Whitener, Joey Dwight
Male
Verified Private First Class Joey Dwight Whitener, 19, of Nebo, North Carolina, was a U.S. Army artilleryman killed in Mosul, Iraq, on November 15, 2003.
Their Story
Joey Dwight Whitener was a 19-year-old from the small town of Nebo in western North Carolina. He enlisted in the United States Army and was assigned to C Battery, 1st Battalion, 320th Field Artillery Regiment, part of the 101st Airborne Division based at Fort Campbell, Kentucky.
On November 15, 2003, Whitener was killed in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul. According to the Department of Defense, he died from hostile fire. A contemporaneous report from the Associated Press stated that two soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division were killed in a rocket-propelled grenade attack in Mosul that day.
Whitener's death occurred during Operation Iraqi Freedom, a major conflict that began with a U.S.-led invasion in March 2003. By late 2003, the mission had shifted from conventional warfare to a counterinsurgency campaign, with attacks against coalition forces increasing in frequency, particularly in the Sunni Triangle region that included Mosul.
His death was reported in his hometown newspaper, The McDowell News. He was survived by his parents and siblings. The Army posthumously awarded him the Purple Heart and Bronze Star.
Private First Class Whitener is memorialized on the Fallen Heroes of McDowell County monument in North Carolina. He was one of 4,418 U.S. service members who died during the Iraq War.
Explore Further
PFC Whitener was killed during Operation Iraqi Freedom (2003–2010). The conflict concluded in August 2010. See the full roster of those killed in this conflict.
Among those documented in the same conflict: Kennedy, Brian Matthew, Beaupre, Ryan Anthony, Gutierrez, Jose, Waters-bey, Kendall Damon.
