Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, March 31, 1991 TAG: 9103310186
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B/9 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MARK MORRISON NEW RIVER VALLEY BUREAU
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG LENGTH: Medium
The reason: Whitehurst, a major in the Army Reserve, commanded the unit in North Carolina responsible for informing people that their loved ones had died in battle. His return means that his work is done.
In other words, casualties were few and so were the visits his unit had to make. In all, Whitehurst said, he dispatched fewer than a dozen officers to bear the bad news.
"For 550,000 people, to have the casualty level so low was miraculous," he said. "Our military really did it right."
A reservist for 14 years, Whitehurst was not called up for active duty during the long buildup of American forces before the war. Instead, he volunteered.
"I felt that we in the reserves owed more than we had paid," he said. "And apparently the Army agreed with me because they called up a bunch of us."
He was assigned to head the Personnel Actions Division for the 18th Personnel Group at Fort Bragg, N.C. His tour of duty Whitehurst was supposed to last 90 days.
At home, that meant his law practice in Christiansburg and his family would have to make do without him, although he tried to come home on weekends as much as possible.
The Army then decided to extend his tour, first for 60 days and then through September. The order gave Whitehurst, who has practiced in Christiansburg for 19 years, no choice but to close his office and lay off his three employees. He even had his telephones disconnected.
"The only thing I regret is the hardship that my staff and my family had to endure, but they understood why I did what I did. And I think they handled it real well," he said.
His wife, Anne, is a teacher at Shawsville High School. They have two sons, Jeremy, 18, and Benjamin, 9.
Whitehurst, 46, called on his fellow lawyers in Christiansburg to take over his caseload in his absence. Business was idle for more than a month.
"I really missed it. I missed being in court and working with other attorneys and the judges and my clients," he said. "It's good to be home."
He returned March 15 but was not formally discharged until Friday.
He has been working to build his practice again, a process he predicts will take three to six months. He said he has a loyal client base that should keep him going during the interim, even with the business he gave to his competing lawyers in town.
"I could go run to them and say, `I'm back now, give my cases back to me.' I'm sure they would, but I wouldn't even ask," he said.
Whitehurst would do it all again.
"We lost money, but the money wasn't an issue," he said. "I can look in the mirror now, and I can feel like I did my part."
by CNB