MM2C Wallace William Whitehair (WWII, Typhoon Cobra)

Remembering MM2C Wallace William Whitehair

August 22, 1922 - December 18, 1944

----

MM2C Wallace William Whitehair (Service Number 02664611) was born August 22, 1922 in Detroit, Michigan (IDPF), the son of Charles and Justine Dorothy (Clevenger) Whitehair.

In 1930, their small family was living at 55 Savoy Street in Tallmadge, Ohio. Charles was working as a "Pit man" at a rubber shop (1930 Census). Sometime between 1930 and 1938, Charles and Justine divorced. She married Joe Christy, and in 1940 Justine and 16-year-old Wallace were living with Joey, Justine, and Wallace's two infant half-siblings (Joe, Jr, and Julius). They lived at 281 Dunbar Avenue in Dunbar (Kanawha County), West Virginia, where Justine and Joe both worked as nurses.

During his academic career, Wallace attended elementary school in Spencer (WV), Lincoln Junior High School, and graduated from Dunbar High School (Sissonville Sailor Is Killed in Pacific, The Charleston Daily Mail). The same article reported that Wallace served for three years as a member of the "American Legion Drum and Bugle Corps," and was a drum major in the Dunbar High School band.

Wallace enlisted in the Navy in Richmond, Virginia on June 30, 1941 at age 18. He went on to primarily serve aboard the U.S.S. Savannah, U.S.S. Stanly, and U.S.S. Hull (see Muster Rolls at bottom for additional dates and details).

On July 8, 1944, MM2C Wallace William Whitehair transferred aboard the U.S.S. Hull from the U.S.S. Stanly. The next month, he voluntarily extended his enlistment for two more years (August 22, 1944). Unbeknownst to Wallace, danger was mere months away.

Typhoon Cobra

Also known as Halsey's Typhoon, Typhoon Cobra struck Task Force 38 of the US Third Fleet beginning December 17, 1944, and worsening on December 18, 1944. Task Force 38 was off the coast of Leyte and in dire need of re-fueling when they began to encounter hurricane-strength winds.

Samuel Cox with The Naval History and Heritage Command says of the USS Hull in Typhoon Cobra:
"By 1100 the destroyer Hull (DD-350), commanded by Lieutenant Commander J.A. Marks, was in serious trouble. Marks was responsible for screening a group of four oilers and maintained station for too long. Hull was at 70% fuel state and had not taken on saltwater ballast in the tanks. (The Court of Inquiry determined that standard procedures at the time did not require re-ballasting with that much fuel on board, but the failure to do so nonetheless contributed to her loss. Although regulations didn’t require it, re-ballasting was a lesson from an earlier typhoon that had not been learned.) In addition, as an older Farragut-class destroyer, Hull had over 500 tons of extra weapons and equipment added, making her top heavy. By 1100 the wind had reached 100 knots, and Hull was rolling 50 degrees, which just before noon reached 70 degrees. She survived several such rolls before a gust of wind estimated at 110 knots pinned her on her beam ends, and water poured down her funnels and into the pilothouse and she capsized and sank a few minutes after noon with 202 of her crew (62 survived.)"

Unfortunately, MM2C Wallace William Whitehair was one of the 202 lost crew members of the USS Hull. His body was never recovered.

Legacy and Survivors:

While Wallace's body was never recovered, his name is immortalized on the Tablets of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial. 

He was survived by his mother, step-father, and his half-siblings: Joe, Julius, and Betty Christy, of Sissonville. He was also survived by his father, who at the time of Wallace's death lived in Akron, Ohio (Sissonville Sailor Is Killed in Pacific, The Charleston Daily Mail).

MM2C Wallace William Whitehair is honored at the  West Virginia Veterans Memorial in Charleston, WV, and on the USS Hull Memorial wall plaque at the National Museum of the Pacific War.

Sources and More Information:

  • Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency Personnel Profile: Wallace W. Whitehair
  • American Battle Monuments Commission Profile: Wallace W. Whitehair
  • Findagrave Profile: MM2 Wallace William Whitehair
  • Individual Deceased Personnel File (IDPF): Wallace W. Whitehair. Accessed with help from Fort Knox
  • U.S. Census (Accessed through Ancestry): 1930 Census,1940 Census
  • US, World War II Navy Muster Rolls, 1938-1949 (Accessed through Ancestry)
  • West Virginia Veterans Database (West Virginia Memory Project): Wallace William Whitehair

Newspaper Articles, in Chronological Order:

  • Sissonville Sailor Is Killed in Pacific. The Charleston Daily Mail. 14 January 1945. Accessed with help from the West Virginia Regional History Center.
  • [No Article Name]. The Times Record (Spencer, WV). 18 January 1945. Accessed with help from the West Virginia Regional History Center.

Navy Muster Rolls Available Through Ancestry as of Publication:

  • June 1941: Received at the US Naval Training Station, Norfolk, VA on 6/30/1941
  • October 1941: Stationed at the US Naval Training Station, Norfolk, VA. Promoted from AS to S2C on 10/30/41
  • December 1941: Stationed at the US Naval Training Station, Norfolk, VA. Promoted from S2C to F3C on 12/26/41
  • January 1942 (US Naval Training Station): Transferred to the U.S.S. Almaack on 1/5/1942 for further transfer to the U.S.S. Savannah.
  • January 1942 (U.S.S. Almaack): Boarded the U.S.S. Almaack on 1/5/1942 from the US Naval Training Station, Norfolk
  • February 1942: Boarded the U.S.S. Savannah on 2/16/1942 from the US Naval Training Station, Norfolk
  • March 1942: Aboard the U.S.S. Savannah
  • May 1942: Promoted to F2C aboard the U.S.S. Savannah on 5/1/1942
  • June 1942: Aboard the U.S.S. Savannah
  • July 1942: Promoted to F1C aboard the U.S.S. Savannah on 7/1/1942
  • September 1942: Aboard the U.S.S. Stanly
  • October 1942 (U.S.S. Savannah): Returned to Station in Charleston, S.C. for duty on the U.S.S. Stanly, 10/3/42 (orders given 9/23/42)
  • October 1942 (U.S.S. Stanly): Returned to Station in Charleston, S.C. 10/15/42
  • December 1942: Aboard the U.S.S. Stanly
  • March 1943: Promoted to MM2C (Machinist's Mate Second Class) aboard the U.S.S. Stanly on 3/1/1943
  • June 1943: Aboard the U.S.S. Stanly
  • September 1943: Aboard the U.S.S. Stanly
  • December 1943: Aboard the U.S.S. Stanly
  • March 1944 (U.S.S. Stanly): Transferred to Mobile Hospital on 3/11/44
  • March 1944 (Naval Mobile Hospital #7): Received at Mobile Hospital #7 on 3/30/44
  • July 1944 (U.S.S. Stanly): Transferred to the U.S.S. Stanly from "Navy #131" on 7/6/44, transferred to the U.S.S. Hull from the U.S.S. Stanly on 7/8/44
  • July 1944 (U.S.S. Hull): Transferred to the U.S.S. Hull from the U.S.S. Stanly on 7/8/44
  • August 1944: Aboard the U.S.S. Hull, voluntarily extended enlistment for two years on 8/22/44
  • October 1944: Aboard the U.S.S. Hull

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