Born in Haynesville, Louisiana, Whayland grew up in Belcher, where his father ran a service station. He graduated from high school in 1943, entered the U.S. Army, and was sent to basic training at Camp Fannin near Tyler, Texas. He sailed into the Pacific, a trip that took 21 days. At Atape, New Guinea he was assigned to the Thirty-Second Infantry Division. He fought in Philippine campaigns on Leyte and Luzon. "The fighting conditions on Luzon were a lot better than the fighting conditions on Leyte. It wasn't mud," he recalls. By war's end Whayland ranked as a platoon sergeant. He joined the occupation of Japan, remaining there until late 1945. After the war he ran a service station and a used car business.