Sgt. Joe Bailey Whitener, Jr.
U.S. Air Force

Killed in Action
Korean War
14 October 1951

Until this year (2000) ... 49 years after his death ... the following is all we knew

"Tokyo-Far East Air Force Headquarters announced tonight that nine crewmen had been killed and five injured in the crash of a B-29 Superfort in Japan Sunday. The plane crashed while attempting a landing in bad weather at an airbase in Japan after a mission to Korea. The wing of the plane struck a building, but fortunately there was no one in the building at the time. Rescue crews reached the scene almost immediately and pulled out the dead and injured.  Next of kin are being notified"
From a newsheet printed on a United States Navy Ship stationed off Korea - Jean's Step-Father was on-board and sent this to Jean's Mom.

Jodie was with the 98th Bomb Wing, 345th Bomb Squadron, stationed at Yokota Air Force Base in Japan, while flying missions over North Korea.  He was the Flight Engineer on the "Lil Darling" when she crashed into a hangar in the fog.

Training:
1948 - Basic Training at Keesler AFB, Mississippi
1949 - Flight Engineer School at Chanute AFB, Illinois

Overseas Tours:
Germany - Berlin Airlift
Japan - Korean War

Decorations: Purple Heart

Buried at the Spur Memorial Cemetery

Jodie's Korean War Project Remembrance Page

The Korean War Project

The Korean War Memorial

From the Memoirs of Jim & Jean Lingg:

    Jean was talking to her Mother on the phone.  Mother was telling her about the wonderful dream she had had that night.   It was about Jody, he was walking by the back fence at her home in San Mateo.   As he walked by he waved and said "Don't worry Mom, I'm okay."  Just then the door bell rang and Jean held the phone while Mother answered the door.  When she came back to the phone she told Jean it was a telegram from the War Department that Jody had been killed.

E-Mail Jim & Jeannie  - 

Webmaster - Brunetta Lafara Lingg

^©Brunetta Lafara Lingg, 1998