Walker, Walton Harris

Walton Walker was born in Belton, Texas . In 1907 he entered the Virginia Military Institute, later was transferred to West Point Academy, which he graduated in 1912 . He took part in the Veracruz expedition of 1914, as well as in the First World War , by the end of which he had the rank of lieutenant colonel and was awarded the Silver Star medal for bravery in battle.

In the interwar period, Walker held a number of posts, including taught at West Point, served in China . In the 1930s, he ended up at the headquarters of the brigade commanded by George Marshall and made a favorable impression on the future chief of staff of the US Army.

During World War II, Walker commanded the 3rd Panzer Division , and then the 20th Corps as part of George Patton's 3rd Army on the Western Front in Europe. In the spring of 1945, his corps liberated the Buchenwald concentration camp. Walker ended the war with a lieutenant general and with a reputation as one of the best tank commanders in the US Army.

After the war, Walker commanded the 5th Army in the United States, and since 1948 - the 8th Army, which carried out occupation service in Japan . He did a lot to support the steadily declining combat readiness of the army in the face of a general reduction in the armed forces. In this post in the summer of 1950 he was caught by the Korean War . On July 13, Major General Walker was appointed commander of all US ground forces in Korea, and a few days later South Korean forces also came under his control. In the first weeks of the war, attempts by American forces to stop the advance of the North Korean army ended in failure. By the end of the month, UN forces were driven back to the southeast of the Korean Peninsula. On July 29, Walker issued the famous order to end the retreat. During August and the first half of September, the 8th Army fought almost continuous battles on the Busan perimeter . Thanks to radio interceptions, Walker was aware of all the enemy’s plans and was able to compensate for the lack of troops by mobile defense tactics by timely transferring his units and subunits to threatened areas.

By mid-September, the North Korean army on the Busan perimeter was exhausted for three months of continuous fighting, and American troops received reinforcements that equalized the forces of the parties. On September 15, the Incheon landing operation began in the deep rear of the North Koreans. The next day, Walker's army went on the offensive. By the end of the month, Seoul was liberated, and the North Korean army with heavy losses was thrown back for the 38th parallel. Military operations moved to North Korea , and by the end of October, UN forces were already close to the Chinese border. However, Walker was in no hurry to continue the offensive, despite decisive orders from the headquarters of the UN Commander Douglas MacArthur ; he was afraid of interference in the Chinese war (at that time, the American military and political leadership considered the military potential of China to be insignificant). In addition, international forces occupied a disadvantageous strategic position - between the 8th army on the west coast of Korea and the X corps on the east coast, a gap was formed where there were no troops. It was this gap that the People's Liberation Army of China took advantage of, striking on November 25th with weak South Korean divisions on the right flank of the 8th Army and crushing them on the very first day. Walker managed to save his army from total destruction, but now the UN forces were disorganized and retreated to the south.

Having diverted the army to the Seoul area, Walker began to prepare it for a new Chinese offensive. He was in the army a lot, talked with unit commanders and soldiers in order to have a better idea of ​​the situation. His previous actions caused discontent at the headquarters of MacArthur, where they began to think about his replacement. This was not destined to happen: December 23, Walton Walker died in a car accident near Seoul.

Buried at Arlington National Cemetery .

Short (about 165 cm) short and full, Walker received the nicknames “Bulldog” and “Johnny” among the officers who knew him (a pun with a hint of his favorite whiskey “ Johnny Walker ”) ^{[1] [2]} . In 1924, he married Carolina Victoria Emerson. Their son, Sam Sims Walker, graduated from West Point in 1946 and served in Korea at the time of his father’s death. Subsequently, he became a general.

• 1.8.1935 - lieutenant colonel (permanent rank)
• 02.14.1941 - Colonel (temporary increase)
• 07/10/1941 - Brigadier General (temporary increase)
• 02.16.1942 - major general (temporary increase)
• 1.5. 1942 - Colonel (permanent rank)
• 4.6.1944 - Brigadier General (permanent rank)
• 04/26/1945 - Lieutenant General (temporary increase)
• 1.8.1947 - Major General (permanent rank)
• 12/23/1950 - general (temporary increase, posthumously with seniority from 12/23/1950)

Shortly before the death of Walton Walker, South Korean President Lee Seung Man presented him with a Soviet ZIS-110 car captured from the North Korean side during the Korean War ^[3] . After his death, the car was delivered to his widow in the United States and became the first, if not the only, car of this brand in the United States.

In honor of Walton Walker are named:

• hill in seoul
• US Armed Forces Hotel in Berchtesgaden (demolished by 2008)
• American light tank M41 Walker Bulldog

• Biography on the Arlington National Cemetery website