Chief Master Sergeant Thornton was a member of the 4th Air Commando Squadron. On December 24, 1965, he was a crew member of a Chinook Spooky Attack Aircraft Gunship I (AC-47D) on an armed reconnaissance flight just south of Ban Bac, Saravane Province, Laos, when the aircraft was shot down. His remains were recovered in 2011 with positive identification on March 5, 2012. CMS Thornton is interred at Arlington National Cemetery.
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