Major General Fred L. Walker

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_L._Walker

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Fred Livingood Walker (June 11, 1887 – October 6, 1969) was a highly decorated American military officer with the rank of Major General, who served in two World Wars and was awarded with second highest military decorations in both wars, Distinguished Service Cross. During the World War II, Walker commanded the 36th Infantry Division in Italian Campaign.

Early life

Fred Livingood Walker was born on June 11, 1887 in Fairfield County, Ohio as a son of William Henry Walker and his wife Belle (néé Mason). Young Fred attended the Ohio State University and graduated in 1911 with a diploma from engineering. Subsequently he was accepted to the Army and commissioned with the rank of Second lieutenant of Infantry. He served briefly with an Infantry unit in Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas and then he was transferred to the Philippines, where he served with the 13th Infantry Regiment.

In 1914, he was transferred back to the United States, where he was stationed in Eagle Pass, Texas and also took a part in Pancho Villa Expedition under the command of general John J. Pershing.

With the United States entry into the World War I, Walker went overseas and served with the 30th Infantry Regiment in France. Major Walker commanded the battalion of his regiment during the Second Battle of the Marne in the summer of 1918 and distinguished himself during the heavy combats. In July 1918, Walker received Distinguished Service Cross for his service during the battle. In addition, he also received a Silver Star and was wounded twice.

Distinguished Service Cross Citation

For his actions, Fred L. Walker was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. The official U.S. Army citation for Walker's Distinguished Service Cross reads:

General Orders: War Department, General Orders 89 (1919)

Action Date: 15-Jul-18

Name: Fred L. Walker

Service: Army

Rank: Major

Regiment: 30th Infantry Regiment

Division: 3d Division, American Expeditionary Forces

Citation: The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross to Major (Infantry) Fred L. Walker, United States Army, for extraordinary heroism in action while serving with 30th Infantry Regiment, 3d Division, A.E.F., near the Marne River, France, 15 July 1918. Holding a front of more than 4 1/2 kilometers along the Marne River, Major Walker commanded a front-line battalion, which received the principal shock of the German attack on the French Army Corps front, but inflicted great losses on the enemy as the latter crossed the river. Those who succeeded in crossing were thrown into such confusion that they were unable to follow the barrage; and, through the effective leadership of this officer, no Germans remained in his sector south of the river at the end of the day's action. When one platoon had been cut off by an entire enemy battalion near the river, he sent other units to its relief and captured the entire German battalion, numbering 200 soldiers and 5 officers, including the battalion commander.

World War II

In September 1941, Walker was appointed a commanding general of the 36th Infantry Division stationed in Brownwood, Texas. In this capacity, Walker replaced major general Claude V. Birkhead. Walker subsequently commanded the division during the Carolina Maneuvers in the summer of 1942.

In April 1943, 36th Division received orders for departure to North Africa. Walker commanded the division in training operations near Rabat and Arzew. The Division saw first combat in September 1943, when it made a successful landing at Salerno.

Walker commanded the division during the whole Italian Campaign, participated in the battles at Rapido River, Monte Cassino, and Mount Artemisio on the drive north through Rome and beyond. Major general Walker was awarded with his second Distinguished Service Cross for his leadership of 36th Infantry Division in September 1944.

Unfortunately the Battle of Rapido River was total failure, which resulted in heavy casualties of the 36th Division. After the war, Thirty-sixth veteran Division Association called for congressional investigation of this battle, due to the inefficiency and inexperience of General Mark W. Clark, Fifth U.S. Army commander at that time. But no action was taken against general Clark.

In July 1944, major general Walker was transferred back to the United States and appointed a Commander of the Infantry School at Fort Benning, Georgia. He served in this capacity until April 30, 1946, when he finally retired from the Army.

Decorations

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_L._Walker#Decorations

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Fred Livingood Walker, commander of the Thirty-sixth Infantry Division during the Italian campaigns of World War II, was born on June 11, 1887, in Fairfield County, Ohio, the son of Belle (Mason) and William Henry Walker. During his college days (1907–11) at Ohio State University, he was a member of the Ohio Cavalry and graduated as an engineer in 1911. He entered the army that year, following a competitive examination, and as a second lieutenant he was stationed in San Antonio. From 1911 to 1914 he served with the Thirteenth Infantry Regiment in the Philippines. From 1914 to 1916 he was stationed in Eagle Pass and served under Gen. John J. Pershing during the punitive expedition into Mexico. In 1917, at the beginning of World War I, Walker was sent overseas, and in 1918 he was in the second battle of the Marne; for exceptional gallantry in combat he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. After the war he was assigned as an instructor at the Infantry School, Fort Benning, Georgia; he was commandant of Shattuck School in Faribault, Minnesota, from 1927 to 1932, and graduated in 1933 from the Army War College in Washington, D.C., where he served as instructor from 1934 to 1937. He was then assigned to the Fifteenth Infantry at Tientsin, China. In 1941 he was in San Antonio as a brigadier general, assistant commander of the Second Division.

From September 1941 to July 1944 Walker commanded the Thirty-sixth Texas Infantry Division. In World War II after a brief period in North Africa the Thirty-sixth Division made a successful landing on September 18, 1943, at Salerno, in southern Italy, the first American troops to invade the continent of Europe. Walker was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal for his leadership. He commanded the division through the battles of the Rapido River, Cassino, and Mt. Artemisio on the drive north through Rome and beyond; all were successful except the battle at the Rapido River, an attempt which General Walker advised against because of insuperable odds, and this failure resulted in heavy casualties for the division. Walker was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross with Oak Leaf Cluster for his part in the Italian campaign before he left Italy to assume command of the Infantry School at Fort Benning, Georgia, in July 1944. After the war, in January 1946, the Thirty-sixth Division Association, composed of division veterans, met in Brownwood, Texas, and passed a resolution calling for a congressional investigation of the battle of the Rapido River, a defeat which they charged was due to the inefficiency and inexperience of General Mark W. Clark, who had ordered the attack contrary to the repeated recommendations of the subordinate commanders. The United States congressional committees of military affairs in both the House of Representatives and the Senate invited witnesses to appear, but the Congress did not order a full-scale investigation.

Concerning the Italian campaign Walker wrote "My Story on the Rapido River Crossing" (Army, September 1952) and "The 36th Was A Great Fighting Division" (Southwestern Historical Quarterly, July 1968). His book From Texas to Rome (1969) is his journal of the division's World War II experience. In recognition of Walker's service with the Thirty-sixth Division, his portrait was hung in the state Capitol in Austin. After Walker's retirement from the regular army as a major general on April 30, 1946, he was appointed lieutenant general and commander of the Texas National Guard by Governor Coke Stevenson, to reorganize the guard, a post he held for fourteen months. Walker was married to Frances "Julia" Martin Messmore on August 19, 1911; they had a daughter and two sons. After Mrs. Walker's death in June 1961, Walker was married to Margaret Millikan on August 30, 1962. Fred L. Walker died at Walter Reed Army Hospital in Washington, D.C., on October 6, 1969, and was buried in Kirkersville, Ohio, where he had made his home. The Walker diaries and papers were left in the possession of his son Lt. Col. Charles W. Walker.