Kenneth Walker facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Kenneth Newton Walker
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Brigadier General Kenneth N. Walker
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| Nickname(s) | Ken |
| Born | 17 July 1898 Cerrillos, New Mexico |
| Died | 5 January 1943 (aged 44) Rabaul, New Britain |
| Places of Burial (markers only) |
Arlington National Cemetery
Manila American Cemetery, Philippines |
| Allegiance |  United States of America |
| Service/ |
 United States Army Air Corps |
| Years of service | 1917–1943 |
| Rank |  Brigadier General |
| Service number | 0-12510 |
| Commands held | V Bomber Command 18th Pursuit Group 9th Bombardment Squadron 11th Bombardment Squadron |
| Battles/wars | World War II
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| Awards | Medal of Honor Distinguished Service Cross Silver Star Legion of Merit Purple Heart |
Brigadier General Kenneth Newton Walker (17 July 1898 – 5 January 1943) was a United States Army aviator and a United States Army Air Forces general who exerted a significant influence on the development of air-power doctrine. He posthumously received the Medal of Honor in World War II.
Walker joined the United States Army in 1917, after the American entry into World War I. He trained as an aviator and became a flying instructor. In 1920, after the end of the war, he received a commission in the Regular Army. After service in various capacities, Walker graduated from the Air Corps Tactical School in 1929, and then served as an instructor there.
He supported the creation of a separate air organization that is not subordinate to other military branches. He was a forceful advocate of the efficacy of strategic bombardment, publishing articles on the subject and becoming part of a clique known as the "Bomber Mafia" that argued for the primacy of bombardment over other forms of military aviation. He advanced the notion that fighters could not prevent a bombing attack.
He participated in the Air Corps Tactical School's development of the doctrine of industrial web theory, which called for precision attacks against carefully selected critical industrial targets. Shortly before the United States entered World War II, Walker became one of four officers assigned to the Air War Plans Division, which was tasked with developing a production requirements plan for the war in the air. Together, these officers devised the AWPD-1 plan, a blueprint for the imminent air war against Germany that called for the creation of an enormous air force to win the war through strategic bombardment.
In 1942, Walker was promoted to brigadier general and transferred to the Southwest Pacific, where he became Commanding General, V Bomber Command, Fifth Air Force. The Southwest Pacific contained few strategic targets, relegating the bombers to the role of interdicting supply lines and supporting the ground forces. This resulted in a doctrinal clash between Walker and Lieutenant General George C. Kenney, an attack aviator, over the proper method of employing bombers.
Walker frequently flew combat missions over New Guinea, for which he received the Silver Star.
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Early life
Walker was born in Los Cerrillos, New Mexico to Wallace Walker and his wife Emma. The family subsequently moved to Denver, Colorado. Kenneth began his education at the Maria Mitchell School in Denver, Colorado, from 1905 to 1908, and then attended the Columbian School there from 1908 to 1912. He went to Central High School for a time until 1913 when he started at the Omaha High School of Commerce, from which he graduated in 1915. From January to June 1917 he took a course at the YMCA Night School in Denver. He then studied business administration at La Salle Extension University.
Walker enlisted in the United States Army in Denver, on 15 December 1917. He received flight training at the University of California's School of Military Aeronautics and at the pilot training base at Mather Field, near Sacramento, California. He was awarded his Aircrew Badge and commissioned as a temporary second lieutenant in the United States Army Air Service on 2 November 1918.
He then attended the Flying Instructor's School at Brooks Field in San Antonio, Texas, and became an instructor at the flight training center at Barron Field. In March 1919, he was posted to Fort Sill as an instructor at the Air Service Flying School. During 1918, the School for Aerial Observers and the Air Service Flying School were built at nearby Post Field, where Walker spent the next four years as a pilot, instructor, supply officer, and post adjutant.
Death
On 5 January 1943, he was shot down and killed leading a daylight bombing raid over Rabaul, for which he was awarded the Medal of Honor.
Neither Walker's body nor the wreck of his aircraft was found. Walker was therefore listed on the Tablets of the Missing at Manila American Cemetery and Memorial, Philippines, where servicemen missing in action or buried at sea in the Southwest Pacific are commemorated. On 7 December 2001, a headstone marker was erected in Section MC-36M of Arlington National Cemetery to give family members a place to gather in the United States.
Legacy
In January 1948, Roswell Army Air Field in Roswell, New Mexico, was renamed Walker Air Force Base in honor of Walker. The base was closed on 30 June 1967. Walker Hall and its Walker Air Power Room are at Maxwell Air Force Base are also named after him. It is the home of the Air Force Doctrine Development and Education Center.
The Walker Papers is an Air Force Fellows program. It annually honors the top three research papers produced by Air Force Fellows with the Walker Series award. The Walker Series recognizes the contributions each Fellow has made to research supporting air and space power and its use in the implementation of US strategic policy.
Related pages
Images for kids
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A Curtiss P-36 Hawk fighter. Walker commanded the 18th Pursuit Group in Hawaii, which was equipped with this aircraft.
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A Boeing B-17 bomber. This bomber promised to provide the technical capability to implement the Air Corps Tactical School's doctrine.
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Senior Allied commanders in New Guinea in October 1942. Left to right: Mr. Frank Forde; General Douglas MacArthur; General Sir Thomas Blamey; Lieutenant General George C. Kenney; Lieutenant General Edmund Herring; Brigadier General Kenneth Walker.
