Two World War II veterans who are well known in Cherokee County will be getting a dedicated display at the Cherokee County Historical Museum in downtown Murphy.
Robert and Wallace Wilhide of Andrews were both Marine Air Corps Pilots who were killed within a few weeks of each other in 1945. Bob Wilhide of Killen, Ala., a descendent of the brothers, brought their memorabilia to the museum on June 28 in hopes of sharing their story and keeping the brothers’ memory alive.
“When I was a teenager, their mom, my aunt Maude, gave me their medals. They didn’t talk about them much, but sometimes I would go up to their rooms and see the model airplanes hanging from the ceiling,” Wilhide said. “With no kids of my own, I felt like the items should go to the Cherokee County Historical Museum.”
Hounding history
Wilhide had seen a YouTube video about his family done by Ben Pope, who operates a channel called “History Hound Detecting,” and the two began working together to get the memorabilia back to Cherokee County. Wilhide said he spoke with family members and gathered information before coming to the museum.
“A couple of years ago, I ran across the story of the Wilhide brothers from Andrews and thought, ‘How have I not heard about them before?’ ” Pope said. “I went to the cemetery in Andrews and saw they were buried near my wife’s family.”
Wilhide brought several items, including the Purple Hearts for each brother, the bulletin from the memorial in Andrews dedicated in 2016, a copy of the memorial service held for both at First Baptist Church in Andrews in August 1946, a letter Bob wrote to his mother a few months before he died, a proclamation by the Marine Corps, Wallace’s Log Book, a card that was sent to his mother and the Marine Corps letter telling the family of Robert’s disappearance.
One interesting thing noted from the documents is that sometime in his enlistment Wallace’s name was inverted, making his records say Wilfred Wallace.
“I guess in the war in the 1940s, getting your name sorted out wasn’t a real priority,” Wilhide said. “But if you look at the cemetery and the bulletin, you’d think his mom would get his name right, and his enlistment card – somewhere early on, his name was inverted.”
Brothers in battle
The Battle of Okinawa was a major battle fought by the U.S. Army and Marine Corps forces against the Imperial Japanese Army. Codenamed “Operation Iceberg,” the battle was extremely intense between the Americans and Gen. Ushijima’s Japanese 32nd Army. In the midst of this battle were two brothers from Andrews, who grew up with a love of airplanes.
Both Robert and Wallace seemed to be inseparable. Born 15 months apart to Mr. and Mrs. Frank Wilhide, the brothers were baptized together in July 1938 and both graduated from Mars Hill College. Initially enlisted in the Navy, they finished flight school and were given the opportunity to join the Marine Corps.
Robert, 23, flew in the F6F-5N Hellcat Squadron known as “Black Mac’s Killers,” making the first kill of a Betty Bomber for his squadron. Wallace flew with the VMF-311 Marine Attack Squadron, which was the first Marine Squadron to use fighter aircraft for dive bombing missions.
On his third mission, Robert’s Hellcat was shot down and lost at sea. He was declared Missing in Action. Shortly after his disappearance, Wallace was quoted as saying, “That’s one for you, Bob,” when he shot a Japanese fighter in his Corsair.
On May 20, 1945, Wallace, 21, logged one Oscar (Japanese fighter), and his last entry was the day of his death. There’s a number discrepancy from the bulletin on the aircraft from the U.S. Marine Corps and his log book, with the numbers being flipped.
The Wilhide brothers were killed within a few weeks of each other, but their sacrifice has not been forgotten. Their mother wore Wallace’s Purple Heart medal as a necklace.