Service News
Pvt. Virgil Whitesell Saturday was en route to Ft. Meade, Md. after spending a four-day furlough traveling delay with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. John Whitesell, 2513 Hawthorne avenue. He was stationed at Camp Robison, Ariz. Three brothers are also in service. They are Pfc. Donald, radio operator in France, and Pvt. Delbert, now recovering from combat fatigue in a general hospital after serving with the First army in Germany. A brother-in-law, Ray Acuff, machinist’s mate third class, is serving in the south Pacific area.
Source: Waterloo Daily Courier, Waterloo, Iowa, Sunday, December 31, 1945, Page 6
FIGHTING MEN WHITESELL
AND MERCER KILLED
One on Iwo; Another on the West Front;
Six Men Are Wounded.
As Waterloo and the rest of the nation mourned its late commander-in-chief, Franklin D. Roosevelt, the impact of war was felt again in a number of homes through casualty reports of loved ones from the battlefronts.
Two were reported dead, one on Iwo Jima and one in Germany, and six wounded, all the later on the German front.
The dead:
Marine Pfc. George B. Mercer, 20, killed in action March 26, on Iwo Jima.
Pvt. Virgil Whitesell, 18, killed in action with the Ninth army in Germany, March 24.
The wounded:
Staff Sgt. Deloy L. Gabbard, on March 28.
Staff Sgt. Clarence W. Dawson, on March 29.
Sgt. Michael Zegarac, in late March.
Pfc. William S. Hayes, on March 31.
Pfc. Edward A. Schultz, on March 27.
Pfc. William J. Halterman, on April 2.
With Ninth Army.
Private Whitesell, 18, was killed in action March 24, in Germany where he was serving with the 30th infantry division of Simpson’s Ninth army, according to word received by his parents, Mr. and Mrs. John B. Whitesell, 2513 Hawthorne avenue.
Private Whitesell had been serving overseas since Jan. 1, 1945, having entered service Aug. 24, 1944. He was formerly employed by the Chamberlain Corporation.
He had previously been reported missing.
Born June 23, 1926, in Silver Park, Saskatchewan, Canada, the son of John B. and Hazel Ledger Whitesell, he came to the United States in 1929, moving to Waterloo after a month’s stay at Vinton, Ia. He attended West Waterloo schools.
Besides his parents, he is survived by five brothers, Pvt. Donald Whitesell, with a supply company in France; Sgt. Donald L. Whitesell, in Italy with the 34th infantry division; Cpl. T. John Whitesel, an aviator engineers in Germany; Teddy Charles Whitesell, 17, at home; and Keith E. Whitesell, 9, at home; two sisters, Mrs. Roy E. Acuff, Alameda, Cal., and Miss Pearl Whitesell, at home.
Source: Waterloo Daily Courier, Waterloo, Iowa, Sunday, April 15, 1945, Section Two, Pages 9 & 11 (photo included)
John and Hazel Inez Ledger Whitesell had 4 sons serving with the U.S. Army in World War II.
Virgil Benjamin Whitesell was born June 23, 1926 to John and Hazel Inez Ledger Whitesell. He died Mar. 24, 1945 and is buried in Netherlands American Cemetery, Margraten, Netherlands.
Pvt. Whitesell served in World War II with the U.S. Army 119th Infantry Regiment, 30th Infantry Division and was MIA/KIA in Germany. He was awarded the Purple Heart.
Source: ancestry.com
