2nd Lt. George Allison Whiteman (October 12, 1919 – December 7, 1941) was an American

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

aviator An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its Aircraft flight control system, directional flight controls. Some other aircrew, aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are al ...

, and was one of the 2,403 victims killed during the surprise

attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, j ...

Imperial Japanese Navy The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, when it was dissolved following Japan's surrender ...

forces.

Whiteman Air Force Base Whiteman Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located just south of Knob Noster, Missouri, United States. The base is the current home of the B-2 Spirit bomber. It is named for 2nd Lt George Whiteman, who was killed during the attack ...

is named for him.

Biography

Whiteman, the eldest of 10 children of John and Earlie Whiteman, was born in

Pettis County, Missouri Pettis County is a county located in west central U.S. state of Missouri. As of the 2010 census, the population was 42,201. Its county seat is Sedalia. The county was organized January 24, 1833, and named after former U.S. Representative Spen ...

, at the Wilkerson farm near Longwood. He graduated from Smith-Cotton High School in Sedalia and attended the Rolla School of Mines (later University of Missouri-Rolla and now Missouri S&T) before enlisting in the service in 1939. In the spring of 1940, Whiteman received orders to report to

Randolph Field Randolph Air Force Base was an United States Air Force base located at Universal City, Texas ( east-northeast of Downtown San Antonio). Opened in 1931, Randolph has been a flying training facility for the United States Army Air Corps, the Uni ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, for training as an aviator. On November 15, 1940, he was commissioned a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

in the

Army Air Corps Army Air Corps may refer to the following army aviation corps: * Army Air Corps (United Kingdom), the army aviation element of the British Army * Philippine Army Air Corps (1935–1941) * United States Army Air Corps (1926–1942), or its p ...

(later

Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

) and volunteered for duty in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

early the following year. As the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor began, Lt. Whiteman went to his P-40B Warhawk aircraft at

Bellows Field A bellows or pair of bellows is a device constructed to furnish a strong blast of air. The simplest type consists of a flexible bag comprising a pair of rigid boards with handles joined by flexible leather sides enclosing an approximately airtigh ...

and had just lifted off the runway when a burst of Japanese gunfire hit his cockpit, wounding him and throwing the plane out of control. The plane crashed and burned just off the end of the runway. Whiteman died from his injuries. The news of his death reached his family at 10:13 p.m. the same day. In an interview with the ''

Sedalia Democrat The ''Sedalia Democrat'' is an American daily newspaper published in Sedalia, Missouri. It was founded in 1868 as the ''Democratic Press'', a weekly newspaper. It became the ''Sedalia Democrat'' soon after. It began its daily edition, originally ...

'' that night, his mother said: "It's hard to believe. It might have happened anytime, anywhere. We've got to sacrifice loved ones if we want to win this war." She gave the reporter a photograph of her son sitting in an aircraft with the inscription "Lucky, lucky me." Whiteman was one of the first airmen killed during the assault which marked the United States entry into World War II, and is considered the first American pilot killed in aerial combat in World War II while serving under American forces. For his gallantry that day, Lieutenant Whiteman was posthumously awarded the

Silver Star The Silver Star Medal (SSM) is the United States Armed Forces' third-highest military decoration for valor in combat. The Silver Star Medal is awarded primarily to members of the United States Armed Forces for gallantry in action against an e ...

, the

Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, w ...

, the

American Defense Medal The American Defense Service Medal was a military award of the United States Armed Forces, established by , by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, on June 28, 1941. The medal was intended to recognize those military service members who had served o ...

with a Foreign Service clasp, the

American Campaign Medal The American Campaign Medal is a military award of the United States Armed Forces which was first created on November 6, 1942, by issued by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The medal was intended to recognize those military members who had perfo ...

, the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with one bronze star, and the

World War II Victory Medal The World War II Victory Medal is a service medal of the United States military which was established by an Act of Congress on 6 July 1945 (Public Law 135, 79th Congress) and promulgated by Section V, War Department Bulletin 12, 1945. The Wor ...

. On August 24, 1955, 14 years after Whiteman's death,

Air Force Chief of Staff The chief of staff of the Air Force (acronym: CSAF, or AF/CC) is a statutory office () held by a General (United States), general in the United States Air Force, and as such is the principal military advisor to the United States Secretary of t ...

Gen.

Nathan F. Twining Nathan Farragut Twining ( ; October 11, 1897 – March 29, 1982) was a United States Air Force general, born in Monroe, Wisconsin. He was the chief of Staff of the United States Air Force from 1953 until 1957, and the third chairman of the Joi ...

informed Whiteman's mother that the recently reopened Sedalia Air Force Base would be renamed Whiteman Air Force Base in tribute to her son. The dedication and renaming ceremony took place on December 3, 1955. Whiteman Air Force Base, Mo., Office of History
/ref>

References

''Note: Portions of this web page have been copied verbatim. The page is a work of the United States Government and therefore public domain.'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Whiteman 1919 births 1941 deaths Aviators from Missouri Recipients of the Silver Star United States Army Air Forces officers United States Army Air Forces pilots of World War II Missouri University of Science and Technology alumni United States Army Air Forces personnel killed in World War II Deaths by Japanese airstrikes during the attack on Pearl Harbor