I've thought about a lot of things we've done and a lot of good times we had ... Goodbye sweet and I'll see you later. ~ A. D. Whaley to his wife Myrtle, August 3, 1944 just a week before the plane crash that would take his life.
Sergeant A. Dee Whaley (March 4, 1916 – Aug. 11, 1944) of the 24th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron, 8th Photographic Reconnaissance Group, U.S. Army Air Force, when his plane went down in the Himalayas. His wife Myrtle would be informed of his Missing in Action (MIA) status on August 30; he was reported dead on October 16, 1944. Originally buried overseas, his remains were repatriated and buried in Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery on March 7, 1950 in Missouri. He had enlisted in the Air Corps on October 18, 1942. The Maples History Center has a collection of letters that Sgt. Whaley sent to his wife, including his last letter written about one week before his death.
A. D. Whaley was the son of Perry Garfield Whaley (1888-1963) and Martha Lindsay Whaley (1889-1954). He was the third of five children. His siblings were: Lela Whaley (1909-1968) who married a Vonhofe, Silas Minyard Whaley (1912-1976) who married Margaret McNelly, Margaret Ruth Whaley (1921-?) who married an Olson, and James Frank Whaley (1924-1984) who married Beth Chrisman.
Whaley’s page on the East Tennessee Veterans Memorial: https://www.etvma.org/veterans/a-d-whaley-10564/
From Sevier County historian Carroll McMahan’s article on Whaley:
Born March 4, 1916 in the Big Greenbrier section of what is now part of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, A.D. Whaley was one of five children of Perry Garfield Whaley and Martha “Mattie” Lindsey Whaley. His siblings were: Lela (Von Hofe), Minyard, Margaret Ruth (Olsen), and James Frank. The family moved to Sevierville when the national park was established.
Before entering the Army, Whaley was employed as a mechanic at C. Dunn Tire Company in Knoxville and later at ALCOA. On Aug. 1, 1939 he married Myrtle Sims of Kodak. She was a daughter of Sherrod Sims and Linnie Campbell Sims. The couple had one son, Reford.
Whaley enlisted in the Army Air Corps on October 18, 1942 at Camp Forrest Tennessee. He graduated from Harlingen Army Gunnery School at Harlingen, Texas, and became qualified as an expert aerial gunner wearing the wings of gunnery sergeant. Whaley served a sergeant on F-7A (#42-64189) 24th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron, 8th Photographic Reconnaissance Group, U.S. Army Air Force.
Sergeant Whaley’s family received word in August that he was reported missing but did not receive the official news that he was dead until October 16, two years to the day since he was inducted into the Army.
An Army search party arrived at the village on August 23, 1944. They surveyed the site and removed the remains. The missing air crew report listed their names.
Whaley’s family was not given the option of individual burial; there was no way to separate the remains. On March 7, 1950, the remains of the entire crew were repatriated to Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery in St. Louis, Missouri.
Below, you will first find A. D. Whaley’s letters to his wife, followed by his enlistment record, and burial documentation.
Monday, 1942? 
Sunday 1942, unknown month 
Nov 2, 1942 
Nov 10 1942 
Nov 13 1942 
Nov 14 1942 
Nov 19 1942 
Nov 20 1942 
Nov 23 2942 
Nov 27 1942 
Nov 29 1942 
Nov 30 1942 
Dec 3 1942 
Dec 5 1942 
Dec 7 1942 
Dec 9 1942 
Dec 11 1942 
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Dec 16 1942 
Dec 18 1942 
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Dec 27 1942 
Dec 27 1942 
Aug 3 1944
