Lieutenant LUTHER THOMPSON WHITTEN, JR. KIA

Lieutenant LUTHER THOMPSON WHITTEN, JR. KIA 34078925, Army Air Forces. Husband of Mrs. Clydelle W. Whitten of 155 East Egan Street, Shreveport, and father of James Richard Whitten. He was born September 5, 1916, and is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Luther Thompson Whitten of Urania. He attended Louisiana and Polytechnic Institute, and was with Hunt Oil Company prior to entering service with Headquarters Detachment, Military Police, Camp Shelby, in October, 1942, at the age of 26. He volunteered for air crew training and was called in January, 1943, and sent to Maxwell Field, Alabama, (pre-flight), McBride, Missouri, (primary), and Blytheville AAF, Arkansas, (advanced flying). He received his commission in the Army Air Forces November 3, 1943. From Salt Lake City, Utah, (crew training), and Dalhart AAF, Texas, (operational), he went overseas as member of a crew on a B-17 Flying Fortress about March 1, 1944. Assigned to the 95th Bombardment Group 412th Bomber Squadron at a USAAF Base near London, he completed two combat missions and was engaged in a third on April 11, 1944, over enemy-held Poznan, Poland. The plane was sighted over the Baltic after completion of its mission, with two engines afire; and ten chutes were seen to open. The entire crew was declared lost on April 12, 1945. Lieutenant Whitten was killed in action at the age of 28 and was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart Medal (PHM).

 

Source:

1- THE FIGHTING MEN OF LOUISIANA – LOUISIANA HISTORICAL INSTITUTE – 1946

2- https://aad.archives.gov/aad/record-detail.jsp?dt=893&mtch=1&cat=all&tf=F&q=LUTHER+T+WHITTEN&bc=sd&rpp=10&pg=1&rid=4524421