By Max Bomber
TheStatehousFile.com
INDIANPOLIS— Former Gov. Edgar Whitcomb will be remembered as a Hoosier hero.
His funeral service was held in the rotunda of the Statehouse Friday for family, friends and citizens to pay their last respects.
“Today all of Indiana mourns the passing of this great man whose life encouraged service and inspired generations of Hoosiers,” said Gov. Mike Pence.
The funeral procession started at the Indiana War Memorial, weaved through downtown Indianapolis and ended at the Statehouse. The service held for Whitcomb, who died last week at age 98, included military honors, as well as a cannon and gun salute.
Born November 7, 1917, Whitcomb lived a life full of excitement and adventure. During World War II, Whitcomb served in the Army Air Corps as a B-17 pilot. He was captured in 1942, but escaped a prison and swam eight miles through shark-infested water. Later he was recaptured, but eventually escaped again.
He authored three novels that documented his journey from a small town in Jennings County to serving Hoosiers in the top ranks of state government.
“Following his election as Indiana’s 43rd governor in 1968, Ed Whitcomb led a season of reform and modernization of state government, improved the lives of Hoosiers every year since,” said Pence. “He increased funding for education, mental health, and infrastructure. And he did it all with fiscal responsibility.”
Whitcomb spent years sailing the world’s oceans before returning home to settle into a quiet life in Rome, Indiana.
Many state legislators and government officials attended the service Friday. Some familiar faces from around the Statehouse spoke about their relationship with the former governor. Whitcomb was highly regarded by his colleagues.
“Not just the book, but Ed Whitcomb is a remarkable story,” said House Speaker Brian Bosma. “A soldier an author a public servant but most importantly a true Hoosier hero.”
Max Bomber is a reporter for TheStatehouseFile.com, a news website powered by Franklin College journalism students.
