Seaman 1C George Custer Whatley, Jr.

The small town of Groom in Carson County in the Texas Panhandle mourned the lives of four of their sons during World War II, including George Custer Whatley, Jr. George (better known as G.C.) was born in Groom on October 1, 1924. His father, George, Sr., was a stock farmer and car dealer, and his mother, Verna, was a homemaker, caring for G.C. and his younger sister, Wylafae, and brother, Curtis.

As the son of a stock farmer, G.C. spent his school years raising and showing Hereford calves. His hard work paid off with top honors at the county, state, and national levels. 

In December of 1942, shortly after his 18th birthday, G.C. registered for the draft in Amarillo, where he was then living in a home at 900 S. Taylor Street. A year later, he was married to Anna Rene and was employed by Amarillo National Bank. In January 1944, George enlisted in the U.S. Navy. Following boot camp and training on July 25th, he was assigned to the USS Intrepid. George trained to serve as a Radioman onboard the Intrepid when it sailed from Pearl Harbor on October 6, 1944. 

On November 25, 1944, Japanese kamikaze planes attacked the Intrepid. Gunners managed to shoot down five planes, but two were able to evade attacks from the ship and hit the aircraft carrier’s flight deck within five minutes of each other. The kamikaze planes penetrated the wooden flight deck and ended up in the hanger deck below. Six officers and fifty-nine sailors were killed with another 325 sailors wounded. Twenty-six of the killed and wounded were radiomen who were in a ready room, waiting to begin their shift. Fellow sailors immediately began a rescue attempt but had to abandon their efforts when the second kamikaze plane hit, setting off a deadly inferno below deck. Seaman 1C George Custer Whatley, Jr. was one of the twenty-six men in the ready room. He did not survive the attack, succumbing to third-degree burns.

The USS Intrepid War Diary of November 26, 1944, states the following:

At 1400, in the vicinity of latitude 14 degrees 47’N., longitude 191 degrees 25’E, held funeral services and buried the officers and men killed in action yesterday. 

S1C Whatley and sixty-four of his mates were committed to the sea, approximately 465 miles northeast of Samar Island, Philippines.

Amazingly, the USS Intrepid survived the kamikaze attacks, but is noted as one of the most damaged vessels in WWII, surviving a torpedo attack and additional kamikaze attacks. Unfortunately, 273 crew members gave their lives while serving on the Intrepid. Most, including S1C George Custer Whatley, Jr., are memorialized on the Tablets of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery, Manila, Philippines.

Knowing more of G.C.’s story - visualizing him at a local stock show or behind a teller window at Amarillo National Bank – keeps his memory alive. Texas Panhandle War Memorial is honored to have George Custer Whatley, Jr.’s name engraved on a monolith in our Memorial Garden.