- Army Air Corps
Ed Whitcomb enlisted in the United States in 1940 and was deployed to the Pacific Theater. He was commissioned as a Lieutenant in 1941 and made an aerial navigator. He served two tours of duty in the Philippines and was promoted to Second Lieutenant.
During the Battle of the Philippines, Whitcomb’s base was overrun; he was captured by the Japanese and was beaten and tortured by his captors, but was able to escape. Recaptured a few days later, he escaped a second time and was hunted for several more days while evading his pursuers. He escaped by swimming all night through shark-infested waters to an island unoccupied by the Japanese army. He wrote a book about his experience entitled Escape from Corregidor. He was discharged from active duty in 1946, though he remained in the reserve military forces until 1977 holding the rank of colonel.