Walton Walker | |
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Walton H. Walker as lieutenant general
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Birth name | Walton Harris Walker |
Nickname(s) | "Johnnie Walker" |
Born |
Belton, Texas |
December 3, 1889
Died | December 23, 1950 near Uijeongbu, South Korea |
(aged 61)
Place of burial | Arlington National Cemetery |
Allegiance | United States of America |
Service/branch | United States Army |
Years of service | 1912 – 1950 |
Rank | General |
Unit | 5th Infantry Division |
Commands held |
3rd Armored Division XX Corps Eighth Service Command Fifth Army Eighth Army |
Battles/wars | |
Awards |
Distinguished Service Cross (2) Distinguished Service Medal (2) Silver Star (3) Legion of Merit Distinguished Flying Cross (2) Bronze Star Air Medal (12) Army Commendation Medal |
Relations | General Sam S. Walker (son) |
Veracruz (1914)
World War I
World War II
Walton Harris Walker (December 3, 1889 – December 23, 1950) was a United States Army four-star general who served as a commander in World War I, World War II, and the Korean War where he commanded the Eighth United States Army and died in a jeep accident. He received two Distinguished Service Crosses for extraordinary heroism in World War II and the Korean War.
Walker was born in Belton, Texas on December 3, 1889. His parents, Sam and Lydia Walker were both college graduates whose fathers had been officers in the Confederate Army. His father, a merchant, taught him how to ride a horse and to hunt and shoot. He graduated from the Wedemeyer Academy, a school which operated in Belton from 1886 to 1911. From a young age, he desired to go to West Point and hoped to be a general.
He attended the Virginia Military Institute for a period of time in preparation for his education at the United States Military Academy at West Point. He entered the Academy on June 15, 1907, but resigned on October 7, 1907. He reentered the Academy on March 3, 1908 and was commissioned a Second Lieutenant of Infantry on June 12, 1912.
As a lieutenant, he served at Fort Sheridan, Texas, Fort Crockett, Texas, VeraCruz, Mexico, Galveston, Texas, and Fort Sam Houston, Texas from June 1912 to May 1917; he was promoted to captain on May 15, 1917; he was a member of the 1914 VeraCruz expedition under Brigadier General Frederick Funston; patrolling on the U.S.-Mexican border in 1916, he developed a close friendship with Dwight Eisenhower. He served at Camp Funston, Texas, from May to December 1917, and Fort Sam Houston with the 13th Machine Gun Battalion from December 1917 to April 1918.