75 years after WWII, mid-Missouri remembers

61 years after renaming the Air Force base, and 75 years after his death, Sedalia, Missouri remembers George Whiteman.

Whiteman is considered to be one of the first United States military members killed in World War II. Reports say he raced to his plane has the first Japanese bombs were falling on Pearl Harbor. Shortly after take off, his plane was shot down by enemy fire.

In 1955, the Sedalia Air Force Base was renamed to honor Whiteman. Since then, his hometown of Sedalia has added different memorials for the fallen Airman.

Whiteman’s childhood home is the beginning of the “Whiteman Corridor”. The next stop is at Katy Park near the intersection of West 24th and Grand streets. There visitors see two sculptures honoring Whiteman’s past and the future. The third stop on the corridor is Whiteman’s grave site in Memorial Park cemetery where he is buried.