Horace M. Thorne

Horace Marvin "Buddy" Thorne (September 29, 1918 – December 21, 1944) was a United States Army soldier and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his actions in World War II.

Early life Born in Keansburg, New Jersey, Thorne grew up on a farm in the nearby North Middletown section of Middletown Township. One of his friends in his unit, Sgt. Lindel Pinson, invited Cpl. Thorne on weekend leaves where he met Leah Pinson who became his wife on March 3, 1944. His unit left for Europe in August and by December 21, 1944, was serving as a corporal in Troop D, 89th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron, 9th Armored Division. On that day, near Grufflingen (now part of Burg-Reuland), in Belgium, he voluntarily took up an exposed position on top of a destroyed tank in order to better fire on the German forces. His brother-in-law Sgt. Lindel Pinson, who witnessed his heroism that day, tried unsuccessfully to call him back to a dug-in position. He killed several Germans and scattered the crews of two enemy machine-gun nests before being killed himself. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor nine months later, on September 19, 1945.