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The information below is from his records and
separation papers
On January 29, 1943 he reported for active duty at Camp
Upton, New York.
He was 5'7", blue eyes and red-sandy hair.
{He was given an I.Q. test which was high and was
recommended for OTS (officers training school), he was not
accepted because he did not have enough math in high school.
Funny, because he ended up being an accountant, heading the
dept. -- he was just a natural with numbers.}
BOOT CAMP
1st row has one soldier
2nd row: Bill is third from left or 2nd from right
(arrow pointing at him)
Left Reception Center, Camp Upton, 1-31-43. On Feb.1, 1943 he
was sent to Camp Siebert, Alabama with the 115th Chemical
Impregnation Company. {My husband told me his job was mainly
dipping uniforms in carbon tetrachloride and wax, to protect the
soldiers from mustard gas. He did not like it, so he went to his
superior and asked for a transfer -- they said Airborne, and he
said "great". He loved jumping.}
"Bill did not like this hat
(this was before paratrooper training)"
He also qualified for Rifle Expert Marksman - 3/18/43
According to records: he left Camp Siebert in Sept. 6,
1943
Transferred to 515th Parachute Infantry at Fort Benning, Ga.
(9/6/43)
Placed on Parachute Status 9/13/43
Qualified as parachutist Oct. 9, 1943. (with PFC Rating)
Communication School, Fort Benning (9 weeks - Qualified for
Radio Operator High Speed 766)
Left Fort Benning 12/16/43 still with 515th -- For Camp Mackall,
North Carolina.
Left Camp Mackall Feb. 1944 to Fort Meade, Md., April 21, 1944
Bill on right, he told me he and this
soldier were very good friends and he died, before going
overseas, or when overseas,
I do not know |
Bill Whittaker on left,
I do not know his friend's name
|
From Fort Meade, he left for North Africa on April 25, 1944.
(by ship)
He landed in Africa May 4, 1944 to 5/11/1944 - APO 512
Then to Italy 5/16 to 5/21/44
Sicily 5/22 to 7/3/44
Rome /Arno campaign: 7/4 to 8/14/44
[Left APO 512 To: APO 758, Co. Battery D-463rd on 8/4/44]
(Rec'd Good Conduct Medal while with the 463rd)
Southern France Campaign combat time 8/15/44 detached 9/14/44
& made parachute jump on 8/15/44 and authorized to wear battle
Stars on EAME Ribbon per Letter NATOUSA [his only battle jump]
Maritime Alps Campaign:
Jausiers, France Front -- 9/15 to 10/24/1944
Nice & Menton, France Fronts -- 10/25 to 12/16/1944
Rhineland, Ardennes, Central Europe Campaign:
Belgium Fronts -- Hemroulle and Foy 12/17/44 to 1/18/45
inclusive.
Soldier participated in Battle of Bastogne -- authorized Unit
Citation Badge per 3rd US Army - Feb. 7, 1945
As stated in the newspaper clipping:
THIS WAS THE FIRST TIME IN U.S. MILITARY HISTORY THAT
A WHOLE DIVISION WAS GIVEN A PRESIDENTIAL UNIT CITATION
"for extraordinary heroism and gallantry in defense of the
key communications center of Bastogne".
[The 101st should be very proud.]
{While overseas he had a drivers permit and drove for a
Lt. Robert C. Smith.}
7th Army Front -- Keffendorf and Winterhouse, France from Jan
25, 1945 to Feb 22, 1945.
Neuss Germany Front--from April 3, 1945 to April 24, 1945
inclusive.
7th Army Front -- Schillingstadt (Shillingsfurst),
Schwabsoien, Starnberg & Thalham,
Germany from April 25 to May 9, 1945 inclusive. Authorized
Bronze Arrowhead.
Austria from July 9, 1945 to July 30, 1945
France: Aug 1, 1945
[RECORDS MISSING HERE]
{records missing here -- I do know he was also in Germany
after peace was declared and one of his duties along with others
was to go to private homes with another soldier to find out if
any SS men were there. I remember him saying how scared these
people were when they knocked on their doors)
He also mentioned being in Berchtesgaden (The Eagle's nest)}
Transferred from 463rd on November 13, 1945 and Reported Nov.
14, 1945 to Service Btry and assigned to 284th FA 101st Hq.,
Camp New York, France
Left Marseilles, France on 12/1/45
Stated on record: Soldiers character: Excellent
Rating as a Soldier: Excellent
Arrived Fort Devens, Massachusetts: Dec. 13, 1945
Prior to Discharge he had his physical on Dec. 18, 1945 -- age
22
Separation Center, Fort Dix, N.J.: Dec. 19, 1945 -- Honorable
Discharge -- signed by Colon S. Auvil, Major, Air Corps.
HOME FOR CHRISTMAS!
As per his separation Qualification Record
MILITARY OCCUPATIONAL SPECIALTY & ASSIGNMENTS
3 months --- Basic Training CWS (521) Grade-Private
5 months --- Basic Training Parachute Infantry (521) Grade-PFC
4 months --- Radio Operator (766) Grade-PFC
16 months --Machine Gunner (605) Grade-PFC
7 months ---Truck Driver for Lt. (345)
Radio Operator: Installed and operated tactical field radio
transmitting and receiving equipment. Sent and received by Morse
Code (CW, ICW or tone). Maintained records pertaining to the
handling of messages. Performed maintenance in cleaning
equipment, inspecting cords, plugs, antenna mast, receiver,
transmitter and calibration charts. Made minor repairs and
adjustments. Possessed working knowledge of combined radio
telephone and radio telegraph and authentication procedures.
Decorations/Citations:
Rec'd Five Battle Stars for: Southern France, Rome-Arno,
Rhineland, Ardennes and Central Europe.
MEDALS: American Service Medal; European-African-Middle Eastern
Service Medal; Good Conduct Medal; Presidential Unit Citation;
WWII Victory Medal
A few stories that he told me -- that I
remember
When my husband jumped in So. France, they had been up 36
hours waiting for a moonless night. They were suppose to bury
their chutes after they landed. He said that when morning came
there were chutes all over the place and he and some other guys
buried many of them and also helped some soldiers who got caught
up in the trees. They finally found where camp was, he was so
tired and hungry and as soon as he got there a Sgt. or Lt. said
"Whittaker, guard that German prisoner"
Bill was so tired, hungry and so angry that he wished he could
have just shot him. He guarded him and when he calmed down, he
really looked at the prisoner and thought "my God, he is just a
kid like me and his parents are just as worried about him as
mine are about me". He then got up, got a cup of coffee from the
camp fire, and handed it to the prisoner.
Bill told the story of how they were out in the field living
in fox holes when they heard planes above and they knew by the
sound of the motors that they were American planes. They yelled
and waved at them when the planes started to machine gun them
and they all jumped into their fox holes, until someone sent a
flare up to tell them they were American soldiers. I do not
think anyone was hurt then.
He also told the story of being in the fields, living in
foxholes, not bathing for weeks when a truck pulled up and they
were told that if they wanted a shower to hop in. They stood in
the back of this truck driving 2 hrs. in winter and when they
got there, the showers were OUTSIDE SHOWERS he said, the h---
with it, took off his clothes, took a shower and put his dirty
clothes back on again and he said it felt great.
Another story he told was -- they were living on rations for
a long time, when someone said they had found some oatmeal
somewhere, they cooked it and it was given out to the guys and
Bill said it was the first and best hot meal he'd had in a long
time when a Lt. came up and said "throw it out, there's worms in
it". The guys complained and said the worms were protein and
were cooked.
Another time they were out in the fields, a couple of them
went hunting and brought back some rabbits, skinned and cleaned
them. Some scrounged around on the old farms and got carrots,
etc. left in the ground and he said it was the best soup he had
ever eaten.
Bill had red/sandy hair and at one time, grew a red
handle-bar mustache and while he was sleeping, one of the guys
cut one end of it off. ;o)
Once he got a piece of shrapnel in his shin (leg), he pulled
it out, put sulfur on it and let it heal itself. Always carried
that scar. These guys were tough, really tough. When they had
weekend leave, the Sgt. would say "You better not be brought
back by an MP, -- it had better be two MPs"
When Marlene Dietrich was in one of those parades in
Mourmelon, March 1945, she was sitting on top of a jeep with
"airborne boots on". Bill said some of the soldiers were yelling
"Hey, Marlene! where did you get the NEW BOOTS, we need some."
One small note: In Orangeburg, NY (a town next to my
husband's hometown) they built a debarkation camp called Camp
Shanks. The town I lived in (5 miles away) was the largest in
the County and the soldiers would come there when they had time
off. They also had dances at West Point, (further up the Hudson
River) for the soldiers as well as the cadets there.
It was very noticeable that many more MP's were on duty in my
town of Nyack, when the Paratroopers were in. (at that time we
knew who they were by their boots) I was in high school at the
time and I don't ever remember there being trouble from the
soldiers. They were good soldiers and were treated well by the
people living in this community. As a High School student many
of us volunteered at the local hospital doing the menial jobs
the R.N.'s used to do, as many of them were in the Service.
I remember the fire drills and the bomb drills in school as
well as being finger-printed because we lived so close to NYC
and there was always fear that the City would be bombed. I
remember the rationing of all foods, gas, etc. and the black-out
drills. I also remember V-E day with the people singing and
yelling and blowing horns in the streets. I graduated June 1945.
Bastogne Poem, by Capt. Bernard J. McKearney
(502nd Parachute Infantry, E Company).
Mrs. Sue Whittaker : "I do know that Bill sent this original
to his Mother and she kept it and gave it back to him. (as her
note suggests)." The note says: "Jack you sent this poem to me
while you was overseas in the war. Bob had copies made of it but
I have the original you sent me. Do you remember it?"
THE HILLS OF BASTOGNE
The Crops should be full in Belgium next year.
The soil should be fertile, but the price has been dear.
The wheat should be red on the hills of Bastogne.
For the roots have been drenched with the blood of our own.
Battered and reeling we stand in their way.
Its here we are and here we will stay.
Embittered, wrathful, we watch our pals fall.
God where's the end, the end of it all ?
Confident and powerful, they strike at our lines.
But we beat them back -- fighting for time.
Berserk with fury, they are hitting us now.
Flesh against steel --We'll hold-- But how?
For each day that we stay, more Mothers must grieve,
For each hill that we hold, more men we must leave.
Yes, honor the men who will someday come home,
But pray for the men 'neath the hills of Bastogne.
This poem was written by
Bernard J. McKearney,
1st Lt., Infantry
during the siege of Bastogne, Belgium
on Dec. 24th when the fighting was at its worst.
After the War:
Bill was introduced to me by a good friend who was dating his
brother, Bob. That was March 1946, just a few months after he
got home. (his mother said I calmed him down ;o). I remember
that he had one "flashback" when we were out one evening. We had
parked at a restaurant & behind it was a railroad. A diesel was
on the tracks braking and all of a sudden he jumped out of the
car so fast and ducked under it. (a 1928 Plymouth). I asked him
what happened and he said "I thought that was a screaming
mee-mee (bomb)." So sad.
We were engaged a year later and married Nov. 16, 1947. We have
two children: a daughter Mary, born 1951 and a son John, born
1953. He was a very good husband and father and very much loved.
Like all the veterans, he only spoke of the good times in the
Service. He got a job in NYC -- in 1955 he was transferred to
Pennsylvania, as an accountant, then transferred to West
Virginia in 1962. He was a pretty good golfer and enjoyed
fishing.
Once our son, around age 9 asked his dad: "Dad, we won the
war, didn't we" and my husband thought and said "son, no one
wins a war, everyone loses". Another time John asked "Dad, did
you ever shoot a man?
-- Bill said, "son, I never deliberately aimed my gun at another
human being, I did shoot at the enemy."
When our son was 18, he was in the last class that had to
register with Selective Service and seemed excited about it when
he told us. When he left the room, my husband looked at me and
said "if he ever has to go to war, I would give anything to go
in his place -- I would never want him to go through what I went
through"
(I guess that says it all about 'war')
Bill liked seeing documentaries on the 'war' -- I guess
because it was from a different perspective. He retired October
1983 at age 60 -- found out he had metastatic renal cancer seven
months later and died December 20, 1985 at age 62.
Mrs. and Mr. Whittaker at his
retirement dinner
Mrs. Whittaker : "He was the best
person you could ever meet"
His motto through life was: "I am just as good as anyone else
and anyone else is just as good as me."
He lived that and though a rough and tough soldier, he was a
gentle, conservative man who could be tough when he had to
--still missed by wife and children.
Signed: Sue Whittaker |
