An Oklahoma funeral home has invited the public to attend services for a World War II veteran with no known surviving family members.
Funeral services for Herman Augusta White will be held on Sept. 4 at 10 a.m. local time at Grace Hill Cemetery in Perry, according to Brown Dugger Funeral Home Director Rebecca Raines. The service will include a moment of silence and a red, white, and blue balloon release. Military honors are set to include a rifle volley, a live bugler playing “Taps,” and remarks by Rear Adm. Gregory Slavonic.
Born in 1921, White joined the Navy in 1945, where he served as a Seaman Second Class aboard the USS Muliphen. According to his honorable discharge documents, he was awarded the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal.
White’s wife and only son preceded him in death, and he donated his home and possessions to a local Baptist church. The funeral home plans to donate a casket and services free of charge, while the American Legion of Perry will be providing a flag line.
An online obituary stated that White’s wife Evelyn died in 1998 and their only child Mickey a year later, aged 47. White had married in 1941, shortly before Pearl Harbor. “Herman left his new bride on May 7, 1945 and entered active duty in the U.S. Navy,” the obituary recounted.
“He served his Naval Training Center at San Diego, California, then was stationed aboard the USS Muliphen (AKA 61) where he fought against America’s enemies in the Pacific campaign. Herman’s Naval Air Station was in Orange, Texas,” it said.
“He achieved a rank of Seaman Second Class V-6 USNR-SV,” it continued. “Herman White was awarded the Victory Medal as well as the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal. Although he may have been scared, Herman was brave in the face of danger. It is because of courageous men like Mr. White that we are free today. After serving for one year, Herman returned home to his wife and started a family.”
Expected to attend are Honoring America’s Warriors, Bikers for Trump, Patriot Guard Riders, The Eagle Riders, Freedom Riders, Noble County Independent Bikers, and several other groups.
