East Texas Press (Timpson, Tex.), Vol. 36, No. 13, Ed. 1 Thursday, March 31, 2016 Page: 21 of 22
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www.easttexaspress.com | Thursday, March 31,2016 | Town Pages | Bll
Lieutenant General Orren R. Whiddon
Cont'd from Page B6
after fighting the good fight. He was born
March 10th, 1935 to the late Cynthia Betty Cock-
rell Whiddon and Orren Cox Whiddon in Joaquin,
TX as a fifth generation Texan.
General Whiddon graduated from Stephen
F. Austin University with a BA in Chemistry in
1955 and was drafted into the US Army as a Buck
Private. Upon completion of Officer Candidate
School in 1956, he was commissioned a Second
Lieutenant, Field Artillery. He also holds a Mas-
ter of Science degree in Management from the
University of Southern California. His military
education includes completion of the Field Artil-
lery School Basic and Advanced Courses, The
United States Army Command and General Staff
College and the Naval War College, Newport, RI.
General Whiddon served in a variety of career
building assignments including Ft. Sill, OK; Vi-
cenza, Italy; and Ft. Leavenworth, KS. His first
tour in Vietnam was as a Subsector Advisor in
the Mekong Delta and later as the Intelligence
Briefing Officer to General Westmoreland. Upon
returning to the US, he was the Operations and
Plans Officer, Joint Reconnaissance Center, Op-
erations Directorate, J3, Organization of the Joint
Chiefs of Staff, Washington, DC. In his second
tour in Vietnam he served as the Assistant Chief of
Staff for Intelligence, G2,101st Airborne Division
and later commanded 3d Battalion, 82d Artillery,
196th Infantry Brigade. Upon return to the United
States, General Whiddon served as a staff officer
in the Current Operations Division, Operations
Directorate, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff
for Operations and Plans, United States Army,
Washington, DC.
Following his studies at the Naval War Col-
lege, General Whiddon commanded the 2nd Bat-
talion, 92nd Field Artillery, 42nd Field Artillery
Group in Giessen, Germany. He then served as a
Special Assistant to the Chief of Staff, Supreme
Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) in
Mons, Belgium. General Whiddon commanded
the Division Artillery, 5th Infantry Division, Fort
Polk, LA, after which he served as the Deputy
Director of Training in the Office of the Deputy
Chief of Staff of Operations and Plans, United
States Army, Washington, DC.
Other key assignments held include Assistant
Division Commander, 3rd Armored Division in
Europe; Commanding General, United States
Army Training Support Center, Fort Eustis, VA.;
Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations and Intel-
ligence, Allied Forces Central Europe (AFCENT),
The Netherlands; Commanding General, 8th In-
fantry Division, United States Army Europe, Bad
Krueznach, Germany; and Deputy Commander in
Chief for Joint Plans and Operations Forces Com-
mand, Fort McPherson, GA. General Whiddon
retired in 1990 as Commanding General, Second
United States Army, Fort Gillem, GA.
Awards and decorations General Whiddon re-
ceived include the Distinguished Service Medal
(two Oak Leaf Clusters), Defense Superior Ser-
vice Medal (one Oak Leaf Cluster), Legion of
Merit (three Oak Leaf Clusters), Bronze Star Med-
al (two Oak Leaf Clusters), Meritorious Service
Medal (four Oak Leaf Clusters), Air Medal (five
Oak Leaf Clusters), Army Commendation Medal
(two Oak Leaf Clusters), Army Good Conduct
Medal (one Oak Leaf Cluster), National Defense
Service Medal (one Oak Leaf Cluster), Vietnam
Service Medal (three Oak Leaf Clusters), Army
Service Ribbon (one Oak Leaf Cluster), Overseas
Service Ribbon (five Oak Leaf Clusters), Republic
of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Unit Citation,
Vietnamese Staff Honor Medal, Vietnamese Cross
of Gallantry (with Palm), Vietnamese Cross of
Gallantry (with Gold Star) and Vietnamese Cross
of Gallantry (with Silver Star). General Whid-
don is authorized to wear the Combat Infantry
Badge, Parachutist Badge, Joint Chiefs of Staff
Identification Badge, and Army General Staff
Identification Badge.
General Whiddon was inducted into Stephen
F. Austin University's Alumni Hall of Fame in
1988, awarded the Angelina Rotary Club's Paul
Harris Fellow Award and "Service Above Self'
Award in 2005 and the Angelina Award by the
Lufkin/Angelina County Chamber of Commerce
in 2014. He was a longtime supporter of SFA's
ROTC program and the Howitzer bred at SFA
home games, Of Cotton, is named in his honor.
After retiring in 1990, Cotton and the love of
his life, Harriot McKinney Whiddon, began the
second adventure of their lives in Lufkin, Texas.
His leadership and ability to inspire others led to
his work with and development of the PineCrest
Retirement Community and Salvation Army Adult
Day Care Center. His work in the community
also included serving on the City's Planning and
Zoning Board, the St. Cyprian's Episcopal School
Board, the Methodist Retirement Communities
Board and the Methodist Retirement Trust Board.
He was a Senior Warden for St. Cyprian's Epis-
copal Church. Cotton loved Lufkin, and Lufkin
loved him.
He was preceded in death by his beloved par-
ents, Cynthia Betty Cockrell Whiddon and Orren
Cox Whiddon, and brother Richard Abner Whid-
don. He is survived by his wife of 60 years, Harriot
McKinney Whiddon; son, Orren Prentice Whid-
don of Artemas, PA; daughters, Laura Whiddon
Shortell and husband Joe Ross Stutts of Dallas,
TX; Barbara Whiddon Chandler and husband
James B Chandler of Allen, TX; four grandchil-
dren, Orren Anders Whiddon, Pittsburgh, PA;
Joseph Henry Shortell III, Dallas, TX; Catharine
Theodosia Whiddon, Artemas, PA; Skylar James
Chandler, Allen, TX; sister, Susan Karen Whid-
don, Joaquin, TX; sister-in-laws, Susan Prentice
McKinney of Nacogdoches, TX and Jean Tyler
Whiddon of Hideaway, TX; and numerous nieces
and nephews.
We'd like to thank "Cotton's Angels", Norma,
Evia, Bonnie, Brenda, Crystal and Ruth; LTC
Francis Jackson; the staff and caregivers at Hos-
pice in the Pines; Memorial Home Health; and
all the doctors who cared for him, especially Dr.
Kyle Krohn.
Funeral services are scheduled for 10am, Sat-
urday, March 26,2016 at St. Cyprian's Episcopal
Church, Lufkin and burial with full military
honors at 3pm at The Joaquin Cemetery, Joaquin,
Texas. Visitation will be held on Friday evening,
March 25, 2016 in the Gipson Funeral Home,
Lufkin, Texas.
Funeral Services are under the direction of Gip-
son Funeral Home, 1515 South Chestnut Street,
Lufkin, Texas 75901. For additional information,
call 936/634-4411.
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Pate, Chad. East Texas Press (Timpson, Tex.), Vol. 36, No. 13, Ed. 1 Thursday, March 31, 2016, newspaper, March 31, 2016; Timpson, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth899125/m1/21/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Timpson Public Library.