WELCOME TO WEST VIRGINIA BRIDGE RIDE: THE 65 ARE HOME.
SFC Duane A. “Tony” Thornsbury
30, US Army
September 12 marks the passing of SFC Duane A. “Tony” Thornsbury, 30, US Army of Bridgeport WV. He was born April 14th, 1979. We honor and remember him and his late mother Doras Thornsbury.
Tony, a native of Clinton, Md., grew up in Bridgeport, W. Va., enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserves April 1996 as a 92Y, Supply Specialist and came onto active-duty service September 2002. He graduated from Grafton (W.Va.) High School, where he was on the wrestling team.
SFC Thornsbury was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 10th Special Forces Group, Fort Carson, Colo. He died Sep 12, 2009, in Baghdad of injuries sustained during a vehicle rollover. He was on his third deployment to Iraq. Thornsbury had earned his Green Beret in 2006, becoming a weapons sergeant.
One of Tony’s friends said it wasn’t often you meet a person who will make you stop and think, “there is just something about them.” But “Tony was that guy!” Sgt. James Smith wrote in an online memorial. Other friends recalled Thornsbury in a similar fashion. “He was a go-getter, a no-nonsense type of soldier,” Tony Batts wrote in the same online message board, noting he served with Thornsbury in Iraq from 2003-04. Holly Lane of Winchester, Va., recalled Thornsbury as “a part of our family” when he dated her older sister years ago. “He was the one to teach me how to ride a horse and gave me riding lessons,” Lane wrote online.
SFC Thornsbury is survived by one brother.
Let us always remember him, his family, and...
Say His Name
Sgt Scott Angel
24, US Army
September 11 marks the passing of Sgt Scott Angel, US Army, 24, of Gauley Bridge WV. He was born Sept 3rd, 1983. We honor and remember him, his wife, his daughter, his mother Kathy Trent, and family.
Sgt Angel, along with Capt. Scott N. Shimp and Chief Warrant Officer II David M. Stanley all died when their UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter struck power lines in foggy weather and plunged into a pasture in Alabama. They were all assigned to Company C, 4th Battalion, 101st Aviation Regiment, 159th Combat Aviation Brigade, 101st Airborne Division. He died Sept 11th 2007.
He was a graduate of Valley High School at Smithers, where he was a quarterback for Valley's football team and captain of its baseball team. Besides playing football and baseball, Scott also loved hunting deer and fishing.
Valley High School coach Joe Craffey remembered Angel, who was a student/athlete at the former Gauley Bridge High before transferring to play at nearby Valley, as having many attributes a coach looked for in an athlete. “He was always a hard-working kid,” Craffey said of the catcher who was a special honorable mention all-state pick in his senior year. “I never really knew Scott before he started playing for Gauley against us. He was always a good player. He had a good arm and could hit; he had the tools.” “He never said a whole lot,” Craffey continued. “He worked hard at what he had to do and kept his mouth shut. “And he tried to do everything to make himself a better baseball player.”
During the bridge dedication to Scott in 2011 his wife Megan had this to say about Scott’s character:
“For those of you who knew Scott, you know how amazing he was,” Angel told the crowd assembled on a warm late-spring day overlooking the confluence of the Gauley and New rivers. “But for those of you who didn’t have the pleasure, he had a heart of gold and gave the best hugs. “He would give you the shirt off his back if you asked for it and even in his last breath he gave his life for his country. I can’t say enough good things about the person that my husband was. That’s why I am so excited to have this bridge named in his honor. It ensures what I have strived for the past four years and that is that he always be remembered in the hearts of everyone. “This bridge will last long after I am gone, his legacy will now outlive us all. And for that, I am truly thankful. I was blessed to be his wife, and I am very proud to have him remembered in this way.”
When asked today about what his wife Megan would want the world to know about Scott, here is what she said:
“He always wanted everyone around him laughing and having a good time. His sense of humor and his love for every single person was something I’ve never come across again. He said once about a guy he had just met that didn’t care for him “he’ll like me. Just give it a little bit.” And they ended up best friends. It was hard not to like him. He had a charisma and personality that drew people to him. It was like he wanted to have as many people around him as possible to love them and make them laugh.”
He is survived by his loving wife, Megan and daughter, Sophia.
Let us always remember him and his family, and...
Say His Name
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