Theodore Edward WILLHITE
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Source : usafdo | |||||||
NUMBER OF SERVICE | O-406074 | ||||||
AGE | 26 yo | ||||||
DATE OF BIRTH | 16 June 1917 Muscatine, Muscatine county, IOWA | ||||||
ENLISTMENT STATE | IOWA | ||||||
FAMILY |
Spouse : Virginia L Sollins Son : Theodore WILLHITE Jr Parents : Edward C & Ivy WILLHITE Brothers : Paul B & Kenton R | ||||||
RANK |
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FONCTION | Bomb Group XO | ||||||
JOB BEFORE ENLISTEMENT | Clerk at Insurance Co. | ||||||
DATE of ENLISTEMENT | 7 August 1940 | ||||||
COMPANY | Headquarter | ||||||
GROUP | 451st Bomb Group (Heavy) | ||||||
ARMY | 15th Air Force | ||||||
DATE OF DEATH | 11 March 1944 |
Source : F Lavernhe | |||||
STATUS |
MIA KIA (since 19/07/2023) | ||||||
PLACE OF DEATH | At the sea, 2km south of Cap Cepet | ||||||
FLIGHT PLAN |
B-24 "Liberator" type H-5-FO - s/n 44-772 macr 15249 Mission: Bombing of the submarine base of Toulon Take-off: Panerazio, Italy Crash: direct blow of the flak on the right side of the cockpit. Loss of control of the aircraft, crashes into the sea. No survivor among the crew. | ||||||
CEMETERY | RHONE AMERICAN CEMETERY and MEMORIAL of Draguignan | ||||||
GRAVE |
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DECORATION |
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STORY | |||||||
Theodore WILLHITE is a native of Muscatine, IOWA. He studied at the local college, high school and university and became an insurer after three years of higher education. On 7 August 1940 he joined the young USAAF to become a pilot. He was licensed in March 1941 at Randolph Field, Texas. He will continue his training on various fields such as McCord Field in Washington, as well as in Louisiana, Ohio and Indiana. |
Theodre WILLHITE posing in front of a Boeing-Stearman, cadet training aircraft. | ||||||
(source : usafdo) |
It was at this time, as a young lieutenant, that he met Virginia L. Sollins, a nurse and then stewardess in the United Airline, with whom he married on 15 August 1941. Both had a son Theodore WILLHITE Jr. In November 1942 he left the United States for the Euro-Mediterranean theatre, where he spent some time under the orders of the famous James "Jimmy" H. DOOLITTLE, within his staff. He appeared with other officers in a Times article. He will become himself on February 25 of the following year, giving him access to command positions within the various Bomb Groups he works with. This is how he will be quoted posthumously for the Distinguished Flying Cross following his action on January 30, 1944 during a bombing in Italy... | ||||||
While on board the bomber as an observer, an anti-aircraft shell killed the pilot and injured the co-pilot of his B-24. He will take the place of this first in order to help to straighten the apparatus despite a fire having taken on one of the engines. Once the situation is under control it will help to join the training in order to complete the mission and deliver the target load. | Article du Times consacré au Gen. DOOLITTLE (source : usafdo) | ||||||
B-24H s/n 42-7725 "Adolph and Tojo" |
A few months later, on March 11, he will take the place of the co-pilot aboard the B-24H "Adolph and Tojo" to conduct a bombing mission on the submarine base of Toulon. So after taking off from an airfield in Italy in the morning and after dropping their bombs on the target, the aircraft is seriously hit at the cockpit by the flak. It is cut in half and crashes at sea just a few kilometers beyond the harbor of Toulon without any member of the crew having managed to escape. | ||||||
Bodies were recovered by AGRC at the end of the conflict, but the technologies of the time did not allow for formal identification. He was thus inscribed on the wall of the disappeared of the Rhone American Cemetery in Draguignan alongside 293 other disappeared. But it was in 2019 that the investors of the DPAA (Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency) and the ABMC resumed analyses on the remains identified X-84, X-85, X-86 and X-92 of the temporary cemetery of Luynes. Thanks to DNA analysis it was formally established that one of these corpses was that of Mjr. Theodore E. WILLHITE. Thus since September 19, 2023, the late major has been officially identified and will be buried at the location chosen by his family. A bronze rosette will be placed near his name on the wall of the disappeared, indicating that this soldier, after so many years, will finally be entitled to a worthy individual scépulture. | |||||||
Purple Heart Certificate of Decoration of Mjr. WILLHITE. |
Attestation d’attribution à titre posthumme de la Distinguished Flying Cross on behalf of the Mjr. WILLHITE. |
Air Medal awarded to Mjr. WILLHITE from 16 July 1943. | |||||
Greenwood Cemetery Muscatine, Muscatine County, IOWA source : Rick |
Crew of B-24 "Liberator" type H-5-FO - s/n 44-772
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1Lt | Claude U | VAIL | Pilot | Dead | Cim Am Rhône Draguignan | O-735125 - AM/PH - Michigan |
Maj | Theodore Edward WILLHITE | CoPilot | Dead | Cim Am Rhône Draguignan | O-406074 - DFC/AM/PH+1 - Born the 15/06/1917 - Muscatine Co, Iowa - Fils d'Edward Clevelnd ete Ivy Leota (Ryan) Willhite - Corps retrouvé le 19/9/2023 et identifié en 2024 par la DPAA | |
1Lt | Seymour B | SCHNECK | Navigator | Dead | Cim Am Rhône Draguignan | O-798895 - AM/PH - 22 ans - Born the 05/07/1921 - Brooklyn, New York - Fils d'Abraham S Schneck |
2Lt | Edward J | ANTONIK | Bomber | Dead | Cim Am Rhône Draguignan | O-749953 - AM/PH - Pennsylvania |
S/Sgt | Jack L | BEATTY | Gunner | Dead | Cim Am Rhône Draguignan | 13059235 - AM/PH - Pennsylvania |
T/Sgt | Paul T | OTSTOT | Mec/Gunner | Dead | MIA - Tablets Cim Am Rhône Draguignan | 33237953 - AM/PH - Pennsylvania - Fils de Charles W et Isabelle Otstot |
S/Sgt | Almous C | NEW | Gunner | Dead | Wharton City Cemetery en 1948 | 18118183 - 21 yo - Iago, Wharton Co, Texas - Fils de Johnnie Joshua et Lalla Beatrice (Franks) New |
T/Sgt | Kenneth J | McKEEMAN | Rad/Gunner | Dead | MIA - Tablets Cim Am Rhône Draguignan | 32424781 - AM/PH - 23 yo - New York - Fils de John et Elizabeth Mulhall (Barker) McKeeman |
S/Sgt | Joseph J | MACSUGA | Gunner | Dead | Cim Am Rhône Draguignan | 31007495 - AM/PH - 26 yo - Massachusetts - Fils d'Eva Dziedziena - Epoux de Qrida B Garrant |
S/Sgt | Raymond A | KAUDELKY | Gunner | Dead | MIA - Tablets Cim Am Rhône Draguignan | 32390848 - AM/PH - New Jersey |
S/Sgt | Salvatore D | ALAIMO | Gunner | Dead | Cim Am Rhône Draguignan | 32421216 - AM/PH - New York |
SOURCE INFORMATION & SOURCE PHOTO | Victor DANIEL - abmc.gov - archives.gov - fr.findagrave.com - ancestry.com - francecrashes39-45.net - cbs2iowa.com |
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PROGRAMMEURS | Victor, Jean-Philippe, Eric, Henri, Garrett, Clive, Frédéric & Renaud |