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Vv*File photoBurlingtonContinued from B1in France, he is among the few surviving World War I veterans.“I don’t know of more than a couple of others from Alamance County in the first world war who’re still alive,” Whitmore said.The old warrior, an American Indian who is still active in the Eno-Occaneechi Tribe in Alamance County, recalls he left many friends behind in France. A total of 116,516 American soldiers were kiled in World War I and another 204,002 were wounded.A lot of my buddies got killed,” he said. Although Whitmore was among the doughboys who took part in the hard-fought battle in Meuse-Argonne region in September 1918, heescaped injury.We got orders to go in and shoot them (the Germans) down to heel level and get it over with,” Whitmore remembers. The battle of Meuse-Argonne resulted in the American break-through of the enemy’s heavily forified Hindenburg line and helped end the long war.Despite his advanced age, Whitmore, who smokes a pack of Winston cigarettes every three days, says he’s in “pretty good shape.” He went to the V.A Hospital in Durham recently, he said, and the doctors checked himover, said he was doing fine and sent him home.“I’ve been smoking since I started in the the Army in 1917,” he said, explaining after he returned home from the war, he returned to his family’s tobacco farm. He raised tobacco until he retired from farming several years ago. fUntil last year, Whitmore drove his car about anywhere he wanted to go in the neighborhood. “I got my drivers license renewed and a few days later the state asked me to send it back. They said my driving record was good, but it was my age that caused them to ask for my license,” he said.Lovie Whitmore, his daughter-in-law, said the old soldier’s love for green beans may be his secret to longevity and health. “He loves snap beans more than anything, especially with com,” she said, “he has always eaten a lot of green beans.”Whitmore, a widower, lives with his oldest son, Howard Whitmore. He has three other sons, Leroy Whitmore, also of Mebane-Oak Road; Harry Whitmore of Durham and Carltoi Whitmore of Mebane
Newspaper Details
Burlington Times News
Burlington, North Carolina, US
Tue, Nov 13, 1990
Page 12
Full Page
Clipped by
Kokomo-Howard C.
IN, USA 21 May 2019
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