Junior Leo Thorpe was born 19 December 1921 in Appalachie, Virginia to George Curry and Grace Thorpe. The family moved to work in Laurel County, KY in 1939.
Junior enlisted in the US Army in 22 July 1942; he was a transport driver and laid communication wire in the 80th Signal Company, 80th Division.
Private Thorpe was killed in action November 16, 1944 near Lessay, France. His brother Everett Nathan Thorpe was lost at sea on the USS Indianapolis in 1945.
The Franklin Favorite, December 7, 1944
Private Junior L. Thorpe, 22, was killed in action in France, November 16, according to a telegram received by his wife from the War Department. The message follows:
“Washington, D.C., Nov. 30, 1944.
Mrs. Hazel M. Thorpe
Walker Avenue, Franklin, Ky.
The Secretary of War desires me to express his deep regret that your husband, Pvt. Junior L. Thorpe, was killed in action on 16 November in France. Letter follows.
Witsell,
Acting the Adjutant General.
“Private Thorpe, who was a member of the Signal Corps, was reared near Corbin, Ky. He entered the service in July, 1942 and was sent to Camp Forrest, Tenn. for training. He landed in England about the first of July of the present year and soon thereafter was sent to France. In civil life he was a truck driver, being employed by the Utilities Trailer Company of Montgomery, Alabama and was frequently in Franklin. On February 14, 1942 he married Miss Hazel Draper, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Ed Draper of this city and to them was born a son, Ray Edward, who is now twenty-one months of age. Mrs. Thorpe is making her home with her parents. In addition to his widow and son, Private Thorpe is survived by his parents, Mr. and Mrs. George Thorpe of Corbin; six brothers, two of whom, Lewis and Everette, are in the Navy, and three sisters. Private Thorpe was a member of the Baptist Church.
- Rank: Private
- Date of birth: 19 December 1921
- Date of death: 16 November 1944
- County: Claiborne
- Hometown: Cave Springs
- Service Branch: Army/Army Air Forces
- Division/Assignment: 80th Signal Company; 80th Division
- Theater: Europe
- Conflict: World War II
- Battles: Hürtgen Forest
- Awards: Purple Heart, Bronze Star
- Burial/Memorial Location: Greenlawn Cemetery, Franklin, KY
- Location In Memorial: Pillar VIII, Middle Panel
- Contact us to sponsor Junior L. Thorpe
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