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Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • War or Conflict: World War, 1939-1945
  • Branch of Service: Army
  • Unit of Service: War Department; Signal Corps
  • Location of Service: Fort Sill, Oklahoma; Alexandria, Virginia

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"When I won that world championship and they put me in all these halls of fame, I told them, 'If there's one thing I was proud of, I was a good representative of my Cherokee Nation and I was a good representative of the United States.' I was proud of that." (Audio Interview, 01:54:26.0)

At the time of his interview in 2016, Joe Thornton was a centenarian and the oldest living alumnus of Chilocco Indian Agricultural School in Oklahoma. His interview is vividly illustrated with stories from his childhood growing up Cherokee in Oklahoma in the early 20th century. Additionally, he was a World War II veteran, drafted when he was 27. Laughing about it years later, he said, "I told them, 'I'm the oldest soldier in basic training in the Army'." (Audio Interview, 00:29:45.0) He served stateside in the Army Signal Corps from 1943 until 1945. But Thornton's highest achievements were in the field of archery. By the end of his life, he had won Gold for the United States at the 1961 World Archery Championships in Oslo, Norway and had been inducted into four Halls of Fame for his skill with a bow: the American Indian Athletic Hall of Fame, the Oklahoma State Archery Association Hall of Fame, the Chilocco Indian School Hall of Fame, and the Cherokee Nation Honor Society.

Joe T. Thornton Collection
Interview / Recording

Transcript: XML

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About this Item

Title

  • Joe T. Thornton Collection

Names

  • Alex Bishop
  • Finchum, Tanya
  • Thornton, Joe T.
  • Milligan, Sarah
  • Oklahoma Oral History Research Program, Edmon Low Library, Oklahoma State University

State of Birth

  • OK

Home State

  • OK

Headings

  • -  Thornton, Joe T.
  • -  United States. Army.
  • -  World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Army.

Notes

  • -  The veteran is a member of the Cherokee Nation. The veteran is an alumni of the Chilocco Indian School.

Repository

  • Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Gender

  • Male

Race

  • American Indian and Alaskan Native

Status

  • Veteran

Service History

    • Branch of Service: Army
    • Location of Service: Fort Sill, Oklahoma
    • Dates of Service: 1934-1937
    • Entrance into Service: Enlisted
    • Military Status: Veteran

  • World War, 1939-1945

    • Branch of Service: Army
    • Unit of Service: War Department; Signal Corps
    • Location of Service: Alexandria, Virginia
    • Dates of Service: 1943-1945
    • Entrance into Service: Enlisted
    • Military Status: Veteran

Materials

  • Computer File: CD [1 item] -- Multiple types of electronic files (collected 09/23/2016)
  • Manuscript: Transcript [1 item] -- Transcription of audio recording (collected 09/23/2016)
  • Audio: DVD [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 09/23/2016)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/111811

Cite as

  • Joe T. Thornton Collection (AFC/2001/001/111811), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Online Format

  • audio
  • image
  • online text

Additional Metadata Formats

IIIF Presentation Manifest

Rights & Access

Using VHP Material in Publication or Exhibition

The Veterans History Project (VHP) at the Library of Congress collects, preserves and makes accessible the firsthand recollections of U.S. military veterans who served from World War I through more recent conflicts and peacekeeping missions, so that future generations may hear directly from veterans and better understand what they saw, did and felt during their service. The Veterans History Project Collection includes oral histories along with documentary materials such as original letters, diaries, photographs, and memoirs.

Veterans and interviewers contribute these materials to the Library for scholarly and educational purposes, retaining any copyright they may hold. Therefore, permission must be obtained before using the interview or other materials in exhibition or publication. Researchers or others who would like to make further use of these materials should contact the Veterans History Project for assistance.

As a publicly supported institution, the Library generally does not own rights to material in its collections. Therefore, it does not charge permission fees for use of such material and cannot give or deny permission to publish or otherwise distribute material in its collections. Responsibility for making an independent legal assessment of an item from the Library’s collections and for securing any necessary permissions rests with persons desiring to use the item.

Please contact us with questions.

Obtaining Copies of VHP Materials

In order for VHP materials to be duplicated, we must receive written permission from the interviewee for you to obtain a copy of the recording unless the proposed use is limited to personal use, research, or other uses permissible by copyright law. If the interviewee is deceased, their next-of-kin may grant written permission.

Please contact VHP for assistance if you need to contact a veteran for permission to use their materials in exhibition or publication, or if you have received permission from the veteran and need access to high-resolution copies of VHP collection materials.

Citing VHP Materials

Please use the following formats when citing Veterans History Project materials (substituting the appropriate name and collection ID number).

Materials as a whole:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Manuscript material:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Memoirs (MS02), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Transcript (MS04), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Correspondence (MS01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Recording:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Audio recording (SR01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Video recording (MV01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Photograph:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Photographs (PH01), photographer unknown, Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Photographs (PH03-PH14), Ralph Williams photographer, Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Computer file:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Computer file (CF01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Artifact:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Artifact (AR01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Alex Bishop, Tanya Finchum, Joe T Thornton, Sarah Milligan, and Edmon Low Library Oklahoma Oral History Research Program. Joe T. Thornton Collection. 1934. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.111811/.

APA citation style:

Alex Bishop, Finchum, T., Thornton, J. T., Milligan, S. & Oklahoma Oral History Research Program, E. L. L. (1934) Joe T. Thornton Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.111811/.

MLA citation style:

Alex Bishop, et al. Joe T. Thornton Collection. 1934. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.111811/>.