Bio: Thornton, Ensign Gary J. E. (Military Notes - 1968)

Contact: Dolores (Mohr) Kenyon
E-mail: dolores@wiclarkcountyhistory.org 

Surnames: Thornton

----Source: Clark County Press (Neillsville, Clark Co., WI) 9/05/1968

Thornton, Ensign Gary J. E. (Military Notes - 1968)

Coast Guard Ensign Gary J. E. Thornton, 23, son of Mr. and Mrs. John R. L. Thornton of Neillsville, is serving aboard the Coast Guard high endurance cutter Winona off the coast of Vietnam.

Recently the Winona took part in two rescue missions. While firing at enemy positions along the Bo De River on the southwest coast of Vietnam, it dispatched one of its small boats to the aid of one of two Navy swift boats drawing enemy fire. The small boat crew managed to temporarily repair the wounded craft so it could make it back to its base.

The second rescue was that of a fishing trawler out of Bangkok, Thailand, which had lost power in the face of a storm. After finding and repairing a broken lube oil line, the mess tables of the Winona were graced with fresh shrimp, a gift of an appreciative skipper.