Thorson - New Member

Glad to be a new member of a very interesting website.

My uncle was General Truman C. Thorson who was Gen Omar Bradley's G-3 of the 1st Army. I never met him but talked to him once over the phone. He died in 1966.

I am on a mission to learn more about his service in WWII. All of his siblings (including my father) are now deceased. I have a scrapbook that my mother put together of uncle Truman back in the 50's. It consists of newspaper articles and some photos.

My second mission is to learn more about a pair of Japanese urns that I inherited from my parents that was given to them from uncle Truman. The story is that they came from Hitler's "Eagles Nest" (kehlsteinhaus). I have no proof of a Hitler or Eagles Nest connection that other than my connection to my uncle. Other than my uncle's hat and pistol they were the only things given from my uncle to my father. The urns are jade green with a painted French pictoral and about a foot tall. My father and uncle didn't talk about them much when they were alive. Other than my own "Googling" this is my first attempt to find out what the story is with the urns.

I hope someone has more information about my uncle and/or on the Hitler urns. I would appreciate any research advice anyone would want to give. People say I should go on the Antique Road Show, but I am not so sure.

 

Welcome i1rgt00, glad to have you with us!

 

welcome to the forum i1rgt00..

 

Howdy and welcome to the forum. Photos of the urns would be of great help and post them here http://www.ww2f.com/information-requests/ along with any info and questions. Glad to have you with us. Happy posting.

 

Welcome to this fine place! I am sure yu will enjoy your time here so jump right in!

Cheers!

 

Hi,
I have a load of WWII film in France - in one shot there's a group of 3 important guys sit down in a wood (well they MUST be important otherwise they wouldn't have filmed them) and start looking at a map ... on the folder - is the name Thorson - I'm pretty sure .. I'll look through the film again and see if I can take a photo still off it and upload it.

It would be interesting if it was your uncle ... was he in France in WWII?

This is preceded by a shot of some guys in a mini half track driving across a field with the backdrop of a French town and a Cathedral looking spire.

Best wishes ... hoping ....

 

Welcome to the forum. Usually, men who achieved that high rank, and held a staff position as G-3 of an Army, saved everything, letters, staff reports. maps, the works. I suggest you get hold of the book: _Normandy to Victory: The War Diary of General Courtney H. Hodges & The First U.S. Army_ ed. John T. Greenwood. (University Press of Kentucky, 2008). This is a published edition of the famous Sylvan Diary so often quoted by Blumenson, MacDonald, Weigley and other prominant military historians of the ETO. Your uncle is mentioned throughout.

From page 401, n.20: "Truman C. Thorson (23 January 1895 - 10 December 1966) Infantry. Thorson was the Assistant Chief of Staff, G-3, Operations, II Corps after the Sicilian Campaign of July - August 1943. He moved to England and joined First Army, where he remained throughout the war. Thorson retired as a Major General in January 1953."

So...he was on Omar Bradley's staff at II Corps, and remained with Bradley at First Army. However, when Bradley took over 12th Army Group (1 Aug. '44) it appears your uncle remained with First Army. When a commander went up to a higher echelon of command, he either took his familiar staff along with him, or kept the staff that was already in place at the new higher echelon, or a combination of both.

Greg C.

 

Welcome to the forums, you have a very rich history rooted in WWII. Hope you find what you're looking for.

 

Welcome to the forums. I am sure that if you post some specific questions about your uncle you will be apt to get some answers...the urns now that will be some interesting research!

 

Sorry for the delay in getting back to you. Yes, my uncle was in France in WWII. I will attempt to scan a photo of my uncle and you can tell me if he is in the film. He was a slender man with dark hair, but his nickname was "Tubby" (not sure how he got that nickname).

 

Thanks Greg for the book recomendation, and I liked your review of the book in Amazon. I bought that and Bradley's autobiography (A Soldier's Soldier) because it too had many references to General Truman C. Thorson.

I like the feature in Amazon of being able to look at a book's index and search text. I can check if a book contains a reference and then read that page.

Not sure why I was able to edit a reply in this message board. I could pull up a the editing box but, I couldn't enter any text until today.

I have pictures of the urns that I will upload tonight. I am in the process of getting them fully restored since they were dropped in the 60's. Still looking for proof that they once belonged to Hitler.

 

Welcome to the forum matey.

 

My pleasure. Thank you for the kind words about my Amazon review. Good luck in your research, and please keep us posted.

Greg C.

 

Welcome to this fine place i1rgt00 I see you have already met some of our members who are trying to help

 

I new you uncle as a patient at Walter Reed Army Hospital during the year 1958. I have a letter written by him to me in 1959. I knew him very well. Please respond via email @ rs@swensonpi.com.

 

I would like to talk with you as I have been trying to gather information on him also. please email and then we can talk on the phone. rs@swensonpi.com The name is Ralph Swenson

 

RE Thorson: He was my Patient at Walter Reed in 1958. I sat at his bedside and discussed Normanday by the hour. To my supprise, after being seperated from the service he wrote to me at home. (Still have the letter) My email is rs@swensonpi.com if interested in a copy.

 

Wow! Welcome Thorson. I'm looking forward to reading your contributions.

 

Thanks for your post. I will email you and I would like to talk to you too. I would really be interested in the conversations you had with my uncle.