The funeral service for Mr. Henry Paul Whitten, 95 of LaGrange GA will be Wednesday, November 26, at 11:00 a.m. at Gray Brown-Service Mortuary Chapel, Anniston, AL, with the Dr. Billy Harris officiating. Burial will follow at Forrest Lawn Cemetery in Anniston. The family will receive friends one hour prior to the service. Mr. Whitten passed away Thursday, November 20, 2014 at West Georgia Hospice in LaGrange, GA.
Mr. Whitten was preceded in death by his wife of 60 years, Sammie Lane Fox Whitten. Survivors include two brothers, Rev. Charles Whitten of Clinton, Mississippi, and Dr. W.A. Whitten, Jr. (Lucille), of Sugar Hill, GA; one son, Stephen Paul Whitten (Kay), and a daughter, Brenda Whitten Thomas; five grandchildren, Amanda Trask (Dale), Emily Fueger (Markus), Sarah Miles (Jason), Andrew Whitten and Julia Whitten; and seven great-grandchildren, Riley, Owen, Laney, and Peyton Trask, Max and Emma Fueger, and Ava Cate Miles. Pallbearers will be Dale Trask, Markus Fueger, Jason Miles, and Andrew Whitten.
Mr. Whitten was a native of Choctaw County, Mississippi, and a long-time resident of Anniston, AL. For the past ten years he resided at Vernon Woods Retirement Community in LaGrange, GA. He was a graduate of Mississippi College and the University of Illinois. He served in the 2nd Armored Division of the Army during WWII and worked for 30 years at Fort McClellan and Aberdeen Proving Ground for the U.S. Army Chemical Corp School as a Scientific Advisor, serving as standing chairman of the NATO Quatrapartite Committee. He was a deacon and Sunday School teacher at Parker Memorial Baptist Church, Anniston, AL.
Donations may be given in Mr. Whitten's memory to West Georgia Hospice, 1510 Vernon Road LaGrange, GA 30240 or to Parker Memorial Baptist Church 1205 Quintard Ave, Anniston, AL 36201.
Published in LaGrange Daily News from Nov. 24 to Nov. 25, 2014
**********************
1930 United States Federal Census about Willie A Whitten
Name: Willie A Whitten
Gender: Male
Birth Year: abt 1894
Birthplace: Mississippi
Race: White
Home in 1930: Beat 4, Choctaw, Mississippi
Map of Home: View Map
Marital Status: Married
Relation to Head of House: Head
Spouse's Name: Velma V Whitten
Father's Birthplace: Mississippi
Mother's Birthplace: Mississippi
Occupation:
Education:
Military service:
Rent/home value:
Age at first marriage:
Parents' birthplace
Name Age
Willie A Whitten 36
Velma V Whitten 31
Paul H Whitten 10
Charles W Whitten 7
Willie A Whitten 0
[8/12]
***********************
LaGrange Daily News (GA) - December 31, 2014
Author/Byline: John Tures Contributing columnistSection: opinon
Most of you probably don't know Paul Whitten . He passed away last month, but not before he left us a small piece of history. His daughter provided his personal memoirs in a book titled "To Beulah and Back" about role in the bloodiest battle in America's history: the Battle of the Bulge.
Whitten was born on a small farm in Mississippi. He struggled with a speech impediment, but that didn't stop him from valiantly serving in the 2nd Armored Division. He and his division joined the war in Morocco, fought their way across Algeria to Tunisia. Then he fought the German army in Sicily. He and his fellow soldiers landed in Normandy after D-Day, and defeated the Germans at Carentan, France.
As his unit raced across France, he wrote about all he saw, from the ubiquitous "Kilroy was here" graffiti to driving through apple orchards to heading past Waterloo. He even described an amusing moment where a grateful French family raced over to profusely thank him, while he was in the middle of using a latrine, clearly embarrassed.
Whitten also described the horrors of the war in Europe. As he, the LTC, and a driver named "Snake" Hodges drove in a Jeep loaded with sandbags on the floor – a precaution against landmines – he noted, "We saw the results of the battle that had taken place a day or two before."
"Dead soldiers were lying alongside the road. You never forget the cold, glazed, icy stare of dead men. In places, they were stacked like cordwood, awaiting … trucks to haul them off. In some places we had to drive around some dead person sprawled on the road. This was an awesome sight for this Mississippi farm boy to see – a sight etched in my memory that I will never forget."
The brave Mississippi farm boy nearly joined them, as his uncovered position was raked by 88mm shells near St. Lo. Though Whitten downplays his role in that fighting, he was given a Bronze Star Medal.
But that was a mere prelude to the events of Dec. 16-26. Stanley Weintraub's book "11 Days in December" lists American casualties as 100,000, making it the bloodiest battle in U.S. history. He and the 2nd Armored Division raced 100 miles in less than a day to join the fighting to stem the onslaught of 200,000 of Hitler's best soldiers and rescue besieged Americans. Fellow soldiers from his group lost fingers and toes to frostbite, but they smashed the 2nd Panzer Division.
During the battle, he and several soldiers spent nights in a Belgian home. The grateful family cooked their rations up to taste like fresh eggs and bacon. Even after the war, he continued to correspond with the Deville family.
Whitten wrote of a Christmas Day present of an end to the blizzard which prevented Allied air attacks. Hundreds of planes proceeded to destroy enemy positions. Eventually, he and his fellow members of the Ninth Army pushed down to meet up with General George Patton's Army, catching the German troops in a vise, ending the final Nazi offensive.
Whitten would go on to be one of the first American soldiers to enter Berlin. He came home to get married, go to college, and even graduate school. He even served several years as the Standing Chairman on an international committee on Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Defense during the Cold War, before retiring to Anniston, Alabama.
Though Whitten died just shy of the 70th Anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge, his daughter, an English professor and colleague of mine, brought over a scan of Whitten 's World War II service. It's another reminder of the sacrifice that he and so many other "ordinary" Americans made to earn the moniker "The Greatest Generation.
-------------------------
Mr. Whitten was preceded in death by his wife of 60 years, Sammie Lane Fox Whitten. Survivors include two brothers, Rev. Charles Whitten of Clinton, Mississippi, and Dr. W.A. Whitten, Jr. (Lucille), of Sugar Hill, GA; one son, Stephen Paul Whitten (Kay), and a daughter, Brenda Whitten Thomas; five grandchildren, Amanda Trask (Dale), Emily Fueger (Markus), Sarah Miles (Jason), Andrew Whitten and Julia Whitten; and seven great-grandchildren, Riley, Owen, Laney, and Peyton Trask, Max and Emma Fueger, and Ava Cate Miles. Pallbearers will be Dale Trask, Markus Fueger, Jason Miles, and Andrew Whitten.
Mr. Whitten was a native of Choctaw County, Mississippi, and a long-time resident of Anniston, AL. For the past ten years he resided at Vernon Woods Retirement Community in LaGrange, GA. He was a graduate of Mississippi College and the University of Illinois. He served in the 2nd Armored Division of the Army during WWII and worked for 30 years at Fort McClellan and Aberdeen Proving Ground for the U.S. Army Chemical Corp School as a Scientific Advisor, serving as standing chairman of the NATO Quatrapartite Committee. He was a deacon and Sunday School teacher at Parker Memorial Baptist Church, Anniston, AL.
Donations may be given in Mr. Whitten's memory to West Georgia Hospice, 1510 Vernon Road LaGrange, GA 30240 or to Parker Memorial Baptist Church 1205 Quintard Ave, Anniston, AL 36201.
Published in LaGrange Daily News from Nov. 24 to Nov. 25, 2014
**********************
1930 United States Federal Census about Willie A Whitten
Name: Willie A Whitten
Gender: Male
Birth Year: abt 1894
Birthplace: Mississippi
Race: White
Home in 1930: Beat 4, Choctaw, Mississippi
Map of Home: View Map
Marital Status: Married
Relation to Head of House: Head
Spouse's Name: Velma V Whitten
Father's Birthplace: Mississippi
Mother's Birthplace: Mississippi
Occupation:
Education:
Military service:
Rent/home value:
Age at first marriage:
Parents' birthplace
Name Age
Willie A Whitten 36
Velma V Whitten 31
Paul H Whitten 10
Charles W Whitten 7
Willie A Whitten 0
[8/12]
***********************
LaGrange Daily News (GA) - December 31, 2014
Author/Byline: John Tures Contributing columnistSection: opinon
Most of you probably don't know Paul Whitten . He passed away last month, but not before he left us a small piece of history. His daughter provided his personal memoirs in a book titled "To Beulah and Back" about role in the bloodiest battle in America's history: the Battle of the Bulge.
Whitten was born on a small farm in Mississippi. He struggled with a speech impediment, but that didn't stop him from valiantly serving in the 2nd Armored Division. He and his division joined the war in Morocco, fought their way across Algeria to Tunisia. Then he fought the German army in Sicily. He and his fellow soldiers landed in Normandy after D-Day, and defeated the Germans at Carentan, France.
As his unit raced across France, he wrote about all he saw, from the ubiquitous "Kilroy was here" graffiti to driving through apple orchards to heading past Waterloo. He even described an amusing moment where a grateful French family raced over to profusely thank him, while he was in the middle of using a latrine, clearly embarrassed.
Whitten also described the horrors of the war in Europe. As he, the LTC, and a driver named "Snake" Hodges drove in a Jeep loaded with sandbags on the floor – a precaution against landmines – he noted, "We saw the results of the battle that had taken place a day or two before."
"Dead soldiers were lying alongside the road. You never forget the cold, glazed, icy stare of dead men. In places, they were stacked like cordwood, awaiting … trucks to haul them off. In some places we had to drive around some dead person sprawled on the road. This was an awesome sight for this Mississippi farm boy to see – a sight etched in my memory that I will never forget."
The brave Mississippi farm boy nearly joined them, as his uncovered position was raked by 88mm shells near St. Lo. Though Whitten downplays his role in that fighting, he was given a Bronze Star Medal.
But that was a mere prelude to the events of Dec. 16-26. Stanley Weintraub's book "11 Days in December" lists American casualties as 100,000, making it the bloodiest battle in U.S. history. He and the 2nd Armored Division raced 100 miles in less than a day to join the fighting to stem the onslaught of 200,000 of Hitler's best soldiers and rescue besieged Americans. Fellow soldiers from his group lost fingers and toes to frostbite, but they smashed the 2nd Panzer Division.
During the battle, he and several soldiers spent nights in a Belgian home. The grateful family cooked their rations up to taste like fresh eggs and bacon. Even after the war, he continued to correspond with the Deville family.
Whitten wrote of a Christmas Day present of an end to the blizzard which prevented Allied air attacks. Hundreds of planes proceeded to destroy enemy positions. Eventually, he and his fellow members of the Ninth Army pushed down to meet up with General George Patton's Army, catching the German troops in a vise, ending the final Nazi offensive.
Whitten would go on to be one of the first American soldiers to enter Berlin. He came home to get married, go to college, and even graduate school. He even served several years as the Standing Chairman on an international committee on Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Defense during the Cold War, before retiring to Anniston, Alabama.
Though Whitten died just shy of the 70th Anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge, his daughter, an English professor and colleague of mine, brought over a scan of Whitten 's World War II service. It's another reminder of the sacrifice that he and so many other "ordinary" Americans made to earn the moniker "The Greatest Generation.
-------------------------
The funeral service for Mr. Henry Paul Whitten, 95 of LaGrange GA will be Wednesday, November 26, at 11:00 a.m. at Gray Brown-Service Mortuary Chapel, Anniston, AL, with the Dr. Billy Harris officiating. Burial will follow at Forrest Lawn Cemetery in Anniston. The family will receive friends one hour prior to the service. Mr. Whitten passed away Thursday, November 20, 2014 at West Georgia Hospice in LaGrange, GA.
Mr. Whitten was preceded in death by his wife of 60 years, Sammie Lane Fox Whitten. Survivors include two brothers, Rev. Charles Whitten of Clinton, Mississippi, and Dr. W.A. Whitten, Jr. (Lucille), of Sugar Hill, GA; one son, Stephen Paul Whitten (Kay), and a daughter, Brenda Whitten Thomas; five grandchildren, Amanda Trask (Dale), Emily Fueger (Markus), Sarah Miles (Jason), Andrew Whitten and Julia Whitten; and seven great-grandchildren, Riley, Owen, Laney, and Peyton Trask, Max and Emma Fueger, and Ava Cate Miles. Pallbearers will be Dale Trask, Markus Fueger, Jason Miles, and Andrew Whitten.
Mr. Whitten was a native of Choctaw County, Mississippi, and a long-time resident of Anniston, AL. For the past ten years he resided at Vernon Woods Retirement Community in LaGrange, GA. He was a graduate of Mississippi College and the University of Illinois. He served in the 2nd Armored Division of the Army during WWII and worked for 30 years at Fort McClellan and Aberdeen Proving Ground for the U.S. Army Chemical Corp School as a Scientific Advisor, serving as standing chairman of the NATO Quatrapartite Committee. He was a deacon and Sunday School teacher at Parker Memorial Baptist Church, Anniston, AL.
Donations may be given in Mr. Whitten's memory to West Georgia Hospice, 1510 Vernon Road LaGrange, GA 30240 or to Parker Memorial Baptist Church 1205 Quintard Ave, Anniston, AL 36201.
Published in LaGrange Daily News from Nov. 24 to Nov. 25, 2014
**********************
1930 United States Federal Census about Willie A Whitten
Name: Willie A Whitten
Gender: Male
Birth Year: abt 1894
Birthplace: Mississippi
Race: White
Home in 1930: Beat 4, Choctaw, Mississippi
Map of Home: View Map
Marital Status: Married
Relation to Head of House: Head
Spouse's Name: Velma V Whitten
Father's Birthplace: Mississippi
Mother's Birthplace: Mississippi
Occupation:
Education:
Military service:
Rent/home value:
Age at first marriage:
Parents' birthplace
Name Age
Willie A Whitten 36
Velma V Whitten 31
Paul H Whitten 10
Charles W Whitten 7
Willie A Whitten 0
[8/12]
***********************
LaGrange Daily News (GA) - December 31, 2014
Author/Byline: John Tures Contributing columnistSection: opinon
Most of you probably don't know Paul Whitten . He passed away last month, but not before he left us a small piece of history. His daughter provided his personal memoirs in a book titled "To Beulah and Back" about role in the bloodiest battle in America's history: the Battle of the Bulge.
Whitten was born on a small farm in Mississippi. He struggled with a speech impediment, but that didn't stop him from valiantly serving in the 2nd Armored Division. He and his division joined the war in Morocco, fought their way across Algeria to Tunisia. Then he fought the German army in Sicily. He and his fellow soldiers landed in Normandy after D-Day, and defeated the Germans at Carentan, France.
As his unit raced across France, he wrote about all he saw, from the ubiquitous "Kilroy was here" graffiti to driving through apple orchards to heading past Waterloo. He even described an amusing moment where a grateful French family raced over to profusely thank him, while he was in the middle of using a latrine, clearly embarrassed.
Whitten also described the horrors of the war in Europe. As he, the LTC, and a driver named "Snake" Hodges drove in a Jeep loaded with sandbags on the floor – a precaution against landmines – he noted, "We saw the results of the battle that had taken place a day or two before."
"Dead soldiers were lying alongside the road. You never forget the cold, glazed, icy stare of dead men. In places, they were stacked like cordwood, awaiting … trucks to haul them off. In some places we had to drive around some dead person sprawled on the road. This was an awesome sight for this Mississippi farm boy to see – a sight etched in my memory that I will never forget."
The brave Mississippi farm boy nearly joined them, as his uncovered position was raked by 88mm shells near St. Lo. Though Whitten downplays his role in that fighting, he was given a Bronze Star Medal.
But that was a mere prelude to the events of Dec. 16-26. Stanley Weintraub's book "11 Days in December" lists American casualties as 100,000, making it the bloodiest battle in U.S. history. He and the 2nd Armored Division raced 100 miles in less than a day to join the fighting to stem the onslaught of 200,000 of Hitler's best soldiers and rescue besieged Americans. Fellow soldiers from his group lost fingers and toes to frostbite, but they smashed the 2nd Panzer Division.
During the battle, he and several soldiers spent nights in a Belgian home. The grateful family cooked their rations up to taste like fresh eggs and bacon. Even after the war, he continued to correspond with the Deville family.
Whitten wrote of a Christmas Day present of an end to the blizzard which prevented Allied air attacks. Hundreds of planes proceeded to destroy enemy positions. Eventually, he and his fellow members of the Ninth Army pushed down to meet up with General George Patton's Army, catching the German troops in a vise, ending the final Nazi offensive.
Whitten would go on to be one of the first American soldiers to enter Berlin. He came home to get married, go to college, and even graduate school. He even served several years as the Standing Chairman on an international committee on Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Defense during the Cold War, before retiring to Anniston, Alabama.
Though Whitten died just shy of the 70th Anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge, his daughter, an English professor and colleague of mine, brought over a scan of Whitten 's World War II service. It's another reminder of the sacrifice that he and so many other "ordinary" Americans made to earn the moniker "The Greatest Generation.
-------------------------
Mr. Whitten was preceded in death by his wife of 60 years, Sammie Lane Fox Whitten. Survivors include two brothers, Rev. Charles Whitten of Clinton, Mississippi, and Dr. W.A. Whitten, Jr. (Lucille), of Sugar Hill, GA; one son, Stephen Paul Whitten (Kay), and a daughter, Brenda Whitten Thomas; five grandchildren, Amanda Trask (Dale), Emily Fueger (Markus), Sarah Miles (Jason), Andrew Whitten and Julia Whitten; and seven great-grandchildren, Riley, Owen, Laney, and Peyton Trask, Max and Emma Fueger, and Ava Cate Miles. Pallbearers will be Dale Trask, Markus Fueger, Jason Miles, and Andrew Whitten.
Mr. Whitten was a native of Choctaw County, Mississippi, and a long-time resident of Anniston, AL. For the past ten years he resided at Vernon Woods Retirement Community in LaGrange, GA. He was a graduate of Mississippi College and the University of Illinois. He served in the 2nd Armored Division of the Army during WWII and worked for 30 years at Fort McClellan and Aberdeen Proving Ground for the U.S. Army Chemical Corp School as a Scientific Advisor, serving as standing chairman of the NATO Quatrapartite Committee. He was a deacon and Sunday School teacher at Parker Memorial Baptist Church, Anniston, AL.
Donations may be given in Mr. Whitten's memory to West Georgia Hospice, 1510 Vernon Road LaGrange, GA 30240 or to Parker Memorial Baptist Church 1205 Quintard Ave, Anniston, AL 36201.
Published in LaGrange Daily News from Nov. 24 to Nov. 25, 2014
**********************
1930 United States Federal Census about Willie A Whitten
Name: Willie A Whitten
Gender: Male
Birth Year: abt 1894
Birthplace: Mississippi
Race: White
Home in 1930: Beat 4, Choctaw, Mississippi
Map of Home: View Map
Marital Status: Married
Relation to Head of House: Head
Spouse's Name: Velma V Whitten
Father's Birthplace: Mississippi
Mother's Birthplace: Mississippi
Occupation:
Education:
Military service:
Rent/home value:
Age at first marriage:
Parents' birthplace
Name Age
Willie A Whitten 36
Velma V Whitten 31
Paul H Whitten 10
Charles W Whitten 7
Willie A Whitten 0
[8/12]
***********************
LaGrange Daily News (GA) - December 31, 2014
Author/Byline: John Tures Contributing columnistSection: opinon
Most of you probably don't know Paul Whitten . He passed away last month, but not before he left us a small piece of history. His daughter provided his personal memoirs in a book titled "To Beulah and Back" about role in the bloodiest battle in America's history: the Battle of the Bulge.
Whitten was born on a small farm in Mississippi. He struggled with a speech impediment, but that didn't stop him from valiantly serving in the 2nd Armored Division. He and his division joined the war in Morocco, fought their way across Algeria to Tunisia. Then he fought the German army in Sicily. He and his fellow soldiers landed in Normandy after D-Day, and defeated the Germans at Carentan, France.
As his unit raced across France, he wrote about all he saw, from the ubiquitous "Kilroy was here" graffiti to driving through apple orchards to heading past Waterloo. He even described an amusing moment where a grateful French family raced over to profusely thank him, while he was in the middle of using a latrine, clearly embarrassed.
Whitten also described the horrors of the war in Europe. As he, the LTC, and a driver named "Snake" Hodges drove in a Jeep loaded with sandbags on the floor – a precaution against landmines – he noted, "We saw the results of the battle that had taken place a day or two before."
"Dead soldiers were lying alongside the road. You never forget the cold, glazed, icy stare of dead men. In places, they were stacked like cordwood, awaiting … trucks to haul them off. In some places we had to drive around some dead person sprawled on the road. This was an awesome sight for this Mississippi farm boy to see – a sight etched in my memory that I will never forget."
The brave Mississippi farm boy nearly joined them, as his uncovered position was raked by 88mm shells near St. Lo. Though Whitten downplays his role in that fighting, he was given a Bronze Star Medal.
But that was a mere prelude to the events of Dec. 16-26. Stanley Weintraub's book "11 Days in December" lists American casualties as 100,000, making it the bloodiest battle in U.S. history. He and the 2nd Armored Division raced 100 miles in less than a day to join the fighting to stem the onslaught of 200,000 of Hitler's best soldiers and rescue besieged Americans. Fellow soldiers from his group lost fingers and toes to frostbite, but they smashed the 2nd Panzer Division.
During the battle, he and several soldiers spent nights in a Belgian home. The grateful family cooked their rations up to taste like fresh eggs and bacon. Even after the war, he continued to correspond with the Deville family.
Whitten wrote of a Christmas Day present of an end to the blizzard which prevented Allied air attacks. Hundreds of planes proceeded to destroy enemy positions. Eventually, he and his fellow members of the Ninth Army pushed down to meet up with General George Patton's Army, catching the German troops in a vise, ending the final Nazi offensive.
Whitten would go on to be one of the first American soldiers to enter Berlin. He came home to get married, go to college, and even graduate school. He even served several years as the Standing Chairman on an international committee on Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Defense during the Cold War, before retiring to Anniston, Alabama.
Though Whitten died just shy of the 70th Anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge, his daughter, an English professor and colleague of mine, brought over a scan of Whitten 's World War II service. It's another reminder of the sacrifice that he and so many other "ordinary" Americans made to earn the moniker "The Greatest Generation.
-------------------------
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