[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 158 (Tuesday, October 3, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1312]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      RECOGNIZING JOHN WHITEHURST

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JOAQUIN CASTRO

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, October 3, 2017

  Mr. CASTRO of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize a 
constituent of mine, John Whitehurst, who is on a trip to Japan this 
week in honor of his father, U.S. Army Major Collin Whitehurst, Jr., 
who died as a prisoner of war (POW) during World War II. John 
Whitehurst is in Japan as a guest of the Japanese government, along 
with a delegation of former POWs and their families.
  Major Whitehurst was born in Richmond, Virginia in 1914 and grew up 
in Cincinnati, Ohio. In 1934, he received an appointment to the United 
States Military Academy (USMA) at West Point where he was a pistol 
marksman and a member of the Chapel Choir and Glee Club. After 
graduation, Major Whitehurst was assigned to Fort Thomas, Kentucky, 
with Headquarters Company, 10th Infantry Regiment. It was there, in 
December 1939, that he married Rose Eva Knuebel, an officer's daughter.
  In June 1940, Major Whitehurst sailed to the Philippines, where he 
was first stationed near Manila, then on the island province of Bohol, 
and later on the island of Leyte. After the United States entered the 
war in December, 1941, Major Whitehurst was assigned to the staff of 
the Commanding General of the Visayan-Mindanao Force, Major General 
William F. Sharp on Mindanao. On May 10, 1942, under the threat of a 
massacre of all the POWs on the Philippine island of Corregidor, 
General Sharp reluctantly surrendered his forces on Mindanao.
  After being held at Camp Casisang, Major Whitehurst and the other 
POWs on Mindanao were moved to the Davao Penal Colony No. 502. During 
his 21 months of imprisonment at Davao, Major Whitehurst and the acting 
Episcopalian chaplain sought to lift the spirits of the camp, 
organizing and training a choir for religious services.
  Following a brief period of agricultural labor at a Cabanatuan, 
Philippines work site, Major Whitehurst and nearly 1,800 other 
prisoners were loaded onto the Japanese Arisan Maru, known as a ``hell 
ship.'' While in transit to Japan, the convoy was attacked by American 
submarines and the Arisan Maru was torpedoed and sunk. Only nine of the 
POWs survived--Major Whitehurst was among those who tragically died.
  In a letter to Major Whitehurst's parents following his death, 
General Sharp wrote: ``Your son was a fine, loyal officer who did 
excellent work while serving with my Command. He was always cheerful 
and willing; he made a lasting impression on all with whom he came into 
contact. Collin's spirit never wavered during the long months of his 
imprisonment. We few still living who knew him cherish his memory.'' On 
October 25, 2004, 60 years and a day after Major Whitehurst's death, 
the Whitehurst family dedicated a memorial marker in Fort Sam Houston 
National Cemetery commemorating his life and service.
  John Whitehurst, Major Whitehurst's only son, has helped keep his 
father's memory and patriotism alive. John, who was born in Manila, has 
lived most of his life in Texas. A passionate social worker, John has 
also taken time to attend American Defenders of Bataan and Corregidor 
Memorial Society conventions since 2002, and serves on the 
organization's Board of Directors. Twice, he has returned to the 
Philippines, including a visit for the dedication of the Hell Ship 
Memorial at Subic Bay.
  I wish Mr. Whitehurst a fulfilling trip to Japan this week, and I 
offer him and his entire family my gratitude for his father's service 
and tremendous sacrifice for the United States.

                          ____________________