War biography james william sallee
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Editor’s Note: On April 9, 1942, U.S. and allied forces in the Philippines were forced to surrender to the Japanese. Approximately 75,000 American and Filipino troops—including members of Company D, 192nd Light Tank Battalion, better known as the Harrodsburg Tankers—were forced to march 65 miles to prisoner of war camps. Thousands perished in what became known as the Bataan Death March. Of the 66 Harrodsburg Tankers, only 37 survived the war. This deeply researched story by Kandie Adkinson originally appeared in Mercer Magazine in 2018. It is reprinted in its entirety to honor the Tankers’ sacrifice.
The Whittinghill brothers were representative of Mercer County families who sent multiple sons into combat. Pictured left to right are: Grover Whittinghill, one of the 66 Harrodsburg tankers at Bataan; mother Lillian Hendren Whittinghill, who taught at Dean School and Cornishville Grade School for decades; James Whittinghill and Robert Whittinghill, who also served in World War II. (Photo submitted.)
By Kandie P. Adkinson
Contributing Writer
I remember that Sunday morning at Cornishville Christian Church so well. The summer weather was sunny and extremely hot. The sanctuary wasn’t air conditioned at the time so the two screened front doors and all o
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James William Snee
Jim Snee was born on July 4, 1910 in Palo Alto, CA, the older of two sons. His father, a clothing salesman, had been born in England and his mother in Wales.
The family later moved to Wilkes-Barre, PA where Jim graduated from James M. Coughlin High School in 1928. He spent a year at a local prep school, Wyoming Seminary, and then joined the National Guard. According to the West Point Association of Graduates website, his National Guard commander, who was a West Point graduate, encouraged him to apply to the Academy. "His commander's mother was born at West Point and heard of Jim's desire to go. She loaned him the money [ a total of $360!] to attend Millard Prep School in Washington, DC for six months." He passed the West Point entrance exams, and entered the Academy in 1930, where he was a classmate of fellow Ghost Army veteran Cliff Simenson.
He graduated from West Point in 1934 (and repaid his loan for Millard!) and was first assigned to border service with the 8th Cavalry at Fort Bliss, TX. Later assignments sent him to the 2nd Cavalry and Cavalry School at Fort Riley, KS (where he completed a course in advanced horsemanship, dated George Patton's daughter, and chatted with then Colonel Patton in the family kitchen) and the 11th Cavalry
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