This page is dedicated to the memory of my Uncle Jesse Paul Wilhite. Jesse served in the US Army 9th AIRCORPS during WWII, he was a member of the 376th Heavy Bombardmant Group, 513th Bomb Squadron, stationed in London then in Africa. Jesse was a 2nd Lieutenant & Co-Pilot of a B-24 Bomber plane called 'Wolf Pack'. He flew 13 successful missions bombing oil and ammunition factories in Germany before him and the rest of his crew members were listed as being lost in enemy fighter action leaving Sicily October 24, 1943. The pilot of 'Wolf Pack' was Lt. K.J. Turner. Lt. K.J. Turner, Co-Pilot Jesse, the rest of the crew members, and the plane 'Wolf Pack' were never recovered. Jesse's awards and medals included: Purple Heart (1 of these) Europe-Africa Middle East Campaign Medal (1 of these) Probable other awards and medals were: Air Medal (1 or 2) Presidential Unit Citation (1 or more) and possibly 14 other awards **Special Thanks to all the members of the B-24 mailing list for their help in the information obtained above! A letter I received from 'Curtis Torfin' a member of the same 513th Bomb Group as Jesse, he writes: They were on the mission Oct 24th, 1943, we were all waiting and praying for the boys to return. They had stopped in Brindisi for gas. They took off from Brindisi and contacted our landing field. That was the last anyone heard from them. It is not known if they crashed in the mediterranean or if they just flew past our field at night and crashed somewhere in the desert. A big "thanks" to you Curtis for sending this information. Check below for a link to a picture of the plane 'Wolf Pack' in which Jesse was Co-pilot and also don't forget to check the link below for a list of Jesse's missions with a list of names of his crew members who disappeared along with the 'Wolf Pack'.
Jesse Paul Wilhite 1920-1943
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swilhite@excite.com
Springfield, MO