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YONGSAN GARRISON, South Korea - Silver Star recipient and retired Army Gen. Samuel Sims Walker passed away Aug. 8 at the age of 90.
Having earned two Silver Stars (Korea, Vietnam), Walker joined his father, Gen. Walton Walker, as the only father-son combination to earn the rank of four-star general.
When Walker arrived on the Korean Peninsula in 1950, his father, the first commander of the Eighth U.S. Army, said he was just like any other infantry officer.
Sam Walker was given a chance to prove those words as his father issued a “Stand or Die” order credited with helping turn the tide in the early months of the war after the North Korean army pushed American and South Korean forces back to the Nakdong River. It was an order that the younger Walker said (in the (add publishing date) edition of the Fayetteville Observer) was “’the most psychologically important factor’ in stiffening the beleaguered troops in the initial stages of the struggle.”
The younger Walker took that order to heart and earned a Silver Star for actions as the company commander of A Co., 19th Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division, ironically a unit his father served with as well.
According to his Silver Star citation, then Lt. Walker distinguished himself by repeatedly exposing himself to enemy fire to better direct his command in its assault. “…the enemy swept the area with intense mortar and small arms fire. With utter disregard for his own safety, Captain Walker moved among his men placing them in positions from which they could obtain maximum fire power and urging them on to greater efforts…His fearless example served well to inspire his men who went on to secure their objective, inflicting heavy casualties among the enemy force and destroying or capturing many guns and other equipment.”
Soon after the elder Walker presented his son with the Silver Star, Gen. Walton Walker was killed in a Jeep accident near Uijeongbu. In his later years, the younger Walker said, “I wish my father had lived to see the triumph he had worked so hard to achieve.”
After escorting his father back to the U.S., Walker did not return to conflict in South Korea. He was assigned to the U.S. Army Infantry School (add location) as an instructor. He would go on to serve in many distinguished roles, including a return trip to South Korea to become the Secretary of the General Staff of the United Nations Command and U.S. Forces Korea. He even found his way back into combat during the Vietnam War as a brigade commander from (add time period) where he received another Silver Star for displaying gallantry in action.
Walker served as the Commandant of Cadets at the United States Military Academy in West Point, N.Y. from 1969 until 1972, at the same time that current Duke University Men’s basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski and the current U.S. senator from Rhode Island Sen. Jack Reed attended the academy.
His other key military assignments included serving as the assistant division commander of the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, N.C. and as the (add title) 3rd Infantry Division in (add town) Germany where he was credited with helping turn the division around.
“It was one of the worst divisions in Germany,” Walker told the Fayetteville Observer at the time. “The soldiers were out of control, creating a disturbing impression of our forces and our country, and even intentionally destroying U.S. Army equipment. My major efforts were directed toward restoring the 3rd Division to its previous top ranking.”
Selected for promotion to general in 1977 as the commander of Allied Land Forces Southeast in Turkey, Walker was one of the youngest four-star generals in the U.S. Army at the time.
Opting to retire from the military in 1978, Walker became the superintendent of the Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Va. from 1981 before retiring to spend time with his family in 1988.
The Walker family remains connected to Eighth Army and the Republic of Korea through visits and in advisory capacities to this day.
| Date Taken: | 08.17.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 09.13.2015 11:57 |
| Story ID: | 175890 |
| Location: | YONGSAN GARRISON, 11, KR |
| Web Views: | 207 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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