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.
Early life
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.
Early military career
thumb|left|150px|At West Point in 1912
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 was awarded two Silver Stars for gallantry in action.
Interwar period
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.
thumb|left|General Patton with members of his staff. Walker is standing on the right
When Marshall (now Chief of Staff) assigned George S. Patton to organize America's armored forces, Walker successfully lobbied Marshall for a post as one of Patton's subordinate commanders, gaining promotion to brigadier general in the process. Promoted to major general in 1942; he commanded the 3rd Armored Division from August 1941 to August 1942. After being succeeded by Leroy H. Watson, Walker became commanding general of IV Corps and then XX Corps (IV Armored Corps became XX Corps), taking the latter to England in February 1944 and leading it into combat in Normandy in July as part of Patton's Third Army. He was awarded a Silver Star for gallantry in action on 7 July 1944. The citation for the medal read: