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World War II Congressional Medal of Honor Recipient
Brigadier General Kenneth Newton Walker, U.S. Army Air Corps
Kenneth Newton Walker was born in Cerrillos, New Mexico and enlisted into the military at Denver, Colorado. He served as a Brigadier General, U.S. Army Air Corps, Commander of 5th Bomber Command in the South Pacific Theater. As Commander he accompanied his units on bombing missions into enemy held territory. From the lessons gained under combat conditions, he developed a highly efficient technique for bombing when opposed by enemy fighters and antiaircraft fire. On January 5, 1943, he led an effective daylight bombing attack against Japanese shipping in the harbor at Rabaul, New Britain. Though intercepted by enemy fighters, they scored direct hits on nine Japanese ships. During this action one B-17 Bomber was shot down and his plane was disabled. He was last seen leaving the target area with one engine on fire and several fighters on his tail. A search failed to find any wreckage or survivors. President Roosevelt presented the Medal of Honor to his son in a White House ceremony on March 25, 1943.
 On March 25, 1943, 16-year-old Kenneth Walker, Jr., was invited to the White House to receive his father's Medal of Honor from President Franklin Roosevelt. Though General Walker had been missing for nearly three months he was still listed as Missing In Action, thus the Medal was not presented posthumously.
General Douglas MacArthur had kept his word. The airplane sighted in the search for Walker had proven to be the second B-17 that went down on the January 5 mission to Rabaul. On the day following the raid her crew, minus two men who were killed in the crash, were rescued by a Catalina flying boat.
While the search continued for Kenneth Walker, his 10-year-old son Douglas subsequently accepted the Legion of Merit awarded his father for his important work on AWPD-1, the aerial warfare plan that ultimately bombed Hitler into defeat.
Post-war efforts at the recovery of American remains and accounting for those missing in action failed to turn up anything conclusive. There were some indications that Walker and the crew of the San Antonio Rose might have been captured. There are other reasons to believe that even the Japanese knew nothing of his fate. Indeed, B-17 #41-24453 may had been swallowed up the the dense jungle of the South Pacific, or found its final resting place at the floor of the ocean.
The only certain information that remains of General Walker's fate is that he died an American hero. He was a man of flawed character in many ways--for he was indeed human as are all of our REAL heroes. Perhaps it might even be said that those same character flaws that prompted him to say in the spring of 1942, "I've made a terrible mess of things", were in fact the same Qualities and Strengths that motivated him to do what was necessary to become an Air Force legend during some of our nation's darkest and most critical months of World War II.
CITATION:
Rank and organization: Brigadier General, U.S. Army Air Corps, Commander of V Bomber Command. Place and date: Rabaul, New Britain, 5 January 1943. Entered service at. Colorado. Birth: Cerrillos, N. Mex. G.O. No.: 13, 11 March 1943. Citation: For conspicuous leadership above and beyond the call of duty involving personal valor and intrepidity at an extreme hazard to life. As commander of the 5th Bomber Command during the period from 5 September 1942, to 5 January 1943, Brig. Gen. Walker repeatedly accompanied his units on bombing missions deep into enemy-held territory. From the lessons personally gained under combat conditions, he developed a highly efficient technique for bombing when opposed by enemy fighter airplanes and by antiaircraft fire. On 5 January 1943, in the face of extremely heavy antiaircraft fire and determined opposition by enemy fighters, he led an effective daylight bombing attack against shipping in the harbor at Rabaul, New Britain, which resulted in direct hits on 9 enemy vessels. During this action his airplane was disabled and forced down by the attack of an overwhelming number of enemy fighters.
Courtesy of the United States Air Force Press Service:
December 6, 2001
One of Americas airpower pioneers is being memorialized in a December 7 ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery, nearly 59 years after his death in World War II.
Brigadier General Kenneth N. Walker, a co-author of the air campaign strategy used to defeat Germany in World War II, received the Medal of Honor for his actions during a fatal B-17 Flying Fortress mission over the Japanese stronghold of Rabaul, New Britain, on January 5, 1943.
There was no public memorial to (my father) in the United States where the family could gather, said Walkers son, Douglas.
Because his body was not recovered, no plans were made to erect a headstone at Arlington until this year. Walkers name has been linked to two Air Force facilities, the former Walker Air Force Base, near Roswell, New Mexico; and Walker Hall, home of the College of Aerospace Doctrine Research and Education, at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama.
As a bombardment instructor for the Air Corps Tactical School at Maxwell Field, Alabama, Walker coined what became the creed of the bomber. It was his belief that airpower offered a revolutionary means to pressure an enemy into capitulation without first defeating opposing ground forces. Stating in lectures that a well-planned, well-organized and well-flown air force attack will constitute an offensive that cannot be stopped, he formed a doctrine followed for years to come by such Air Force generals as Curtis LeMay.
While at ACTS, Walker also participated in a study on the accuracy of low-altitude bombing. He discovered that, while targeting was more accurate at low altitude, damage was reduced because of ricochets and other factors. Walker learned that delayed-fused bombs and bombs dropped from higher altitude caused more damage. Subsequent tests justified his idea of a new high-altitude daylight precision bombing doctrine.
In 1934, Walker and four other ATCS instructors were invited to testify on the military aspects of aviation before the Presidents Commission on Federal Aviation (the Howell Commission). Though he feared his career would be jeopardized, Walker and his colleagues presented arguments in support of a separate air organization, no longer subordinate to other military branches. Ultimately Walker and those who testified with him became general officers.
With war on the horizon, President Franklin Roosevelt asked for an estimate of the overall production requirements needed to defeat potential enemies. Within the air arm of the U.S. Army, that project fell to newly created Air War Plans Division -- of which Walker served as Deputy Chief. Within nine days, Walker and three other officers created AWDP-Plan 1, the blueprint for the upcoming war against Germany.
Walker later commanded the Fifth Bomber Command in the Pacific theater, from September 1942 until his death. On his final mission, the general led 12 B-17s against shipping in the harbor at Rabaul. Though intercepted by enemy fighters, they scored direct hits on nine Japanese ships. Walker was last seen leaving the target area with one engine on fire and several fighters on his tail.
Though history shows that AWDP-1 did have flaws, later generations of Air Force leaders continued to recognize its merit -- Instant Thunder, the Gulf Wars air operations plan, was based on Walkers AWDP-1.
My father was part of a group of men who came together and (built), with limited resources, an organization that became the Air Force, Douglas Walker said. They were the major players in developing the doctrine of an independent Air Force.
A flyover by a World War II-era B-29 Superfortress is scheduled as part of the 1 p.m. EST memorial service.
Courtesy of the United States Air Force Office of History:
Brigadier General Kenneth Newton Walker
Kenneth Walker enlisted at Denver, Colorado, December 15, 1917, and took his flying training at the University of California's School of Military Aeronautics and Matther Field, California, getting his commission and wings in November 1918. For three years he was a flying instructor at Brooks and Barron Fields, Texas, and Fort Sill, Oklahoma.
In December 1922, as a First Lieutenant, he went to the Philippines as commander of the Air Intelligence Section at Camp Nichols. He held other duties there and returned to the United States in February 1925, as a member of the Air Service Board at Langley Field, Virginia. He stayed at Langley until 1928, having been Adjutant of the 59th Service Squadron, commander of the 11th Bomb Squadron, and Operations Officer for the 2nd Bomb Group. He graduated from the Air Corps Tactical School in June 1929, and stayed at Maxwell Field, Alabama, as an instructor of the school. He next attended the Command and General Staff School at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, with graduation in June 1933, and promotion to Captain in August and to Major in October that year.
He went to Hamilton Field, California, where he served for three years as Intelligence and Operations Officer of the 7th Bomb Group, commander of the 9th Bomb Squadron and varied group duties. In February 1938, he went to Hawaii, serving as Operations Officer of the 5th Bomb Group at Luke Field, Arizona.; Executive Officer at Hickam, Hawaii and commander of the 18th Pursuit Group at Wheeler Field, Hawaii. General Walker returned to the United States in January 1941, as Assistant Chief of the Plans Division for the Chief of the Air Corps in Washington.
In July 1941, he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel as the office became Headquarters Army Air Force. In March 1942, he was advanced to, Colonel and next month assigned to the Operations Division of the War Department General Staff.
In June 1942, he was promoted to Brigadier General and went to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater the next month, where he served from September 1942 to January 1943 as commanding general of the 5th Bomber Command. In this capacity he repeatedly accompanied his B-24 and B-25 units on bombing missions deep into enemy-held territory. Learning first-hand about combat conditions, he developed a highly efficient technique for bombing when opposed by enemy fighter planes and by anti-aircraft fire.
General Walker was killed in action January 5, 1943 while leading such a bombing mission over Rabaul, New Britain. He was awarded the Medal of Honor. Its citation, in part, reads "...In the face of extremely heavy anti aircraft fire and determined opposition by enemy fighters. General Walker led an effective daylight bombing attack against shipping in the harbor at Rabaul, which resulted in direct hits on nine enemy vessels. During this action his airplane was disabled and forced down by the attack of an overwhelming number of enemy fighters. He displayed conspicuous leadership above and beyond the call of duty involving personal valor and intrepidity at an extreme hazard to life.
Courtesy of Find A Grave
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