Editing Byron White (section)

==Early life and education==
White was born in [[Fort Collins, Colorado]], on June 8, 1917. His father, A. Albert White, managed a local lumber company. His mother, Maude Elizabeth (Burger), was the daughter of German immigrants. He had one older brother, [[Clayton Sam White|Clayton "Sam" Samuel White]]. Neither parent graduated high school, which was not unusual for farming communities at the time, but they instilled in their sons a heavy emphasis on education and took active roles in the local community.{{Sfn|Irish|2003|p=883–884}}{{Sfn|Hutchinson|1998|p=22–23}} White and his brother were raised in the nearby town of [[Wellington, Colorado|Wellington]] where they attended the [[Wellington High School (Wellington, Colorado)|local high school]]. As a young student, White worked odd jobs to support his family during the town's decline in the 1920s; these included roles in harvesting [[Beetroot|beets]], shoveling coal, and hard construction work among other forms of manual labor. In his junior year, he and his brother rented out land and spent long hours in the fields, during which time White adopted a nearly lifelong habit of [[smoking]].{{Sfn|Hutchinson|1998|p=18}}

Sam, four years White's senior, became an accomplished student and athlete that graduated as [[valedictorian]], earning a scholarship to study at the [[University of Colorado Boulder|University of Colorado]], where he was later elected by the university to become a [[Rhodes Scholarship|Rhodes Scholar]].{{Sfn|Irish|2003|p=884}} Whereas Sam was a gregarious and socially active child, White was described as a taciturn boy who "was very quiet, measuring every single word, showing no emotion, and revealing nothing."{{Sfn|Hutchinson|1998|p=21}}

White excelled academically in high school, graduating in 1934 as the class valedictorian with the highest grades in the school's history. He studied diligently in order to attain a scholarship to attend college, later describing his philosophy in Wellington as "do your work and don't be late for dinner."{{Sfn|Hutchinson|1998|p=24}} White followed his brother's footsteps in attending the [[University of Colorado Boulder]] on the scholarship offered to all Colorado high school valedictorians, intending to go to medical school and major in chemistry.{{Sfn|Hutchinson|1998|p=29}}<ref name="swabresny">{{cite news |last=Martin |first=Douglas |date=May 2, 2004 |title=Sam White, 91, researcher on effects of A-Bombs, dies |newspaper=New York Times |agency=(obituary) |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/02/us/sam-white-91-researcher-on-effects-of-a-bombs-dies.html?_r=1 |url-status=live |access-date=May 3, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171213143933/http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/02/us/sam-white-91-researcher-on-effects-of-a-bombs-dies.html?_r=1 |archive-date=December 13, 2017}}</ref> Though he joined the [[Phi Gamma Delta]] fraternity on campus, he stuck to a strict routine of working and studying with little to no social life.{{Sfn|Hutchinson|1998|p=29–30}} However, he would become a star athlete after playing as an [[1937 College Football All-America Team|All-American]] [[Halfback (American football)|halfback]] for the [[Colorado Buffaloes football|Colorado Buffaloes football team]],<ref name="usa today">{{Cite news |author=Joan Biskupic |url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2002/04/15/white-obit.htm |title=Ex-Supreme Court Justice Byron White dies |date=April 15, 2002 |work=[[USA Today]] |author-link=Joan Biskupic |access-date=October 20, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090212023359/http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2002/04/15/white-obit.htm |archive-date=February 12, 2009 |url-status=live}}</ref> winning a series of victories to become among the most acclaimed players in the country.{{Sfn|Hutchinson|1998|p=30–31}}{{Sfn|Schaeper|Schaeper|p=96|2010}}

In 1935, Sam White was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship to study at Oxford University. After news of his brother's success became a local sensation, White saw his brother as an inspiration and felt pressured to achieve the scholarship himself.{{Sfn|Hutchinson|1998|p=31–32}} He served as student body president his senior year, switched his major to the humanities, and graduated [[Phi Beta Kappa]] and valedictorian from the University of Colorado in 1938 with a [[Bachelor of Arts]] degree in [[economics]].{{Sfn|Hutchinson|1998|p=37, 43–44, 48}}<ref name="usa today" /> In his last year, the Colorado Buffaloes went undefeated,{{Refn|As a senior, White led the [[1937 Colorado Buffaloes football team]] to an undefeated 8–0 regular season, but they lost to favored [[1937 Rice Owls football team|Rice]], 28–14 in the [[1938 Cotton Bowl Classic|Cotton Bowl Classic]] on New Year's Day.<ref name=cstmlain>{{cite news |url=http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1938/01/02/page/31/article/rice-wins-28-14-whizzer-white-meets-mr-lain |newspaper=Chicago Sunday Tribune |agency=Associated Press |title=Rice wins 28-14; Whizzer White meets Mr. Lain |date=January 2, 1938 |page=1, part 2 |access-date=May 3, 2016 |archive-date=July 1, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160701230848/http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1938/01/02/page/31/article/rice-wins-28-14-whizzer-white-meets-mr-lain/ |url-status=live }}</ref> He was the runner-up (behind [[Yale Bulldogs football|Yale]] [[quarterback]] [[Clint Frank]]) for the [[Heisman Trophy]],<ref name=mscfgn1>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=SfwZAAAAIBAJ&pg=5741%2C123582 |newspaper=Milwaukee Sentinel |agency=Associated Press |title=Clint Frank voted U.S. gridder no. 1 |date=December 1, 1937 |page=21 }}{{Dead link|date=March 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> and also played [[Colorado Buffaloes men's basketball|basketball]] and [[College baseball|baseball]] at CU. The basketball team advanced to the finals of the inaugural [[National Invitation Tournament]] at [[Madison Square Garden (1925)|Madison Square Garden]] in March [[1938 National Invitation Tournament|1938]].<ref name=ctiffct>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=GXAzAAAAIBAJ&pg=2899%2C4364399 |newspaper=Lodi News-Sentinel |location=California |agency=United Press |title=Colorado, Temple in finals for cage title |date=March 16, 1938 |page=5 |access-date=October 15, 2020 |archive-date=August 30, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210830123958/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=GXAzAAAAIBAJ&pg=2899%2C4364399 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=cdtnit38f>{{cite news |url=http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1938/03/17/page/20/article/temple-routs-colorado-five-60-36-in-final |newspaper=Chicago Daily Tribune |agency=Associated Press |title=Temple routs Colorado five, 60-36, in final |date=March 17, 1938 |page=20 |access-date=May 3, 2016 |archive-date=July 1, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160701232141/http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1938/03/17/page/20/article/temple-routs-colorado-five-60-36-in-final/ |url-status=live }}</ref>|group=note}}{{Sfn|Irish|2003|p=885}} and White's status as a football star earned him the moniker "Whizzer White" by the student newspaper.{{Sfn|Hutchinson|1998|p=39}} After months of study, White also attained the Rhodes Scholarship, deferring it for a year to play professional football before attending [[Hertford College, Oxford|Hertford College]].{{Refn|White originally planned to attend Oxford in 1938 and not play pro football.<ref name=sshj>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=k0osAAAAIBAJ&pg=1829%2C3258259 |newspaper=Sunday Spartanburg Herald Journal |location=South Carolina |agency=Associated Press |title=Whizzer winds up his career on gridiron |date=December 4, 1938 |page=24 |access-date=October 15, 2020 |archive-date=September 1, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210901030022/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=k0osAAAAIBAJ&pg=1829%2C3258259 |url-status=live }}</ref> However, he was selected fourth overall in the [[1938 NFL draft]], held in December 1937, by the [[National Football League|NFL]]'s [[1938 Pittsburgh Pirates (NFL) season|Pittsburgh Pirates]] (now [[Pittsburgh Steelers|Steelers]]),<ref name="usa today"/><ref>[http://www.nfl.com/draft/history/fulldraft?season=1938&round=round1#round1 National Football League: NFL Draft History] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305210131/http://www.nfl.com/draft/history/fulldraft?season=1938&round=round1#round1 |date=March 5, 2016 }}; see also [[1938 NFL draft]].</ref> and became a Rhodes Scholar days later.<ref name=bbwwrs37>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=8FtPAAAAIBAJ&pg=1524%2C1865760 |newspaper=Bend Bulletin |location=Oregon |agency=United Press |title=Whizzer White Rhodes Scholar |date=December 21, 1937 |page=3 |access-date=October 15, 2020 |archive-date=September 1, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210901121247/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=8FtPAAAAIBAJ&pg=1524%2C1865760 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Oxford allowed White to delay his start to early 1939, so he accepted the Pittsburgh offer in August and played the [[1938 Pittsburgh Pirates (NFL) season|1938]] season in the NFL.<ref name=sshj/><ref name=ppcmbky>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=VU0bAAAAIBAJ&pg=1926%2C691999 |newspaper=Pittsburgh Press |last=Burcky |first=Claire M. |title='Whizzer' finally decides to play with Pirates |date=August 1, 1938 |page=21 |access-date=October 15, 2020 |archive-date=August 31, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210831050041/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=VU0bAAAAIBAJ&pg=1926%2C691999 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=lodiup38>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=7sczAAAAIBAJ&pg=5206%2C4390260 |newspaper=Lodi News-Sentinel |location=California |agency=United Press |title=Whizzer White accepts pro grid offer |date=August 2, 1938 |page=7 |access-date=October 15, 2020 |archive-date=August 31, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210831182726/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=7sczAAAAIBAJ&pg=5206%2C4390260 |url-status=live }}</ref> He led the league in rushing as a 21-year-old rookie and was its highest-paid player.<ref name="usa today"/>|group=note}}<ref name="supreme court">{{Cite book
| title = The United States Supreme Court
| author = Christopher L. Tomlins
| publisher = [[Houghton Mifflin]]
| year = 2005
| isbn = 0618329692
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Fy8DjOIxDm0C
| access-date = October 21, 2008
| archive-date = February 10, 2014
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140210065836/http://books.google.com/books?id=Fy8DjOIxDm0C
| url-status = live
}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |title=College Notes |journal=[[Hertford College, Oxford|Hertford College Magazine]] |date=May 1961 |volume=48 |pages=1–2 |url=https://www.hertford.ox.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/1961-No.-48-The-Hertford-College-Magazine.pdf |access-date=7 February 2022 |archive-date=February 7, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220207182226/https://www.hertford.ox.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/1961-No.-48-The-Hertford-College-Magazine.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Oxford ===
On January 3, 1939, White departed to England aboard the [[SS Europa (1928)|SS ''Europa'']], arriving in [[Southampton]] on January 9 harassed by reporters wishing to see a "Yank at Oxford."{{Sfn|Hutchinson|1998|p=124–125}}<ref name="rdeaglwwtox">{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=jQwkAAAAIBAJ&pg=3230%2C5832345 |newspaper=Reading Eagle |location=Pennsylvania |agency=United Press |title=Whizzer White leaves Pirates for Oxford, Eng |date=December 28, 1938 |page=14 |access-date=October 15, 2020 |archive-date=August 31, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210831011156/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=jQwkAAAAIBAJ&pg=3230%2C5832345 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="ppgstovr">{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=mLhRAAAAIBAJ&pg=2665%2C3423632 |newspaper=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette |last=Sell |first=Jack |title=Whizzer stops over here on way to Oxford |date=December 28, 1938 |page=14 |access-date=October 15, 2020 |archive-date=August 31, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210831084257/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=mLhRAAAAIBAJ&pg=2665%2C3423632 |url-status=live }}</ref> Upon moving into Hertford College with the intent of studying law, he befriended the future mathematician [[George Piranian]] and was assigned with [[C. H. S. Fifoot]] as a tutor.{{Sfn|Hutchinson|1998|p=124, 127}} White spent his days at Oxford tirelessly studying from day until night, becoming "the only Rhodes scholar who ever worked fourteen hours a day on his studies."{{Sfn|Hutchinson|1998|p=129, 133}} During one [[Easter vacation]], he became acquainted with [[Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr.|Joseph P. Kennedy]] and future U.S. president [[John F. Kennedy]] as their father, [[Joseph P. Kennedy Sr.|Joseph Kennedy]], was the [[United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom|U.S. ambassador]] to London.{{Sfn|Hutchinson|1998|p=133}} In the period of political upheaval just before the Second World War, Oxford students—Rhodes scholars especially—took an active role in international politics, with many American Rhodes scholars beckoning [[Franklin D. Roosevelt|President Roosevelt]] to take action against [[Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War)|Spanish nationalists]]. White, however, remained closed in the affairs of politics, rarely speaking out and becoming estranged from other students; he prioritized his studies and physique above all else.{{Sfn|Hutchinson|1998|p=135–136}}

Following the end of a term, White spent a summer vacation touring France and Germany, settling down in [[Munich]] in order to study the German language and [[Roman law]]. He unexpectedly reunited with John F. Kennedy, who was on his own tour of Europe with [[Torbert Macdonald]], and on one occasion the three were heckled by a mob who recognized their English [[Vehicle registration plates of the United Kingdom|license plates]]. White left Germany to return to Oxford in late August 1939. The war made it impossible for American students to continue studying at Oxford,{{Sfn|Hutchinson|1998|p=146}}<ref name="bvrrch39">{{cite news |date=October 4, 1939 |title=Byron White now student at Yale |page=8 |newspaper=Daily Times |location=Beaver and Rochester, Pennsylvania |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=DakiAAAAIBAJ&pg=5777%2C1091018 |url-status=live |access-date=October 15, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210831012216/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=DakiAAAAIBAJ&pg=5777%2C1091018 |archive-date=August 31, 2021}}</ref> and White chose to return to American in order to continue his legal education at [[Yale Law School]].{{Sfn|Hutchinson|1998|p=140–141}}<ref name="wwjhout">{{cite news |date=October 3, 1939 |title=Whizzer White just hides out |page=12 |newspaper=Spokesman-Review |agency=Associated Press |location=Spokane, Washington |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Af9VAAAAIBAJ&pg=3918%2C955319 |url-status=live |access-date=October 15, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211108182212/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Af9VAAAAIBAJ&pg=3918%2C955319 |archive-date=November 8, 2021}}</ref>

=== Law school ===
Upon enrolling at Yale, White continued his previous routine of studying fourteen hours a day, taking breaks only to exercise in the [[Payne Whitney Gymnasium|gymnasium]] where he would frequent the basketball courts, often clashing against Yale halfback [[Clint Frank]] in [[pick-up game]]s. Despite attempts by the [[New York Giants]] and other NFL teams to get him to sign back into football, White publicly repudiated his football career, telling a local newspaper that "my football playing days are over. I'm started on a law career."{{Sfn|Hutchinson|1998|p=147–148}}

At the time, Yale was home to a number of [[Legal realism|legal realists]] who rebuked [[Lochner v. New York|''Lochner'']] and [[substantive due process]], and were generally scholars with an expertise in legal fields outside of [[constitutional law]].{{Sfn|Hutchinson|1998|p=152–153}} Two of such realists—[[Myres S. McDougal]] and [[Arthur Corbin]]—had a significant influence on White early in law school.{{Sfn|Hutchinson|1998|p=154–155}} Future justice [[Potter Stewart]], one year ahead of him at the university, remembered White as "a serious-minded, scholarly, and rather taciturn (except when he found himself engaged in lively colloquy with J. W. Moore in his class on Procedure), and extremely likable young man with steel-rimmed eyeglasses."{{Sfn|Hutchinson|1998|p=157}}

White earned the highest grades in his first-year class and was subsequently awarded the Edgar M. Cullen Prize, an award given to the highest-achieving first-year student.{{Sfn|Hutchinson|1998|p=157}} During the summer, he returned to Colorado and attended summer school at the [[University of Colorado Law School]], got an [[appendectomy]], and became a [[waiter]] at his old fraternity.{{Sfn|Hutchinson|1998|p=156–157}} White would turn down an offer to join the editorship of the ''[[Yale Law Journal]]'',{{Sfn|Hutchinson|1998|p=160}} instead taking a leave of absence to promptly return to professional football as a member of the [[Detroit Lions]].{{Sfn|Hutchinson|1998|p=158–159}}<ref name="dswwstp">{{cite news |date=August 20, 1940 |title=Detroit signs "Whizzer" White |page=10 |newspaper=St. Petersburg Times |agency=INS |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=GU8wAAAAIBAJ&pg=2116%2C4008675 |url-status=live |access-date=October 15, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210831053759/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=GU8wAAAAIBAJ&pg=2116%2C4008675 |archive-date=August 31, 2021}}</ref><ref name="stlastdt">{{cite news |last=French |first=Bob |date=August 27, 1941 |title=Whizzer White still a student |page=22 |newspaper=Toledo Blade |location=Ohio |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=MfEjAAAAIBAJ&pg=2132%2C3776085 |url-status=live |access-date=October 15, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210829221146/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=MfEjAAAAIBAJ&pg=2132%2C3776085 |archive-date=August 29, 2021}}</ref>

=== Professional football ===
White came into the National Football League with the then-[[Pittsburgh Pirates (football)|Pirates]] in the summer of 1938 as a widely-heralded college star.<ref name=Shake>[https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-pittsburgh-press-football-pirates-sh/160355046/ "Football Pirates Shake Off Detroit Lions Bump for Tomorrow's Opener,"] ''Pittsburgh Press,'' Sept. 10, 1938, p. 10.</ref> The $15,800 contract he had signed made White the NFL's highest-paid player.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Los Angeles Times 07 Aug 1978, page 3 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/384183844/ |access-date=2023-01-23 |website=Newspapers.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Freedman |first=Lew |title=Pittsburgh Steelers: The Complete Illustrated History |publisher=MBI Publishing Company LLC |year=2009 |isbn=9780760336458 |location=United States |chapter=1930s: Getting started}}</ref> About his first game, one Pittsburgh journalist said he "looked better as an individual than the Pirates did as a team".<ref name="Shake" /> Despite leading the NFL in rushing yards in [[1938 NFL season|1938]],<ref>White gained 567 yards on the ground in 1938, leading the league's second best runner, [[Tuffy Leemans]] by more than 100 yards. See: Carl L. Storck (ed.), ''Official Guide of the National Football League 1939.'' New York: American Sports Publishing Co., 1939; pp. 53–54.</ref> White did not appear for the [[1939 Detroit Lions season|1939 season]].<ref>Tod Maher and Bob Gill (eds.), ''The Pro Football Encyclopedia: The Complete and Definitive Record of Professional Football.'' New York: Macmillan USA, 1997; p. 842.</ref> He would reappear for the [[Detroit Lions]] in [[1940 Detroit Lions season|1940]] and would again top the world of "postgraduate football" with a league-leading performance in rushing.<ref>{{cite web |last1=White |first1=Charles B. |title=Byron Raymond White (1917–2002) One of the Greatest |url=https://www.cobar.org/Portals/COBAR/TCL/AugSept2018/ATB_ProfilesinSuccess.pdf |website=Colorado Lawyer p. 77. |publisher=The Colorado Bar |access-date=17 April 2025}}</ref>

White played a total of three NFL seasons — 33 games in all.<ref>[https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/W/WhitWh00.htm Whizzer White Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft, College] ''Whizzer White statistics'', Pro Football Reference, www.pro-football-reference.com</ref> He led the league in rushing twice during that short interval, and was elected the NFL's first team [[All-Pro]] [[halfback (gridiron football)|right halfback]] in 1940.<ref>George Strickler (ed.), ''Roster and Record Manual 1941.'' Chicago: National Football League, 1941; p. 68.</ref>

=== World War II ===
At the end of [[1941 Detroit Lions season|1941 Lions season]], White returned to Yale to await a call to serve in the [[U.S. navy|U.S. Navy]] after the [[Attack on Pearl Harbor]].  In May 1942, he was assigned to [[naval intelligence]] and spent weeks training at [[Dartmouth College]] and in [[New York City]].{{Sfn|Hutchinson|1998|p=172}} His original intention was to join the [[United States Marine|Marine Corps]], but was kept out due to being [[colorblind]].<ref name="usa today" />

In July 1943, White was stationed at [[Nouméa]], New Caledonia, tasked with protecting [[Guadalcanal]] and [[Tulagi]]; he narrowly missed being assigned with John F. Kennedy, his former acquaintance who had also been stationed at Tulagi before being reassigned to the [[Russell Islands]].{{Sfn|Hutchinson|1998|p=173}} During World War II, White served as an [[Military intelligence|intelligence]] officer in the [[United States Navy|Navy]], and was stationed in the [[Asiatic-Pacific Theater|Pacific Theatre]].<ref name=ptstffdes>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=h9RSAAAAIBAJ&pg=5641%2C1419005 |newspaper=Deseret News |location=Salt Lake City, Utah |agency=Associated Press |last=James |first=Rembert |title='Whizzer' White now on PT staff |date=September 15, 1943 |page=1 |access-date=October 15, 2020 |archive-date=August 29, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210829234152/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=h9RSAAAAIBAJ&pg=5641%2C1419005 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=nmgtww>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=4fQZAAAAIBAJ&pg=3761%2C6234393 |newspaper=Milwaukee Journal |agency=United Press |title=Navy medal given to Whizzer White |date=June 15, 1944 |page=12, part 2 }}{{Dead link|date=March 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref name=wwsrvbh>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=YRxSAAAAIBAJ&pg=6710%2C6126263 |newspaper=Deseret News |location=Salt Lake City, Utah |agency=INS |last=Alexander |first=John D. |title=Whizzer White survives Bunker Hill |date=June 29, 1945 |page=12 |access-date=October 15, 2020 |archive-date=August 31, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210831050041/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=YRxSAAAAIBAJ&pg=6710%2C6126263 |url-status=live }}</ref>  He wrote the intelligence report on the sinking of future President [[John F. Kennedy]]'s ''[[Motor Torpedo Boat PT-109|PT-109]]''.{{Sfn|Hutchinson|1998|p=175}} For his service, White was awarded two [[Bronze Star Medal|Bronze Star]] medals,<ref name="usa today"/> and was honorably discharged as a [[Lieutenant commander (United States)|lieutenant commander]] in 1945.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Wright |first=Alfred |date=December 10, 1962 |title=A Modest All-America Who Sits on the Highest Bench - |url=https://vault.si.com/vault/1962/12/10/a-modest-allamerica-who-sits-on-the-highest-bench |magazine=Sports Illustrated |access-date=October 18, 2020 |archive-date=October 18, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201018192954/https://vault.si.com/vault/1962/12/10/a-modest-allamerica-who-sits-on-the-highest-bench |url-status=live }}</ref>