Paul Whitaker died a hero during World War II.
The 24-year-old first lieutenant was posthumously awarded a Silver Star for the heroic actions leading up to his death.
Whitaker was killed on Dec. 20, 1942 in New Guinea in the battle for Buna in the South Pacific. He died fighting under machine gun and sniper fire.
Whitaker was the youngest son of Mr. and Mrs. W.O. Whitaker. He graduated from Satartia High School and then went on to earn a degree from Mississippi State College before enlisting in June of 1940 with a commission of Second Lieutenant.
He had an older brother, Forrest Whitaker, who was wounded while serving as a pilot in World War I. Forrest had first learned to fly during the early days of aviation on the Shaeffer family’s cow pasture by the Yazoo River.
After training at Camp Shelby and Fort Lewis, Washington, he headed overseas.
His mother died while he was in active service.
On Thanksgiving of 1942, he wrote a letter home announcing that he was traveling to Australia. He spent a few weeks there before heading on to fight in New Guinea, where he would eventually be killed during an act of bravery.
Whitaker advanced on a machine gun nest under fire, and broke up one of the emplacements before he was killed. His actions inspired his fellow soldiers to greater effort.
Major General William Bryden, commanding general of the Fourth Service Command, traveled to Phoenix to present the Silver Star to Whitaker’s father.
Although Whitaker was the first Yazoo County soldier reported to be killed in action during the war, another soldier from the Phoenix community may have actually been the first to die in combat.
Elvin P. Wescott:
Another Hero from Phoenix
Elvin P. Westcott was another soldier from the Phoenix community who lost his life during the war.
Westcott was reported as Missing in Action in March of 1942. His family received notice by mail in April that he was missing. He wasn’t declared to have been killed in action until later. Wescott had been in the service for several years before he was killed.
He was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Ed Wescott. The family lived just over the Yazoo County line on the Warren County side near Phoenix. He attended Oak Ridge School and worked as a mechanic for the W.H. Hamberlin Garage before entering the service.
Westcott was a member of the Harriman Mission to Russia. He was awarded a Distinguished Flying Cross medal during his service.
In August of 1942 the Westcott family was notified of his death.
