The Whitmore Family

U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Shawn Whitmore was born in Frankfurt, Germany, and spent his childhood growing up in Virginia. Whitmore joined the military on March 28, 2006, and attended basic training at Fort Jackson in Columbia, South Carolina. He was assigned to Fort Bragg, North Carolina, for his first duty station. Within one month, Whitmore took orders for a deployment to Regional Command-East Afghanistan to serve as a petroleum laboratory specialist performing quality control.

On March 22, 2007, Whitmore was injured by a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) that tore both his shoulders, injured his hip and caused a traumatic brain injury (TBI). However, his bravery and determination gave him the strength he needed to remain in Afghanistan to complete his tour. Shortly thereafter in December 2008, he underwent major surgery to remove parts of his shoulder, bicep and collarbones. After recovery, Whitmore deployed for his second tour to Afghanistan in April 2009. Once again, he was hit by an RPG and medically evacuated to Fort Bragg for treatment. Whitmore then deployed for his last tour, which he served at Camp Humphreys in South Korea. After a year, he returned home to Fort Bragg and moved with his family to Fort Stewart, Georgia. Whitmore retired from the Army on August 27, 2014.

Whitmore’s bravery and honorable sacrifices in service have earned him a number of accolades, including an Afghanistan Campaign Medal with two Campaign Stars, two Army Commendation Medals, four Army Achievement Medals and more. He currently lives in Fort Stewart with his wife, Tracey, and their five children. The Whitmores describe themselves as a family with “solid moral values and spiritual beliefs.” All five of their children are in gifted programs at school and actively participate in sports. Tracey plans on completing her degree in business while Shawn plans to return to school in the near future. The family looks forward to settling down in their new community, where Shawn can also spend time coaching his children’s sports teams.

Thanks to Operation FINALLY HOME and PulteGroup’s Built to Honor program, Shawn Whitmore and his family will receive a new custom-built, mortgage-free home in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.