World War II Database

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseWalton Harris Walker was born in Belton, Texas, United States in Dec 1889. He graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, United States in 1912. He participated in the American attack of Veracruz, Mexico in 1914, and then commanded small units in patrolling the US-Mexican border through the late 1910s. He began to develop a friendship with Dwight Eisenhower around this time. In WW1, he fought in France as a member of US 5th Infantry Division; he would emerge from the war with a Silver Star medal. During the inter-war years, he saw service in China; studied at the Command and General Staff School at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, United States; served as an instructor at West Point; and served as George Marshall's executive officer at the brigade level. In Sep 1939, when the European War began, he was the executive officer of the US Army War Plans Division. He was then transferred under George Patton, as Patton was tasked to organize armored units. In 1942, after the US entry into WW2, he was promoted to the rank of major general to command 3rd Armored Division. By 1944, he would command at the corps level under Patton, leading US XX Corps during the campaign across northern France. His corps would see action during the Ardennes Offensive (Battle of the Bulge), and would liberate Buchenwald Concentration Camp near Weimar, Germany. When the European War ended in May 1945, his troops had reached Linz, Austria. He was promoted to the rank of lieutenant general at the end of the war, returning to command US Fifth Army based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. In 1948, he was made commanding officer of the depleted US Eighth Army in Japan. During the Korean War, he was not able to withstand the North Korean opening offensive, but he successfully led his army in forming the Pusan (Busan) Perimeter in southeastern Korea that eventually stopped the North Korean momentum and then moved on to cross into North Korea, although his troops he would be thrown back after the Communist Chinese entry into the war. In Dec 1950, the Jeep aboard which he was traveling collided with a civilian truck north of Seoul near Uijeongbu in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea, killing him. He was buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, United States on 2 Jan 1951. He was posthumously promoted to the rank of full general and his name was used for a light tank, M4 Walker Bulldog.

Walton Walker Interactive Map

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Walton Walker Timeline