HEADQUARTERS
PALM SPRINGS COMPOSITE SQUADRON 11
U.S. CIVIL AIR PATROL
UNITED STATES AIR FORCE AUXILIARY
POST OFFICE BOX 2663   
PALM SPRINGS, CALIFORNIA  92263
(760) 322-6791   

14 September 2007


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SQUADRON MOURNS LOSS OF LIEUTENANT GEORGE THORNALLY
Author and aviator remembered at unit level

(Palm Springs, Calif.) – Palm Springs based U.S. Civil Air Patrol Squadron 11 is saddened to announce the death of 2nd Lieutenant George Thornally, who perished in an aircraft accident. Squadron members were notified Friday, September 14; no other details of the accident were made public.

Thornally, who joined Civil Air Patrol in 2005, held the duty assignment as assistant public affairs officer at the time of his death. He was an FAA-licensed private pilot.

"We really appreciated his enthusiasm and energy," said unit commander Capt. John Craig. "He was a remarkable individual and overcame truly amazing obstacles."

An author and lecturer, Thornally published three nonfiction books and had begun writing a first novel. One book, "Georgie-Boy," is his autobiographical account of the battle with polio which at 16 years old left him alert but completely paralyzed and unable to move or speak.

"I was fighting for life with every part of my being, soul, (and) brain," Thornally said of the incident as a guest on CNN's "Larry King Live" in March 2005. The paralysis lifted after six months, he said. "I had a stellar experience about 3:00 in the morning, during which my body just mended and my brain knitted together, and I knew that I was going to live and that I was going to be all right."

Fully recovered from polio, Thornally pursued careers in real estate, development, and finance before becoming a speaker and college instructor with specialized study in creative behavior. He developed a variety of one-day seminars and two-day corporate workshops in creative problem solving for individuals and large companies. He was available for speaking engagements and seminars until his death.