WILLIAM WALKER

BO0RN: JANUARY 30, 1920 IN MNNEAPOLIS, MN. JOINED THE ARMY IN OCTOBER 1938 AND WAS SELECTED IN JULY 1940 TO UNDERGO FLIGHT TRAING AT PARKS AIR COLLEDGEIN ST. LOUIS, MO. ON 7 FEBRUARY 1941 I COMPLETED MY TRAINING AND WAS COMMISSION AS A SECON LIEUTENANT IN THE U.S. ARMY AIR FORCE. I FLEW 25 MISSION IN THE EUROPEAN THEATER IN B-17 AIRCRAFT CAME HOME FOR A YEAR AND THEN VOLUNTEERED TO GO OVERSEAS FOR ANOTHER COMBAT TOUR. THIS TIME I WENT TO THE SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA STARTING AT NADZAB, NEW GUINIA AND A YEAR LATER, AND 43 MISSIONS AGAINST THE JAPAMESE ENDING AT CLARK FIELD ON LUZON IISLAND, PHILIPPINES RETURNING HOME AS.AS A LT. COLONEL. .I NEXT SPENT SEVEN YEARS ASSIGNED IN THE PENTAGON. FIRST ON THE WAR DEPARTMENT GENERAL STAFF IN LOGISTICS AND THE LAST FOUR BACK WITH THE AIR FORCE IN AIR INSTALLATIONS..LEAVING THE PENTAGON I WAS REASSIGNED TO ALLIED AIR FORCES CENTRAL EUROPE, FONTAINBLEU, FRANCE FOR TWO YEARS AND NEXT TO U.S. AIR FORCE, WIESBADEN, GERMENY FOR ONE YEAR. BEFORE RETURNING TO THE STATES IN SEPTEMBER 1954 I WAS ASSIGMENED TO THE 509th BOMBARDMENT WING,STRATEGIC AIR COMMAND,, ROSWELL, NEW MEXICO AS DEPUTY COMMAND FOR MAINTENANCE. THE WING OPERATED 45 B-47 AND 20 KC-97 TANKER AIRCRAFT.MY POSITION WAS RESPONSABL TO INSURE THE DAILY COMBAT READINESS OF THESE AIRCRAFT TO SUPPORT NATIONAL WAR PLANS..THE WING WAS RELOCATED TO PEASE AIR FORCE BASE,PORTSMOUTH, NEW HAMSHIRE IN JUNE 1969.. IN MAT 1969 I WAS TRANSFERRED TO OTIS AIR FORCE BASE TO COMMAND THE I9th AIR REFUELING SQUARON, KC-97 AIR- CRAFT.THE UNIT WAS OPERATED AS A SEPARATE SAC UNIT ON AN ADC BASE. AND MAINTAINED THE SAME COMBAT READINRSS STATUS AS OTHER SAC UNITS. IN JULY 1961 I WAS REASSIGNED AS COMMANDER OF THE 4047th STATEGIC WING, B-52/KC-135 AT McCOY AIR FORCE BASE,ORLANDO, FLORIDA . I REMAINED IN THIS POSITION UNTIL MY RETIREMENT FROM THE AIR FORCEON JANUARY 31,1964.