Colonel Frank Whitehead Biography - 1
Colonel Frank Whitehead (1889 –1950)
A career Marine, Frank Whitehead rose through the ranks from a Private to a Brigadier General. Whitehead was commissioned in WW1 as a 2nd Lieutenant, and led his 67th Company through all of the Marine's 1918 campaigns -- from Belleau Wood to the Argonne offensive. For his bravery, Capt. Whitehead was awarded the Navy Cross, Army Distinguished Service Cross, Silver Star Citation, & French Croix-de-Guerre.
On February 1, 1941, Col. Whitehead was appointed the Commandant of the Army Industrial College (AIC), whose purpose was to train officers to supervise and coordinate industrial mobilization during war-time. The Dec 7, 1941 Pearl Harbor attack transformed training into reality.
On December 23, 1941, the AIC was closed and its last class graduated. On that date, the Staff presented Col Whitehead with a 14k gold Hamilton Wilshire model wristwatch, engraved, “Col. Frank Whitehead ~ USMC ~ Staff A.I.C. ~ 12 . 23 . 41”
Col Whitehead served in the office of the Commander in Chief of the U.S. Fleet from 1942-1944, and retired from the Corps in 1944. He died on July 22, 1950, and was buried at Arlington National Cemetery
Col. Whitehead’s wristwatch was returned in March 2021 to Gale M. Heslop, a family member and Whitehead's biographer.