Walton Walker

Walton Harris Walker (3 December 1889 – 23 December 1950) was a United States Army four-star general who served with distinction in World War I, World War II, and the Korean War, where he commanded the Eighth United States Army before dying 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 3 December 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 United States Military Academy (USMA) at West Point, New York, and he hoped to be a general one day.

Walker attended the Virginia Military Institute in preparation for his education at the USMA. He entered the Academy on 15 June 1907, but resigned on 7 October 1907. He reentered the Academy on March 3, 1908, and was commissioned a second lieutenant of Infantry on 12 June 1912.

As a lieutenant, Walker served at Fort Sheridan, Illinois; Fort Crockett, Texas; Veracruz, Mexico; Galveston, Texas; and Fort Sam Houston, Texas, from June 1912 to May 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 D. Eisenhower. He was promoted to captain on 15 May 1917, a few weeks after the American entry into World War I. 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.

During World War I, Walker deployed to France with the 13th Machine Gun Company, 5th Machine Gun Battalion, 5th Division in April 1918, and, after being promoted to major on 17 June 1918, served as a company commander and then battalion commander to July 1919, by which time the war was over. He was awarded two Silver Stars for gallantry in action.

After the war, Walker rotated through a variety of assignments at Camp Benning, Georgia, and Fort Sill, Oklahoma, and served as a company commander and instructor at West Point from August 1923 to June 1925. He attended the Command and General Staff School at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, from September 1925 to June 1926. He then served at Fort Monroe, Virginia, from June 1926 to July 1930. He next commanded the 2nd Battalion, 15th Infantry at Camp Burrowes, Qinhuangdao and American Barracks, Tianjin, China, from September 1930 to March 1933.

He was promoted to lieutenant colonel on 1 August 1935, and, after attending the United States Army War College from August 1935 until June 1936, he served as post executive officer and then brigade executive officer with the 5th Infantry Brigade, 3rd Division, from August 1936 to June 1937; the brigade was commanded by George C. Marshall, the future Army Chief of Staff.

Walker served as a staff officer in the War Plans Division with the General Staff Corps in Washington, D.C. from August 1937 to April 1941. He next served as commanding officer of the 36th Infantry Regiment, which was activated 15 April 1941, as the 36th Infantry (Armored) and assigned to the 3rd Armored Division, June 1941; on 1 January 1942, it was redesignated the 36th Armored Infantry.