Louie Douglas WHITAKER b. 17 May 1912 McDowell Co. WV d. 13 Jan 1945 Battle of the Bulge, Malmedy, Belgium: Appalachian Aristocracy

1912 - 1945 (32 years)

Personal Information | PDF

Name	Louie Douglas WHITAKER
Born	17 May 1912	McDowell Co. WV
Gender	Male
_UID	F5BE3AB2DEA8409C8545DD05731C83D89794
Died	13 Jan 1945	Battle of the Bulge, Malmedy, Belgium
Buried	Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery and Memorial, Liege Belgium
	Grave location, tombstone photo, and biographical information: http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=whitaker&GSiman=1&GScid=1991678&GRid=56286623& PFC Serial No. 35241782 Info from American Battle Monument Commisision website. Buried in Henri-Chapelle Served in 119th Infantry Regiment, 30th Infantry Division Buried at: Plot A Row 11 Grave 40 Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery Henri-Chapelle, Belgium Awards: Purple Heart with Oak Leaf Cluster At the Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery and Memorial in Belgium, covering 57 acres, rest 7,992 of our military dead, most of whom lost their lives during the advance of the U.S. armed forces into Germany. Their headstones are arranged in gentle arcs sweeping across a broad green lawn that slopes gently downhill. The cemetery possesses great military historic significance as it holds fallen Americans of two major efforts, one covering the U.S. First Army's drive in September 1944 through northern France, Belgium, Holland and Luxembourg into Germany, the second covering the Battle of the Bulge. After the War, grateful families in Belgium, Netherlands, and France began adopting the graves of soldiers to maintain and honor. Louis Douglas' grave has been adopted by Max Poorthuis of the Netherlands.
Notes	CENSUS RECORDS 1920 United States Federal Census Name: Louie D Whitaker Age: 8 Birth Year: abt 1912 Birthplace: West Virginia Home in 1920: Big Creek, McDowell, West Virginia Race: White Gender: Male Relation to Head of House: Son Marital Status: Single Father's Name: Hufford Whitaker Father's Birthplace: Virginia Mother's Name: Fannie Whitaker Mother's Birthplace: Virginia Household Members: Hufford Whitaker 41 Fannie Whitaker 43 Topsy D Whitaker 17 James Whitaker 16 Alterine Whitaker 15 Okley D Whitaker 13 John T Whitaker 11 Louie D Whitaker 8 George W Whitaker 6 1940 United States Federal Census Name: Douglas Whittaker Age: 27 Estimated Birth Year: abt 1913 Gender: Male Race: White Birthplace: West Virginia Marital Status: Married Relation to Head of House: Head Home in 1940: Big Creek, McDowell, West Virginia Street: Mountain Burke-Big Creek Farm: Yes Inferred Residence in 1935: Rural, McDowell, West Virginia Residence in 1935: Rural, McDowell, West Virginia Resident on farm in 1935: No Number of Household in Order of Visitation: 443 Occupation: Grab Driver, saw mill House Owned or Rented: Rented Value of Home or Monthly Rental if Rented: 1 Highest Grade Completed: Elementary school, 4th grade Hours Worked Week Prior to Census: 42 Class of Worker: Wage or salary worker in private work Weeks Worked in 1939: 52 Income: $180 Income Other Sources: Yes Household Members: Douglas Whittaker 27 Edna Whittaker 21 Steve Whittaker 2 months MILITARY RECORDS Douglas was 31 and employed as a coal miner for the Pocahontas Fuel Company at Bishop Virginia when he enlisted in the US Army during WWII. World War II Young American Patriots, 1941-1945 Name: Douglas Whitaker Rank: Private First Class Branch: United States Army Birth Date: 17 May 1912 Service Date: 20 Jan 1944 Parent Name: Mr. & Mrs. D. H. Whitaker Spouse Name: Mrs. Edna Prater Whitaker State: West Virginia County: McDowell Service areas: Camp Blanding, FL, Europe Killed in Action in Germany, Jan. 13, 1945 Awards: Purple Heart ------------ For over a year Douglas fought in Europe including the Battle of the Bulge against the Germans in the largest land battle on the Western Front during World War II and the largest engagement ever fought by the U.S. Army. On Saturday, January 13,1945 following the Malmedy massacre (a war crime in which 80 American POW's were murdered by their German captors) and according to the U.S. World War II Registry, Douglas was killed in action when his unit, the 30th Army Division, 119th Infantry, was sent to recapture the area around Baugnez in order to reclaim the bodies of the murdered soldiers. He died in the Malmedy-Stavelot area as the Allies pushed Germany out of occupied territory on the way to Berlin to end the war in Europe that year. He was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart with a bronze oak leaf cluster.
Person ID	I267	Master File
Last Modified	30 May 2016

Father	Doctor Hufford WHITAKER, b. 16 Jun 1878, Tazewell Co. VA , d. 24 Mar 1954, Big Creek, McDowell Co WV (Age 75 years)
Mother	Frances Janes (Fannie) ALTIZER, b. 10 Aug 1874, Tazewell Col. VA , d. 30 Jun 1962, Big Creek, McDowell Co WV (Age 87 years)
Married	20 Nov 1898	Tazewell Co. VA
	Virginia Marriages, 1785-1940 Groom's Name: ... Whitaker Groom's Birth Date: 1878 Groom's Birthplace: Tazewell Co., Va Groom's Age: 20 Bride's Name: Fannie Altizer Bride's Birth Date: 1876 Bride's Birthplace: Tazewell Co., Va Bride's Age: 22 Marriage Date: 20 Nov 1898 Marriage Place: Tazewell County, Virginia Groom's Father's Name: John Whitaker Groom's Mother's Name: Nancy Whitaker Bride's Father's Name: Adam Altizer Bride's Mother's Name: Elizabeth Altizer Groom's Race: White Groom's Marital Status: Single Groom's Previous Wife's Name: Bride's Race: White Bride's Marital Status: Single Bride's Previous Husband's Name: Indexing Project (Batch) Number: M01695-5 System Origin: Virginia-EASy Source Film Number: 34214 Reference Number: P 131 - L190
Family ID	F37	Group Sheet \| Family Chart

Family Edna Minnie PRATER, b. 10 Aug 1917, McDowell Co. WV , d. 11 Oct 2004, Volusia Co. FL (Age 87 years)

Married 08 Mar 1939 McDowell Co. WV

West Virginia Vital Records
http://www.wvculture.org/vrr/va_view.aspx?Id=11423842&Type=Marriage

Children

	1. Stephen Douglas WHITAKER, b. 17 Jan 1940, McDowell Co. WV , d. 09 Mar 1991, Wyoming Co. NY (Age 51 years)
	2. Mike WHITAKER, b. 3 Jul 1941, Caretta, McDowell Co. WV , d. 07 Aug 2010, Mechanicsville, St. Mary's County, MD (Age 69 years)
	3. Larry Oliver WHITAKER, b. 18 Dec 1943, War, McDowell Co. WV , d. 25 Jul 2005, Volusia Co. FL (Age 61 years)

Last Modified 2 Jan 2014

Family ID F90 Group Sheet | Family Chart