Lieut. W.C. Whorley Called to Duty at Randolph Field
Local Reserve Officer Came Up From Ranks to Gain Commission
Lieut. William Carl Whorley, 610 Connecticut avenue southeast, left Mason City Friday morning for Fort Des Moines for final examination before undertaking active service with the army.
Lieutenant Whorley, a second lieutenant in the 349th infantry regiment of the organized reserve corps, is scheduled to be permanently stationed at Randolph Field, Texas, during his period of active duty.
He is the son of C.W. Whorley, 404 Fourteenth street northwest, and in Mason City has been an active member of the North Iowa reserve officers association. At Randolph field he is to report to the air corps basic flying school for nonflying duty.
Lieutenant Whorley is one of the few local reserve officers who "worked up from the ranks" to get his commission. He served several years with the national guard and took special army extension courses in order to receive a lieutenancy.
Source: Mason City Globe-Gazette, August 22, 1941 (photo included)
26 FROM IOWA LOST IN ACTION
[excerpt]
WASHINGTON, D. C. (AP)—The War Department Saturday listed 26 Iowa soldiers as missing in action in the European and Mediterranean theaters. They were:
EUROPEAN.
Algona—Staff Sergeant Robert W. Thompson.
Audubon—Sergt. Donald C. Munksgaard.
Boone—Second Lieutenant Robert W. Ward.
Cedar Rapids—Pvt. (f.c.) Harvey H. Wehde.
Council Bluffs—Corp. Dale E. Gustafson.
Des Moines—Pvt. (f.c.) Lester W. Pfannkuch.
Dubuque—Lieut. Arthur C. Toepel.
Gladbrook—Second Lieutenant Elmer C. Dudolski.
Iowa City—Lieut. Col. Don L. Weiss.
Keystone—Pvt (f.c.) Orlean E. Koeppen.
Knoxville—Capt. Richard A. Gee.
Marshalltown—Second Lieutenant Marion A. Gard.
Mason City—Capt. William C. Whorley.
Menlo—Pvt. (f.c.) Kenneth L. Powell.
Pella—Pvt. (f.c.) David M. Thomas.
Sewal—Staff Sergeant Dallas G. Couchman.
Shenandoah—Lieut. Ralph E. Deweese.
Sioux Rapids—Flight Officer Joseph Meleky.
Source: The Des Moines Register, August 27, 1944
Official Word is Received of Capt. Whorley's Release
Government Gets Report From U.S. Mission in Moscow
Capt. Bill Whorley, Mason City, who has been a prisoner of war of the Germans since last June, has been released from a German prisoner of war camp and is now presumed to be in Poland, according to a telegram received from the war department by his wife, 610 Connecticut S.E.
"Am please to inform you report received from the U.S. military mission in Moscow states your husband, Capt. William C. Whorley, previously reported a prisoner of war has been released from a German prisoner of war camp and is now presumed to be in Poland," read the message signed by the adjutant general.
"The war department invites submission of a message not to exceed 25 words for attempted delivery to him," continue the telegram. "Message should be addressed to Casualty Branch A.G. O., Room 2315, Munitions Building. Further information will be furnished when received."
The last direct word from Capt. Whorley was a letter dated last Dec. 31. In it he had said that he was still at Oflag 64, that he had lost some weight, but otherwise was pretty good.
Word of release of other prisoners from Oflag 64 had been received but the message from the war department is the first official notice concerning Capt. Whorley. Ever since Premier Stalin first announced the capture of the Oflag prison camp, word was anxiously awaited here of Capt. Whorley's release.
Source: Mason City Globe-Gazette, March 5, 1945 (photo included)
William Carl Whorley was born Oct. 14, 1917 to Carl William and Golda Merle Evans Whorley. He died May 1968 and is buried Memory Gardens of the Valley, Weatherford, TX.
Cpt. Whorley served with the U.S. Army in World War II and became a POW in Germany.
Sources: ancestry.com
