept in the notebooks.

The Newspaper Articles series contains newspaper clippings that describe Thornton's notable activities during and after World War II. The clippings document his status as a MIA and POW, significant events in his life and his family's lives after the war, including reunions of Thornton and his B-24 crew. The series is arranged chronologically.

The POW Documents series primarily contains material that was sent to the Thornton family from the U.S. government or aid organizations while Thornton was a POW. This series is arranged chronologically and includes pamphlets and official documents sent to Elva Thornton as well as POW newsletters sent by the Red Cross. The series also contains reprints of documents written both during and after the war that describe living conditions in the POW camps.

The series also includes reproduced pages from the book, Stalag Luft III, by Bob Neary. This book was published in 1946 and contains first-hand accounts and drawings of the Stalag Luft III and Stalag VII A POW camps where Thornton was kept. The book saw very limited publication and is considered rare.

Later in his life, Thornton became active in ex-POW groups. The Ex-POW Documents series comprises documents sent to him after World War II from ex-POW organizations. The series is arranged chronologically and contains memorabilia and pamphlets obtained by Thornton at a Stalag Luft III reunion including information relating to ex-guards of the camp who were welcomed at ex- POW reunions.

The Photographs series contains pictures of Thornton, his friends, and his family. The photographs in this series were primarily taken before WWII and during Thornton's time in basic training. This series also includes photographs that were taken during his Air Force training and include pictures of various aircraft as well as Thornton's B-24 crew.

The Miscellaneous series contains various documents arranged chronologically from Thornton's time in the Air Force and after his retirement. This series contains military class albums and manuals he received during and after World War II. This series also contains personal notes, drawings, and diary entries primarily written in Thornton's later years.

FOLDER LIST

Personal Correspondence Series

f. 1-2	Letters to Elva Thornton, 1941-1945
f. 3	Letters to Alvin Thornton, Stalag Luft III POW Camp, 1944-1945
f. 4	Letters from Alvin Thornton, Stalag Luft III POW Camp, 1944-1945
f. 5	Letters to Alvin Thornton from ex-POWs, 1992-1999
f. 6	Letters about Thornton's war injuries from crew members, n.d.
f. 7-14	Notebook of letters from Thornton, 1991-2001
f. 7	1991 July-December
f. 8	1991 November-1997 May
f. 9	1992 December-1993 January
f. 10	1993 April-November
f. 11	1994 June-1998 December
f. 12	1995 March-1998 March
f. 13	1997 April-2001 February
f. 14	1998 January-2001 March

Newspaper Articles Series

f. 15	1942-1945
f. 16	1957-1963
f. 17	1969-1993

POW Documents Series

f. 18	Letters to Elva Thornton from U.S. military, 1944-1945
f. 19	Informational documents sent to Elva Thornton from U.S. military, 1944-1945
f. 20	Notes written by Alvin Thornton while a POW
f. 21	Thornton's POW ID card
f. 22	Prisoners of War Bulletin, 1944-1945
f. 23	Reprints of Kriegie Times and The Circuit, 1944
f. 24	Stalag Luft III, Sagan...Nuernberg...Moosburg by Bob Neary (p. 22-52), 1946

Ex-POW Documents Series

f. 25	Ex-POW ID card and immunization record
f. 26	Letters to ex-POWs from Delmar Spivey and Bob Weinberg, 1945-1982
f. 27	Kriegie Klarion newsletter, 1986-1995
f. 28	Pathfinder newsletter, 1992
f. 29	Ex-POW Bulletin and engagement calendars, 1994-2003
f. 30	Booklet from 1965 Stalag Luft III reunion
f 30a	Ex-POW memorabilia and documents from 1987 Stalag Luft III reunion
f. 31	Posters from 1990 Stalag Luft III reunion
f. 32	POW Code of Conduct posters
f. 33	Newspaper articles and miscellaneous documents about Stalag Luft III guards

Photographs Series

f. 34-35g	Photograph albums of Thornton family and friends, 1930s-1940s
f. 36	Photograph album from Air Force training, early 1940s
f. 37	Thornton and his B-24 crew, 1940s-1959
f. 38	B-24 in North Africa, 1940s
f. 39	Infantry, 1940s
f. 40	Naval cadets, 1940s
f. 41	Stalag Luft III and Stalag VII A, 1940s
f. 42	Stalag VII A liberation, 1945
f. 43	Miscellaneous, Thornton, 1940s
f. 44	Miscellaneous, loose photographs from albums, 1930s-early 1940s
f. 45	Miscellaneous, family and friends, c. 1890s-1997
f. 46	Baguio and Angels City, Philippines, 1956
f. 47	B-47 bomber and TM-76 missile, 1953-1957

Miscellaneous Series

f. 48	Kansas City White Sox baseball team photographs, c. 1921
f. 49	Registration Day Proclamation
f. 50	WWII Army manuals
f. 51	Basic training yearbook, Waco Air Field, TX, 1943
f. 52	Primary training yearbook, Brady, TX, 1943
f. 53	Advanced flight training yearbook, Lubbock, TX, 1943
f. 54	Address book and dog tag, 1940s
f. 55	Air Force training documents, Waco Air Field, TX, 1940s
f. 56	Air Force pilot ID card and immunization record
f. 57	B-24 flight logs
f. 58	Notice from Polish bulletin board, 1945
f. 59	Reproduction of map for POWs showing escape routes out of Germany
f. 60	Air Force manuals, 1946-1969
f. 61	Air Force magazine, 1957
f. 62	Air Force, Army, and WWII magazines, 1964-1988
f. 63	Air Force retirement papers and letter, 1963
f. 64	War service appreciation certificates
f. 65	Air Force retirement and honorable discharge certificates, 1963-1971
f. 66	Military cartoons likely drawn by Thornton, 1950s
f. 67	Notebook of miscellaneous notes and letters, 1980s
f. 68-70	Thornton's diary, 1992-1995
f. 71	The Great Escape by Paul Brickhill (annotated by Thornton, 1998)
f 72	Thornton's obituary and memorial service program, 2003
a.d. 1	Recording of U.S. Air Force Blue by Mitch Miller, 1957

INDEX TERMS

These index terms are the subjects, people, places, etc. under which this collection is listed in all available indexes at The State Historical Society of Missouri-Columbia. If you are interested in a specific index term, please contact the reference staff

Air Force Magazine	f. 61
Air Reservist Magazine	f. 62
American Ex-Prisoners of War	f. 25-31
Army Digest Magazine	f. 62
Diaries, 1990s	f. 68-70
Kansas City Railways Co. All Stars (Baseball team)	f. 48 (pictorial image)
Kansas City White Sox (Baseball team)	f. 48 (pictorial image)
Miller, Mitch (1911- )	a.d. 1
Philippines	f. 46 (pictorial image)
Prisoners of war--Correspondence	f. 3, 4
Prisoners of war--Reminiscences	f. 6-13, 16, 17, 26-31
Stalag Luft III Former Prisoners of War	f. 26-31
Stalag Luft III, Sagan, Germany	f. 31 (pictorial image)
Thornton family	f. 34, 35 (pictorial image)
Thornton, Alvin J. (1919-2003)	f. 1-72
Thornton, Alvin J. (1919-2003)	f. 15-17, 34-37, 43 (pictorial image)
Thornton, Elva	f. 1, 2
Thornton, Jack T.	f. 16, 17
U.S. Air Force--Cartoons and caricatures	f. 66
U.S. Air Force--Recruiting, enlistment, etc.	f. 16
U.S. Army Air Forces	f. 47 (pictorial image)
U.S. Army--Handbooks, manuals, etc	f. 50
U.S. Army--Training, 1940s	f. 39 (pictorial image)
U.S. Navy. 1st Regiment, 3rd Battalion, Company 861-44	f. 40 (pictorial image)
World War II Magazine	f. 62
World War, 1939-1945--Aerial operations--Europe	f. 57
World War, 1939-1945--Aerial operations--North Africa	f. 38 (pictorial image)
World War, 1939-1945--Aerial operations--North Africa	f. 57
World War, 1939-1945--Air Force--Training	f. 36, 51-53 (pictorial image)
World War, 1939-1945--Air Force--Training	f. 36, 51-53, 55, 56
World War, 1939-1945--American Red Cross	f. 22
World War, 1939-1945--Correspondence	f. 1, 2
World War, 1939-1945--Prisoners and prisons	f. 3, 4, 15, 18, 25, 59
World War, 1939-1945--Prisoners and prisons	f. 41 (pictorial image)
World War, 1939-1945--Prisoners and prisons--Guards	f. 33 (pictorial image)
World War, 1939-1945--U.S. Army Air Forces	f. 36-38 (pictorial image)