Col. Thornton Akin Burns, Jr. US Army (Ret)

Col. Thornton Akin Burns, Jr. US ARMY (Ret) Forsyth . . . Col. Thornton Akin Burns, Jr. US ARMY (Ret) died Saturday, December 8, 2012. Funeral services will be held at 3:00 p.m., Tuesday, December 11, 2012, at Forsyth First Baptist Church with burial in Forsyth City Cemetery. Dr. H. Darrell Watson will officiate. The family will greet friends from 6:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m., Monday, December 10, 2012, at Monroe County Memorial Chapel. Col. Burns, the son of the late Thornton Akin Burns, Sr. and Mary Emily Zellner Burns, was born July 12, 1932, in Forsyth, Georgia. He was a graduate of Gordon Military College, Barnesville, Georgia. He attended Virginia Military Institute, Lexington, Virginia and was a graduate of the United States Military Academy, West Point, New York. He retired after twenty-eight years from the United States Army, having served two tours of duty in Vietnam, and served as the United States Army Defense Attaché Officer at the US Embassy Helsinki, Finland. Survivors include his wife, Susan V. Burns of Forsyth, daughter, Katherine (Craig) Basel of Richmond Hill, Georgia, sister, Charlotte Burns Adams of Tucker, Georgia, brother, Andrew David Burns of Commerce, Georgia, grandchildren, Christian Paul Basel of Charleston, South Carolina, Nicholas Craig Basel of Sandy Springs, Georgia and Kathleen Thornton Basel of Statesboro, Georgia. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to the Vietnam Veterans of America, PO Box 1144, Forsyth, GA 31029 or to the Wounded Warrior Project, Post Office Box 758517, Topeka, Kansas 66675. Monroe County Memorial Chapel has charge of arrangements.