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name
WHITTAKER, Jess Samuel - Date of
birth
17 March 1919 -
Age
25 - Place of
birth
Damascus, Washington County, Virginia -
Hometown
Damascus, Washington County, Virginia
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
33048780 -
Rank
Sergeant -
Function
Squad Leader -
Unit
L Company,
3rd Battalion,
116th Infantry Regiment,
29th Infantry Division
-
Awards
Purple Heart
Death
-
Status
Killed in Action - Date of
death
21 November 1944 - Place of
death
Koslar, Germany
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Ardennes
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| A | 44 | 11 |
Immediate family
-
Members
John Whittaker (father)
Druce P. Whittaker (mother)
Lydia H. (Wendt) Whittaker (wife)
Alan J. Whittaker (son)
More information
Jess S. Whittaker was a chauffeur.He enlisted in Roanoke, Virginia on 28 May 1941.
Eyewitness report by T/Sgt Merle K. Culley: Our Company had just succeeded in taking a group of enemy entrenchments when I discovered that Sgt Whittaker had been hit by small guns fire. An aid man said that he could do nothing for him, and he looked to me if he were dead.
His body was found in a minefield by Matthes Smithz, in the vicinity of Koslar, Germany in April 1946. Upon clearance of this minefield the body was brought to the Koslar Cemetery Morgue. The Cemetery caretaker Jakob Felder was instructed not to bury the body due to the fact that some organization was ready to remove the body to a unit processing point.
Source of information: Peter Schouteten, www.abmc.gov, National Archives, IDPF
Photo source: www.findagrave.com