![]() Captain Guisenhoff was not too pleased with this, as he recognized what a tremendous morale booster third class petty officer Whitman was for his battle weary men. A twist of fate saved Slim a second time when orders arrived transferring him to another ship. When asked what he did when the barrage began, Slim said, "I just tried to dig a hole in the deck." It was a close call, but someone was looking after the young sailor. One evening at dusk off the island of Okinawa, a Kamikaze slammed into the mast pole, sending it crashing to the deck, where Slim had been standing just moments earlier. When he wasn't entertaining the battle-fatigued sailors by sparring with an opponent in the boxing ring, he could be found singing and yodeling. Slim changed to up-tempo numbers and became a hit with his shipmates. Understandably, this song was a poor choice to sing to a ship load of homesick boys missing their sweethearts. Song performed for the all-sailor audience, "When I'm Gone You'll Soon Forget," was greeted with a few boos and hisses. It wasn't long until he joined a small group and began singing to hisįellow sailors in a weekly entertainment program called "Happy Hour." The first Strung it backwards to suit his left-handed style, and taught himself to Shape and pass the time he took up boxing. Chilton, where he saw action in the South Pacific. In 1943 the young Floridian was assigned to a troop transport, Slim worked in the Tampa shipyard as a shipfitter and boilermaker until To Slim with her family, and Byron is a gifted singer and song writer, whoīecame a big part of the Slim Whitman Show. Two children, Sharron Carlene and Byron Keith. Has been Slim's inspiration throughout the years. They named their small haven "Woodpecker Paradise." Jerry HeĪnd Jerry were married and they settled on forty acres nestled in the woods south ![]() ![]() It was there, at the age of 15, that Slim metĪnd fell in love with Geraldine Crist, the new pastor's daughter. Listen to Montana Slim (Wilf Carter) and the yodeler Jimmie Rodgers on the radioĪnd when he wanted to he could match their yodels note for note.Ĭhurch has always been an important part of Slim's life. Singing was the furthest thing from his mind although he did His two greatest loves during the early years were baseballĪnd fishing. His childhood was spent in Tampa, Florida, with his parents, two brothers, and Was born Ottis Dewey Whitman Jr., but his friends called him O.D. Slim Whitman, the man with the unique crystal clear soaring vocal style,
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