Reba Whittle Biography

Reba Z. Whittle was born on August 19, 1919 in Rocksprings, Texas and died on January 26, 1981 in Sacramento, California. Reba Whittle severed in World War ll, In August 6, 1943 the Army Air Forces School of Air Evacuation accepted Reba to train as a flight nurse. On September 27, 1944, Reba left England on a mission to collect casualties from Advanced Landing Ground A-92 at St. Trond, Belgium. On September 27, 1944, Reba left England on a mission to collect casualties from Advanced Landing Ground A-92 at St. Trond, Belgium. On October 19, she was moved to another POW hospital, IX-C (b), at nearby Meiningen, where she worked with burns patients and at the rehabilitation center for amputees. On February 7, 1945, Reba received the Purple Heart for the injuries she received during the crash, and on the 17th was awarded the Air Medal, "For meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flights...in unarmed and unarmored aircraft."

On May 11 she returned to duty, and a week later was sent to the Army Air Forces Redistribution Station No.2, at Miami Beach, Florida, where after another medical assessment her flying status was suspended on the grounds of recurrent headaches. Reba served as a ward nurse at the AAF Regional and Air Debarkation Hospital, Hamilton Field, California, from June 15, 1945. On August 3, 1945 she married Lieutenant-Colonel Stanley W. Tobiason at Hamilton Field, and then applied to be released from active duty. On August 31, 1945, she appeared before a Disposition Board which determined her to be fully qualified for military service. Her orders stated, "Relief from Active Duty is not by reason of physical disability." She was discharged on January 13,