World War II Honoree

William Erwin Walker

Branch of Service

U.S. Army

Hometown

Glendale, California

Honored By

John Peterson

HE WAS POSTED TO AUSTRALIA, WHERE ATTENDED THE SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA U.S. ARMY OFFICER CANDIDATE SCHOOL AT CAMP COLUMBIA, WACOL, BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA. AFTER THREE MONTHS, HE GRADUATED WITH THE RANK OF SECOND LIEUTENANT. HE WAS POSTED TO WAKE ISLAND IN JUNE 1944. IN NOVEMBER 1944 HE WAS ASSIGNED TO LEYTE ISLAND IN THE PHILIPPINES, AND WAS PLACED IN CHARGE OF A SIGNAL CORPS RADAR UNIT. HE SELECTED THE EMPLACEMENT FOR THE RADAR AND TOOK ROUTINE SECURITY MEASURES, BUT DID NOT POST A DAY GUARD BECAUSE OF PRIOR ORDERS WHICH HAD BEEN RECEIVED. HE WAS LATER ORDERED TO RETURN TO HIS SHIP. WHEN HE RETURNED TO THE ISLAND THE FOLLOWING DAY, HE LEARNED THAT THERE HAD BEEN A SURPRISE JAPANESE ATTACK AT SUNRISE. HE AND HIS GROUP WERE THEN SUBJECTED TO APPROXIMATELY THREE DAYS AND NIGHTS OF CONTINUOUS BATTLE WITH JAPANESE ARMY PARATROOPERS, DESPITE THE FACT THAT THE MEN WERE NOT FRONT LINE SOLDIERS BUT RATHER A SIGNAL CORPS DETACHMENT. AFTER LEYTE, HE INFORMED HIS COMMANDING OFFICER THAT HE COULD NO LONGER SERVE AS AN OFFICER AND ASKED TO BE PERMITTED TO RETURN TO THE UNITED STATES. HE WAS RELEASED FROM ACTIVE DUTY IN THE SOUTH PACIFIC IN DECEMBER, 1944, BUT WAS PROMOTED TO FIRST LIEUTENANT IN JULY, 1945, ABOUT THREE MONTHS AFTER HIS ARRIVAL IN THE U.S.