World War II pilot laid to rest

Shots rang out at Palm Eastern Cemetery as decorated World War II veteran William Dean Whitaker was laid to rest on Friday afternoon.

The Nellis Air Force Base Honor Guard presided over Whitaker’s ceremony after a service at his church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on South Maryland Parkway and East Serene Avenue.

He was remembered by dozens of friends, family and community members as a “jack of all trades.” He found success in the military, in business as an architect, contractor, circuit board manufacturer, artist, author and even as a drag racing engineer.

“He squeezed so much into his lifetime, it’s hard to believe he was only 97,” friend Jason Frederico said.

Whitaker joined the U.S. Army Air Corps, which later became the U.S. Air Force, at age 19 in 1943. He flew 20 missions over Germany in a B-17 bomber before he and his crew got shot down. Only two members of the crew, including Whitaker, survived. He was a prisoner of war until he was liberated by American forces seven months later.

For his service, he was awarded a Purple Heart and later a Legion d’Honneur, France’s highest award. Sébastien Thévenin, the honorary consul of France in Las Vegas, gave the award to Whitaker in 2019.

“Your service helped change the tide of human history and defend the bonds between our nations,” Thévenin said. “Freedom is a gift that does not come without a price. It requires determination and sacrifice. The French people will never forget that you helped restore their freedom. Your courage and dedication are an example to us all.”

Whitaker valued his faith and was celebrated as an important member of his church ward.

“For our ward, he was our hero,” Bishop Richard Burnham said. “He was a fixture. I always look over to the spot he always sat in with his wife, before she passed away. When you have someone like that, who sets the example and follows after Jesus Christ, you can’t teach it. That’s what we’ll remember.”

Whitaker picked up a hobby of painting in his older age, Burnham said. He would give Burnham a stack of paintings to pass out to churchgoers as gifts. And even as his memory began to fade, Whitaker loved drives down Las Vegas Boulevard and to Lake Mead, with a plethora of friends and family happy to drive him.

A lifelong Los Angeles Dodgers fan, he was honored by the team in 2020.

“When people pass on, we always say that they’re at peace now, which is true. But in Dean’s case he was always at peace,” friend Bruno Chouieri said. “He always knew what God expected of him, and he always did it. Never out of a sense of obligation, but something inside him throughout his life guided him to do the right thing. In many cases when it wasn’t easy, he showed the courage to do it. For that, I admire Dean.”

He often shared his experience as a veteran and prisoner of war with schoolchildren and at other speaking events. That passion represented the best about Whitaker, Burnham said.

“Faith, family and country. That’s what he was all about, even through his retirement years,” Burnham said. “He would take any invitation or opportunity to speak it at a school; he loved it. He was just a beloved member of our community. Anybody that got to know him is better for it.”

Whitaker is survived by his two sons, Jeff and Mike, and seven grandchildren.

Contact Nick Robertson at NRobertson@reviewjournal.com. Follow @NickRobertsonSU on Twitter.