Whitbeck, Franklin P.

Description

Franklin Plummer Whitbeck

Franklin Plummer Whitbeck was born on March 13, 1913, in Bronxville, New York, to Edith Emily Plummer and Dr. Brainerd Hunt Whitbeck. He was raised in Bronxville and attended the Loomis Institute in Windsor, CT. He graduated from Harvard, class of 1935. He was a member of the Owl Club, Hasty Pudding Institute of 1770, D. K. E , and the Harvard Club of New York. Before the war employed by Price Jones Corp. in New York City.

He married Lila Bradbury Rand October 24, 1940 at Christ’s Church in in Rye, NY. with the Rev. Wendell Phillips officiating. A reception followed
at the Rand home on Cayuga Street. The young couple lived in Rye after a wedding trip to the South. They had two children during their marriage.

Franklin enlisted and served as an officer in the U.S. Navy during World War II. He served aboard the USS Edmonds (DE-406).

The USS Edmonds (DE-406) was a John C. Butler-class destroyer escort that served in the United States Navy during World War II.

The USS Edmonds played a significant role in the Pacific Theater, earning five battle stars for its wartime service. Its major operations included, the rescue of the USS Bismarck. On February 21, 1945, during the Iwo Jima operation, the escort carrier Bismarck was sunk by a Japanese kamikaze. The Edmonds directed rescue operations, saving 378 crew members despite heavy seas and continued air attacks.

Lieut. Franklin P. Whitbeck On Rescue Ship Of Escort Carrier
ABOARD THJE US DESTROYER ESCORT EDMONDS (Delayed) Lieut, (j. g) Franklin P. Whitbeck, U. S. N. R. , whose wife lives at 30 Cayuga Street, Rye, served aboard this ship while she fought heavy seas and enemy aircraft to rescue some 375 survivors from a stricken escort carrier which had been hit during an air attack. The USS Edmonds was one of four vessels assigned to the rescue mission. The enemy continued air attacks in the early stages of the rescue already hampered by darkness and rough seas. Time after time. Lieut. Comdr. John S. Burrows, Jr. , 33, USNR commanding officer of the Edmonds, maneuvered his ship upwind and permitted it to drift slowly toward the largest concentration of survivors, who climbed aboard on life lines, ladders, cargo and floater nets. At least half the crew of the Edmonds voluntarily entered the water at one time or another to lend a hand to exhausted survivors. The ships motor whaleboat carried many of the carriers crew.

PAGE TEN THE RYE CHRONICLE Friday, June 1, 1945

During the invasion of the Philippines the ship screened escort carriers during the invasion of Morotai and the subsequent landings at Leyte and Lingayen Gulf. During the Okinawa Campaign in early 1945, it provided air support for the invasion of Okinawa and served on the dangerous radar picket line.

After his discharge, Franklin and his family moved to Weston, CT. He became promotions director for Parade Publications in NYC. In 1952 he was named Director of Development at Norwalk Hospital and succeeded in making it a modern facility for area residents. He later became vice president of clothing manufacturer Cluett, Peabody & Co. He was an avid tennis player and three time champion at the Weston Field Club.