James Henry Whiten

James Henry Whiten was drafted in the last draft of WWII in 1945. He was stationed at Camp Kilmer, New Jersey before being sent on a Liberty ship to LaHare, France. He was in the 4th Army, 91st artillery regiment out of Aberdeen, MD. He was a T5 Sergeant over the maintenance shop in the regiment. He was also a jeep driver for a Colonel and had an assigned German Shepherd. As a driver, he was able to meet some of the famous Army Generals.
He taught Auto Mechanics and ran the mechanics shop in Germany where they worked on tanks, Jeep’s and trucks. He received a commendation from Eisenhower for fixing a flaw on the Dodge master cylinder that would cause the brakes to overheat. He drilled out the return port to make it bigger so the brake fluid could flow better The government sent a memo around the world to fix all the Dodge vehicles in the same manner.
He was in the Occupation Army during the time when Germany was under Martial Law and the US Army patrolled the streets. He was a guard outside the courthouse during the Nuremberg trials and also help guard the Volkswagen plant in Stuttgart. He did MP duties on the weekends and witnessed Nazi sympathizers being dragged out into the streets and being lynched.
Served also in Austria and Belgium..
Years served: 1945-1949