Family, Friends & Fellow Officers Remember...

Your heroism and service is honored today, the 85th anniversary of your death. Your memory lives and you continue to inspire. Thank you for your service. My cherished son Larry Lasater was a fellow police officer who was murdered in the the line of duty on April 24, 2005 while serving as a Pittsburg, CA police officer.

Time never diminishes respect. Your memory will always be honored and revered.

Rest In Peace.

Phyllis Loya
Mom of fallen California Officer Larry Lasater, Pittsburg PD, eow 4/24/05

December 19, 2011

Agent Thorwaldson, you died in the service of us all. We owe you our gratitude. On this 82nd anniversary of your tragic death, I wish to thank you and all ATF Agents for what they do for us on a daily basis. Fresno California was also lucky to have you.

God Bless and may you continue to Rest in Peace, Brother.

Ptl. Jim Leahy, Jr.
Harvard University Police Dept.

December 19, 2008

Jay,

I am so pleased that you learned of the Officer Down Memorial Page, Inc., and shared in the honorable recognition of your Grandfather. Thank you for the additional information, as it really helps in personalizing his memorial. Your Grandfather looked like an ATF Agent. He looks like a Special Agent in Charge . . . an extremely sharp looking troop. You have every reason to be proud. I was honored to leave a reflection for him in 2004. Take care, stay safe. With respect for you and your Grandfather, Jim Crotty (former Richmond, VA Police Officer).

Special Agent Jim Crotty (Ret.)
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms

November 10, 2008

You are remembered today and thank you Sir for your service

Pat Van Den Berghe, Manchester, NH
Neighbors for a Better Manchester, NH

December 10, 2007

Horace Thorwaldson was my grandfather, and I regret I had not heard of this ceremony. He died long before I was born (in 1940), but years later a friend found a campaign button from his 1915 campaign for sheriff -- which I thought from family tales was 1912. From the photo on the campaign button (actually a small mirror), not only did I discover I looked more like him than I did my father but we sported identical full mustaches.

He was a native of Iceland who came to America via Canadian immigration in 1883 at age 13 -- with four brothers, four sisters and their mother. In his reelection bid for sheriff, his Icelandic accent reportedly sounded a bit too foreign, or specifically German, and he lost by a few hundred votes -- but was quickly hired by the ATF. According to the family stories, he was special agent in charge of the region at the time of his death.

As a teenager in the 1950s I met a man fishing at Shaver Lake who turned out to be the highway patrol officer who investigated the crash. He was fatally injured as was his wife, Cornelia, when a roadster pulled out in front of them while they were driving toward Firebaugh to supervise a raid on a still. A decade later, I met an older woman who said she was his niece, and 6 years old when he died. She remembered the family crying, and they believed he was run off the road by the mob -- against whom he had testified in court. My dad remembered him as a bit stern, upright and very professional and well-respected in the law enforcement profession.

A.Jay Ellis Thorwaldson, Editor
Palo Alto Weekly

October 29, 2005

Horace, I honor you.

Jim Crotty, Special Agent (Ret.) ATF
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms

August 11, 2004