By Deborah Larsen
Melvin James “Mel” Whitman
Melvin James “Mel” Whitman was born in Rochester, Michigan, on September 26, 1919, the son of Gordon and Mary Frey Whitman. Mel attended Rochester High School and graduated in the class of 1937.
In October 1940, Mel enlisted in the U.S. Army. He was assigned to the Headquarters Company, First Army, and stationed in England and Tunisia during the North Africa campaign. Of his arrival in Tunisia in November 1942, Mel wrote home to the Rochester Clarion that “it’s a strange feeling you get being dropped off in a hostile country on a dark, cold night.” Mel was released from military service in October 1945.
After the war, Mel married Corinne Whelchel of Georgia, and the couple settled in Marietta, Georgia, to bring up their family.
Melvin James Whitman died at age 84 on March 4, 2004, and was laid to rest in Marietta, Georgia.