"The Wall That Heals" and SDSU's Joe Thorne

Vietnam, April 1965 — The United States had beefed up its commitment to fighting the spread of communism in Southeast Asia. 

The policy of sending military advisers and limited combat engagement was replaced by Operation Rolling Thunder, a bombing mission in North Vietnam designed to last eight weeks.

With South Vietnamese troops proving to be a weak ally, more American servicemen found themselves fighting Viet Cong in the overgrown jungles.

Brookings, April 1965 — Walter Cronkite's serious voice reported on the escalation of this war in a troublesome but remote corner of the world. But daily life at South Dakota State University focused on burgers at Nick's, going to the skating rink and playing ball at the old armory gym. At SDSU, when students mentioned jungle, it referred to The Jungle, the student café in the Pugsley Union.

The locations were worlds apart, both in miles and mentalities.

April 18, 1965 — It was Easter Sunday, a day that virtually everyone in Brookings gathered at church, both weekly congregates and twice-a-year attendees.

First Lt. Josef Thorne was at a church service that day, too. He attended a church service on the shores of the South China Sea. Thorne was a record-setting running back for what was South Dakota State College when he graduated in 1963. He had opted to fulfill his two-year military obligation rather than play for Vince Lombardi and the Green Bay Packers.

Fulfilling commitments was a long-established quality of the 24-year-old civil engineering graduate.
Therefore, after the service, he wrote a letter to his wife, the former Diane Hoover of Clear Lake, and his 3-year-old son, Travis. Then he climbed into a UH-1B Huey helicopter.

Fateful mission reshaped South Dakota's image of war

Thorne was assigned to fly a combat mission with his Huey helicopter gunship near Qui Nhon, Vietnam, along with another aircraft. Enemy groundfire struck both helicopters. Thorne’s copter exploded on the coastal plain when it hit the ground. Nine U.S. servicemen were killed in the two copters. First Lt. Thorne was among them.

It was only 41 days after the first U.S. combat forces arrived in Vietnam. Thorne was among the first South Dakotans to die in the war.

Suddenly, the Vietnam War was no longer news from a distant land. It became the bolt that sent people to their rotary phone and opened every conversation.

Thorne’s memorial service was held in SDSU’s Doner Auditorium, with more than 800 in attendance. Then-U.S. Sen. George McGovern stated in the Congressional Record, “He was a hero to thousands of South Dakota schoolboys. His death brings the war in Vietnam closer to the heart of every South Dakota citizen.”

"The Wall That Heals" comes to Thorne’s turf

As meaningful as the service was, only Thorne’s remains were buried at Greenwood Cemetery in Brookings. The pain of that loss, especially for his family, remained with them as a bittersweet visitor. Now, more than 60 years after the loss, the pain has been smoothed by the sands of time but never fully buried.

However, this June, some members of his family did edge closer to emotional healing.

From June 11 to 14, the traveling Vietnam Memorial Wall, billed as “The Wall That Heals,” was in Brookings. Among those to visit were Tracy Thorne '83 of Huron and Tim Thorne of Brookings, two of Joe Thorne's four surviving siblings. 

Tracy, the youngest of the six children of Mel and Mary Jane Thorne, said, “I haven’t seen the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, so I was excited to see the traveling wall in June. It was impactful — in a tough but good way.  Even after all these years, it was still a time of sadness but also of healing.”

The wall includes the names of more than 58,000 U.S. service members who gave their lives in the war. Thorne was the 21st to die. There were 192 from South Dakota, six from Brookings County. There were four SDSU grads, according to ROTC records — Thorne, Evart Robson, Richard Larson and Gerald Swayze.

Thorne remains a South Dakota legend

“This wall is a legacy for all that were affected,” Tracy Thorne said. “It’s really heartwarming to think that people have fond memories of Joe after all these years. SDSU football was always important to our family, especially our parents, and the university has been kind to Joe’s memory.  

“It’s been over 60 years since Joe was killed, but wonderful memorials keep his memory alive and his sacrifice in perspective, at least for me. There’s the dedication of the 1st Lt. Josef L. Thorne Memorial Bridge over the Vermillion River near Beresford, the South Dakota Sports Hall of Fame and the beautiful Thorne Hall on the SDSU campus.”

One could say fate made Thorne one of the first South Dakota casualties of the war. However, it isn't fate that Thorne is still a legend at South Dakota State and beyond.

Nelson traces Thorne’s impact on his life

Barry Nelson was a fellow collegian who briefly played at SDSU with Thorne and later also flew Hueys in Vietnam.

“Joe Thorne had an outsized impact on my life, in college and just after. I had completed sophomore year, thinking of entering advanced Army ROTC in the fall — but aware that as a recently married man, baby on the way, I probably could avoid military service. The example Joe had set by pursuing a commission in those same circumstances helped persuade me to go ahead.

“Later came time to decide whether to take the Army up on an offer to buy me flight lessons at Brookings in exchange for a promise to accept orders to Army flight school after commissioning. Hey, Joe did it, it must be OK, right?

“And so it was that in April 1965, my wife and I were watching from our quarters on my very first day at primary helicopter school, when Walter Cronkite brought us the story of eight flag-draped caskets coming back from Vietnam — one, he announced, bearing the remains of 1st Lt. Josef Thorne from South Dakota.

“That was an impact I couldn’t shake off. But, with Joe never far from my mind, I completed my training, served one anxious year flying Hueys in Vietnam and soon left the Army. To this day, I mull the randomness of fate that brings some soldiers home to live lives and grow old and denies that chance to others who may have deserved it more.”

Nelson made those comments in an online post after South Dakota Magazine published an article about Thorne and the then-new Thorne Hall at SDSU in 2011.

‘I hope we never forget their sacrifices’

Thorne’s wife, Diane, spoke with the Collegian newspaper shortly after her husband’s death. She said, “He was fighting for a cause, and never once did he complain or regret what he was doing. He wasn’t afraid, and it was his choice to go into assault training. … I’m sure Joe had no regrets. He could never sit on the sidelines.”

Thorne’s initial duty in Vietnam was shuttling mail and top brass in his helicopter. He tired of that and asked for combat missions.

“He said he didn’t want to be a cheerleader on the sidelines,” his father, Mel Thorne, recalled in a 2011 interview for another SDSU publication.

Tracy Thorne was only 4 when his brother died. His firsthand memories of Joe are minimal. “It won’t be long, and everyone who knew Joe will also be leaving." (Wife Diane Hamilton and son Travis Thorne are both in Geneseo, New York, as is his grandson, Josef Thorne; sisters Jeanne Weiland and Julie Larson are in Scottsdale, Arizona, and Omaha, respectively; and brother Roy and Joe’s parents are deceased.) 

Tracy Thorne continued, “It’s a little philosophical and a lot emotional to think of all the ways Joe’s life might have impacted things if he hadn’t died so young. When I think back about how Joe’s life and death impacted so many people, especially his wife, young son and our family — and the ripples which are still spreading after all these years — I can’t help but think of all the families behind all the names on that wall.  

“I hope we never forget their sacrifices. Joe was a multisport star for a brief time, then an unsung hero. Thanks to people who continue to honor him, Joe’s legacy will be the selfless and courageous hero he truly was.” 

Written by Dave Graves, University Marketing & Communications