Whitaker Is August Veteran Of The Month
August 1, 2023 at 5:16 p.m.
An Army veteran who was stationed near the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) in Korea for over a year is the August 2023 Kosciusko County Veteran of the Month.
James Whitaker, the son of Albert and Cynthia Whitaker, was born on Aug. 7, 1944, in North Manchester, according to the biography prepared and read by Veteran Service Officer Darryl McDowell at Tuesday’s county commissioners meeting.
Whitaker attended Silver Lake High School and graduated in the summer of 1964, where, according to his brother Sam, he excelled in basketball.
Shortly after graduating high school, James enlisted into the U.S. Army in December 1964. He was sent to Fort Knox, Ky., to conduct his Army basic training, followed by his advance individual training (AIT) at Fort Dix, New Jersey. In April 1965, he was stationed in Korea near the DMZ until July 1966, McDowell said.
James’ follow-on assignment was to West Point, N.Y.
“Here is the challenging part. It’s the home of the U.S. Army military academy, and his job, as a new sergeant, was to herd cats. What I mean by that is arrange ground transportation, by bus, for the academy cadets, whether they were in band, football or any other clubs - getting them from one location to the other in the lower 48,” McDowell said.
James was honorably discharged at the military rank of sergeant/E5 in December 1967.
His military service to the nation did not stop there. In 1979, he joined the Indiana Air National Guard where he was deployed to Kuwait during the Gulf War. After serving a combined total of 24 years of military service, achieving the enlisted rank of master sergeant/E7, James retired from the Air National Guard in 2003.
After his discharge from the Army, James was employed by Uniroyal as a mechanic. Following that, he worked for WJ Carey Construction Company for five years before starting his own construction company known as D & J Construction in 1976, retiring from there in 2003.
James and his wife, Barbara, enjoy splitting their time between Warsaw and Florida.
Asked if he had anything to say, James just said, “Thank you for everything.”
An Army veteran who was stationed near the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) in Korea for over a year is the August 2023 Kosciusko County Veteran of the Month.
James Whitaker, the son of Albert and Cynthia Whitaker, was born on Aug. 7, 1944, in North Manchester, according to the biography prepared and read by Veteran Service Officer Darryl McDowell at Tuesday’s county commissioners meeting.
Whitaker attended Silver Lake High School and graduated in the summer of 1964, where, according to his brother Sam, he excelled in basketball.
Shortly after graduating high school, James enlisted into the U.S. Army in December 1964. He was sent to Fort Knox, Ky., to conduct his Army basic training, followed by his advance individual training (AIT) at Fort Dix, New Jersey. In April 1965, he was stationed in Korea near the DMZ until July 1966, McDowell said.
James’ follow-on assignment was to West Point, N.Y.
“Here is the challenging part. It’s the home of the U.S. Army military academy, and his job, as a new sergeant, was to herd cats. What I mean by that is arrange ground transportation, by bus, for the academy cadets, whether they were in band, football or any other clubs - getting them from one location to the other in the lower 48,” McDowell said.
James was honorably discharged at the military rank of sergeant/E5 in December 1967.
His military service to the nation did not stop there. In 1979, he joined the Indiana Air National Guard where he was deployed to Kuwait during the Gulf War. After serving a combined total of 24 years of military service, achieving the enlisted rank of master sergeant/E7, James retired from the Air National Guard in 2003.
After his discharge from the Army, James was employed by Uniroyal as a mechanic. Following that, he worked for WJ Carey Construction Company for five years before starting his own construction company known as D & J Construction in 1976, retiring from there in 2003.
James and his wife, Barbara, enjoy splitting their time between Warsaw and Florida.
Asked if he had anything to say, James just said, “Thank you for everything.”