Harold Olen Whetstone, Stalag XII A

[Brian Keith]

Here is an excellent small group the museum just received from the family of PFC Whetstone, who we think was a member of the 106^th ID and captured during the Battle of the Bulge. Among his artifacts is an engraved (!?) Purple Heart (he passed away in 2003), his German POW ID tag and a ribbon bar that includes the Silver Star. We have just begun the research, and would appreciate any assistance. On one POW research page I found, it appears to me that it says he was captured on September 6, of 1944, not possible if he was 106^th. So, maybe he was with the 9^th ID. There is both a 106^th and 9^th ID SSI’s in the small group. Major questions we have at the moment is what unit was he actually in and what his Silver Star was awarded for.

Thanks for looking and any assistance you can provide, hope you enjoyed seeing this small but powerful group.

BKW

 

[USdog]

He was in the 60th Infantry Regiment, 9th ID

 

http://www.ww2pow.info/index.php?page=directory&rec=23337

[Brian Keith]

Thanks USDOG, your link is similar to one I found, but it doesn't tell me he was in the 9th ID, unless I just can't decipher it. That would explain his date of capture. Where did you find his unit info?

BKW

[USdog]

In the link the parent unit is 0060. That means 60th Infantry Regiment.

[Brian Keith]

Excellent! Thank-You Sir!

BKW

[USdog]

Excellent! Thank-You Sir!

BKW

No problem.

[MattS]

Nothing yet on the Silver Star, but I did find this:

"Harold O. Whetstone - Prisoner of War Record

Held in Stalag 7A near Moosburg, Germany
Harold O. Whetstone was a Private First Class in the Army during World War II. Harold resided in Jay County, Indiana before enlisting on September 8, 1943. At the time of enlistment, Harold was 18 years old, had 4 years of high school education and was single, without dependents. One year later, Harold was captured by Nazi Germany while serving in Belgium, and was sent to Stalag 7A near Moosburg, Germany where 8,209 other American POWs were held. Harold's capture was first reported to the International Committee of the Red Cross on September 6, 1944, and the last report was made on July 20, 1945. Based on these two reports, Harold was imprisoned for at least 317 days (~11 months), about the average for U.S. POWs. Ultimately, Harold was returned to military control, liberated or repatriated."

 

From: http://wwii-pows.mooseroots.com/l/131001/Harold-O-Whetstone

[firefighter]

I found this but no mention of a Silver Star.

 

http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=mpearce&id=I50847

[Brian Keith]

Thanks for the info and link Firefighter!

BKW

[firefighter]

Thanks for the info and link Firefighter!

BKW

 

You're welcome.

Very cool grouping.I have the 60th Inf Rgt & 106th Div unit histories, somewhere. I'll try to dig it out.Not sure if they mention awards.

[BEAST]

Brian, he is mentioned in the Indy Star as being a POW: https://www.statelib.lib.in.us/wwii/wwii_display.asp?ID=19192

 

I would think that there would be an article on his Silver Star in the local papers. Was he from Portland?

[Brian Keith]

Yes, from the Portland area, he did an interview with the local paper about 10 or so years ago were trying to run down also.

Firefighter, thanks in advance for other info you can find.

BKW