The Story of America’s Greatest Generation, in Three Parts

Presenter:  Ret. Col. Mike Thornton, United States Army

Course Location, Time, Dates:  Tellico Village Library, 10 am – 12, TUESDAY May 23, 30,  &  TUESDAY June 6  (79th Anniversary of D-Day)

 

This is a three-part series focused on the World War II generation to whom America owes a historic debt. In his book My War (2000, p. 155)), bomber pilot and  correspondent Andy Rooney, referring generally to the American forces who fought World War II in Europe and the Pacific, here specifically to the Normandy Invasion on D-Day 1944, wrote  “It was one of the most monumentally unselfish things one group of people ever did for another.”

I   Hometown Heroes: In the first session, learn the stories of two local heroes from East Tennessee – their training and their service. One came back from the war to live a long, productive life and the other was killed on a hilltop in a desperate struggle to take the key town of St. Lo.

II   In My Father’s Footsteps: This is the story of the battlefields I walked in October of 2022 to revisit where my father had fought in WW2 with the 9th Infantry Division. You will see where my son and I searched to find the connections with his grandfather and the other brave soldiers who freed an occupied continent.

III.  D-Day: June 6, 1944: The Amazing Story, on the 79th Anniversary:  A review of this monumentally historic day and the brave allied forces who carried out the greatest invasion in history and changed the course of the war.

 

Presenter:   Mike Thornton retired after serving 37 years in the U.S. Army.  He is an avid student of military history, having toured and taught at many of the battlefields in Europe.  He has conducted detailed research and has interviewed many veterans and their families.  Mike has been a guest instructor at several colleges and offers unique insight into the men and women who have served this great nation.

Mike served as an Armor Officer and later as a MEDEVAC helicopter pilot.  He is a retired Army Colonel, and the son of a World War II veteran. He and his wife Debbie live in Tellico Village.

 

Class Fee:  $10  Prepay Lisa at the Welcome Center (Checks to TVL – POA)

Register: (Limit 35)