The World War II Memorial

     Cynthiana's Courthouse Square

Two memorials have been placed on Cynthiana's courthouse square to commemorate those from Harrison County who fought and who died in both Word Wars I & II.  Only the World War II memorial lists any servicemen by name, which appear as follows:

"In Memory Of Our Heroic Dead World War II"
Edward R. Dearing Carl W. Whitson Robert C. Luke Edgar E. Anness Hillard C. Mullin James E. Rees Benjamin R. Whiteker Jerry Walsh John W. Monson Stanley R. Justice Martin L. Henson Ralph L. Bean Ray L. Gill William C. Campbell McClure M. Caswell Henry Fooks George A. Peters James R. Tolle Edwin R. Saunders Sidney C. McNees Clarence Sadler Eugene L. Lizer Lee Burkhart Jobie V. Howard		Harry S. McNees John H.R. Price Albert F. Howard Raymond B. Edwards Charles R. Price Allen R. McCauley Karle H. Rohs Josephus Tolle Everett W. McBee Harold Giles Kenneth L. Mason Robert E. Williams John W. Pigg Purdy R. Bedford Carl M. Cobb Neville C. Benson Harold Hutchison Ralph Harris Howard Sage Howard R. Butcher Edgar K. Hisle Emmett D. Harney Ernest B. Fooks Robert E. Meeks George W. Elliott

To read the interesting story of one of these men through his letters, click here.

To learn more about WWII, try visiting these interesting sites:

• National WWII Memorial, Washington, D.C.

• National WWII Memorial, Washington, D.C. (NPS)

• The National WWII Museum

• The National Archives - WWII

• The Army Air Force

Recently Dan Clifford of Sunrise wrote to me asking if I would like some interesting letters to add to www.HarrisonCountyKy.US. Dan had a scrapbook of World War II memorabilia which once belonged to Mrs. Joella (Whiteker) Bramel (1914-1993). It had since been passed on to other family members after her death, and was part of an estate auction when Dan’s brother Ben recognized it for what it was, before it was almost thrown away.

The scrapbook contained newspaper clippings, photographs, and letters, 26 of which were written by Sunrise native 1st Lt. Benjamin Rees Whiteker (Joella Bramel’s brother) when he was in training and in the service overseas with the Army Air Force in the Pacific during World War II.

Dan has had these letters typed up and the texts will soon be available for viewing at www.HarrisonCountyKy.US/WW2/. The contents of the scrapbook almost tell the story of Lt. Whiteker’s life and career without the need for any elaboration, and so, other than the brief bio presented below and some captions, almost all the material presented in these four pages has been taken directly from Lt. Whiteker’s writings and memorabilia.

Of course, Lt. Whiteker’s story is just one of the many hundreds that have and could be told by the soldiers, sailors, marines, and airmen from Harrison County who served during World War II. If you want to learn more about their stories, be sure to visit the Cynthiana-Harrison County Museum . . . and be sure to ask for Harold Slade.

Growing Up in Sunrise

Benjamin Rees Whiteker (b. August 15, 1920) was the son of Joseph Desha Whiteker (1883-1958) and Mollie (Arnold) Whiteker (1891-1976), of Sunrise in the northern part of Harrison County. In addition to Whitekers and Arnolds, his pedigree was populated by Kings and Mullens, Adams and Lemons, and Whalens and Juetts, all of whom had settled and lived in the northern hill country of Harrison County, as well as in neighboring Pendleton County, for at least a century before his Ben’s birth. Most were successful farmers, of moderate means and politics, with a sprinkling of a livestock trader here and a blacksmith there . . . plus a lot of homemakers who tried to keep their husbands honest!

Ben went to the local school and graduated from Sunrise High when he was but sixteen-years-old, the valedictorian of his class. Georgetown College was next on his agenda. Fraternities tried to distract him from his studies, but school was a “snap.” He once said that he would just as well “like to stay at home and raise tobacco and be with everybody around Sunrise and be a clod hopper.” After Georgetown College he took courses in refrigeration and air conditioning and landed a good job making machine gears at the Frigidaire plant of General Motors in Dayton, Ohio.

He was inducted into military service as an Aviation Cadet at Ft Harrison, just outside of Indianapolis, but he wasn’t the first of his family to join the ranks. His brother, Fred Desha Whiteker left April 9, 1942, just four months after Pearl Harbor, and his brother, Lewis Russell, also served with Uncle Sam.

The Missions of Lt. Whiteker & His Crew

     HEADQUARTERS 13TH, AAF, SOUTHWEST PACIFIC – Lt. B.R. Whiteker, R.D. 2, Cynthiana, a B-24 Liberator pilot in the 13th AAF, bombed his first big-city target when he flew in the opening land-based strike against Nichols and Nielson airdromes, Manila.

     An old dream came true for Whiteker and his fellow fliers in the “jungle air force” when they passed over Manila to pound the big airdromes on the outskirts of town. In more than two years of combat in three Pacific theaters of war, the 13th AAF previously had never sighted a large town or city.

     Targets assigned for destruction by the “Fightin’ 13th’s” squadrons have included the powerful strongholds built up by the Japs on conquered jungle islands. Lt. Whiteker’s outfit, the Bomber Barons, participated in 13th AAF campaigns that neutralized Guadalcanal, the northern Solomons, Bougainville, Rabaul, Kavieng, New Guinea, Truk, Yap, Balikpapan and Tarakan in Borneo, the Netherlands East Indies and the Philippines.

     A complete pattern of direct hits made the two Manila airdromes temporarily useless in the opening raid by Liberators. That, said Lt. Whiteker, was a thrill – but the biggest thrill was the sight of Manila with its streets, racetracks, yacht club and homes.

Lost at Sea

An undated newspaper clipping, perhaps from the Log Cabin, gives the details of a letter that Lt. Whiteker’s parents received from Pat J. Patterson, Major, Air Corps, Commanding, 394th Bombardment Squadron, in regard to the death of their son:

On April 30, 1945, our Squadron took off from Guiuan Air Strip, Samar Island, Philippine Group, for a combat bombing mission on Davao, Mindanao Island, Philippine Group. The flight to, and over the target, was successful. After we had completed dropping our bombs, we proceeded toward Morotai Island in the Molucca Group, where we planned to land.

     We were approximately thirty miles from Morotai Island, near Roae Island, flying in our usual Squadron formation, when two of the airplanes in the formation, one of which your son was flying in as Pilot, collided. The collision damaged both planes severely, causing them to crash into the ocean immediately. There were no survivors on either plane, and only one of the bodies was recovered after a thorough search had been made by surface craft and low flying search planes. It is believed that death was instantaneous.

It was also reported that the Whitekers also received the following letter from George C. Kenney, General, United States Army, Commanding, Headquarters, Far East Air Forces:

I have made inquiries regarding the death of your son in response to your letter of June 2.  Lt. Whiteker was the pilot of one of the two B-24s which collided over Roae Island, off Morotai Island, on the 30th of April last. Both airplanes were completely destroyed, and there were no survivors. The body of Flight Officer Arthur B. Sobol, navigator, was the only one recovered and he was buried at Morotai. I am deeply sorry to be the bearer of such bad news, Mrs. Whiteker, but I feel sure that you will prefer to have the whole story and to know that Lt. Whiteker must have been killed instantly in the crash and did not suffer.

Major Patterson’s comments served as a fitting eulogy for Lt. Whiteker:

During the four and one half months that your son served with this Squadron as Pilot, he performed his duties in a highly exemplary manner.  At all times he maintained a high spirit, both in extra activities within the Squadron and in the actual performance of his duties.  His loyalty and devotion to duty reflected highest credit to himself and the armed forces, and served as an inspiration to all associated with him.  On behalf of the Officers and Enlisted Men, I wish to extend deepest sympathy for the sacrifice you have made, for I well understand the pride you had in your son. Although we cannot share parental feeling, we keenly feel the loss of a fine Officer.

To obtain a PDF version of the texts below or to see see the March 2009 issue of the Harrison Heritage News, just click on the link.