Private Ithiel Ezell Whatley was born in Jeddo, Monroe County, Alabama on September 1, 1930, the son of Willie Inez Whatley (1912-1973). She was the daughter of Isaac Bush Whatley (1893-1968) and Gabriella Augustus Matheny (1890-1990), both buried in Santa Rosa County. Inez would marry Roy Cleave Mack (1907-1983) in 1930 and James Curtis Warren in 1943. She and James would part in 1951 and she eventually moved to New Orleans, LA in 1971. On the night of July 1, 1973, she and her two sons James Curtis and Eddie Hosie Warren were killed in a hotel fire in New Orleans. All three were buried in Ard Cemetery Church of Christ Cemetery in Chumukla, Santa Rosa County, Florida.
As to Ithiel, he and his mother moved to Pensacola in 1932 where he attended Allie Yniestra, Eliza Jane Wilson, and Hallmark schools. He would enlist in the US Army around 1947 and was assigned to Company "M", 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment of the 24th Infantry Division. While he was away in the service, Inez was living at 415 South Barcelona Street with her husband James Curtis Warren Sr., a local fisherman. Then, in the early morning hours of June 25, 1950, the North Korean army crossed the 38th parallel and invaded the south. The American and South Korean army was thrown back, unprepared and in total chaos.
The war department reacted by sending Ithiel's 21st Infantry Regiment as the first American forces to be sent to thwart the invasion. However, sending them there and getting them there were two different issues. Because of a shortage of air transport, the regiment could only get the 2nd battalion into Pusan. The remainder would have to follow by ship. This battalion dug in north of Osan, which was south of the capital of Seoul. However, to prevent from being overwhelmed they were forced to withdraw with heavy casualties.
Ithiel arrived in Korea on July 5th with the rest of his regiment that contained the 1st and 3rd Battalions. They were rushed to Chochiwon and dug in even though they were not up to full strength and lacked artillery and anti-tank weapons. Fierce fighting followed as they repelled multiple enemy attacks, including tanks, up until July 12th. During the battle, the regiment lost 531 casualties of which Ithiel was one of the missing. He had been in Korea for seven days. No one saw him go down in battle nor was he ever reported as a prisoner of war. When the area finally returned to UN control, searches were made for his remains, but none were unsuccessful. Another soldier close to Ithiel was captured the same day and forced to march north to the Apex POW camp on the south bank of the Yalu River. Shortly after reaching the POW camp at Hanju-ni he died of exhaustion and pneumonia on January 8, 1951 and was buried near the edge of the village. Likely, the same fate awaited Ithiel, thus becoming the first Pensacolian to go missing in action during the Korean War.
コメント