Memorial

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Thornton Cavanagh attended college and was an accountant.

He joined the Air Corps of the U.S. Army Reserve in Des Moines, Iowa, on 31 Ocotber 1942. was commissioned on 8 February 1944 at Eagle Pass in Texas. He was sent overseas in July 1944.

Statement of 1st Lt Clint E. Pardridge, who was flying in the same mission: "On 15 October 1944, I was leading a flight of four P47 type airplanes on a weather reconnaissance mission to the area of Marburg, Germany. At approximately 1100 hours we were at an altitude of 2,000 feet, starting up through the overcast. At about 4,000 feet, Lt Richard Drew, who was flying my wing, began to get shaky and his airplane jumped around in formation. A few seconds later, he barely missed running into my airplane, and I last saw him he swing wide to the left and looked as though he was straightening out, but he disappeared in the overcast. I immediately called him on the radio giving the course, but there was no acknowledgment from him. Lt Thornton J. Cavanagh was flying #4 position in the flight and I noticed that he was still with us at the time, but within two minutes he was gone, although I didn't see him leave the formation. The leader of the second element, Lt James C. Coe and I broke out of the overcast at 6,000 feet and made a circle to try to pick them up, and we didn't see either of them emerge from the overcast. Flak became quite accurate and we left the area. When there was no response to my radio transmission, I called the Controller and had him call both of them. He called them several times but received no acknowledgment from either of them, so I asked him to give them a course home in the event they could receive, and this was done. No transmission was heard from either of them."

Note: German records show that Lt Richard Drew and Lt Thornton J. Cavanagh collided in the air.