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Brigadier General Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...
Kenneth Newton Walker (17 July 1898 – 5 January 1943) was a
United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...
aviator and a
United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...
general who exerted a significant influence on the development of airpower doctrine. He posthumously received the
Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valo ...
in World War II. Walker joined the United States Army in 1917, after the
American entry into World War I American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...
. 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 A regular army is the official army of a state or country (the official armed forces), contrasting with irregular forces, such as volunteer irregular militias, private armies, mercenaries, etc. A regular army usually has the following: * a standin ...
. After service in various capacities, Walker graduated from the
Air Corps Tactical School The Air Corps Tactical School, also known as ACTS and "the Tactical School", was a military professional development school for officers of the United States Army Air Service and United States Army Air Corps, the first such school in the world. C ...
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 Strategic bombing is a military strategy used in total war with the goal of defeating the enemy by destroying its morale, its economic ability to produce and transport materiel to the theatres of military operations, or both. It is a systematica ...
, publishing articles on the subject and becoming part of a clique known as the "
Bomber Mafia The Bomber Mafia were a close-knit group of American military men who believed that long-range heavy bomber aircraft in large numbers were able to win a war. The derogatory term "Bomber Mafia" was used before and after World War II by those in t ...
" 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 Industrial web theory is the military concept that an enemy's industrial power can be attacked at nodes of vulnerability, and thus the enemy's ability to wage a lengthy war can be severely limited, as well as his morale—his will to resist. The th ...
, 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 The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...
, where he became Commanding General,
V Bomber Command The V Bomber Command is an inactive United States Army Air Forces unit. It was last assigned to Fifth Air Force, based at Irumagawa AB, Japan. It was inactivated on 31 May 1946. During World War II the unit initially controlled Fifth Air Forc ...
,
Fifth Air Force The Fifth Air Force (5 AF) is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Pacific Air Forces (PACAF). It is headquartered at Yokota Air Base, Japan. It is the U.S. Air Force's oldest continuously serving Numbered Air Force. The organizat ...
. 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 Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...
George C. Kenney George Churchill Kenney (August 6, 1889 – August 9, 1977) was a United States Army general during World War II. He is best known as the commander of the Allied Air Forces in the Southwest Pacific Area (SWPA), a position he held between Augu ...
, an attack aviator, over the proper method of employing bombers. Walker frequently flew combat missions over
New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; id, Papua, or , historically ) is the world's second-largest island with an area of . Located in Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is separated from Australia by the wide Torr ...
, for which he received the Silver Star. 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.


Early life and World War I

Walker was born in
Los Cerrillos, New Mexico Los Cerrillos is a census-designated place (CDP) in Santa Fe County, New Mexico, United States. It is part of the Santa Fe, New Mexico Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 229 at the 2000 census. Accessible from State Highway 14 o ...
, on 17 July 1898 to Wallace Walker and his wife Emma ''née'' Overturf. The family subsequently moved to
Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
. Kenneth's father left when he was young, and Emma became a single mother. 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 La Salle Extension University (LSEUDe Sola, Ralph (1981). ''Abbreviations dictionary.'' Elsevier, ), also styled as LaSalle Extension University,The university styled its name as both "La Salle" and "LaSalle" in print mediahttp://aycu21.webshots.c ...
. Walker enlisted in the United States Army in Denver, on 15 December 1917. He received flight training at the
University of California The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Franci ...
's School of Military Aeronautics and at the pilot training base at
Mather Field Mather may refer to: People * Mather (given name), a list of people with the given name * Mather (surname), a list of people with the surname Places * Mather, California (disambiguation) * Mather, Manitoba, Canada, a community * Mather, Pennsyl ...
, near Sacramento, California. He was awarded his Aircrew Badge and commissioned as a temporary second lieutenant in the
United States Army Air Service The United States Army Air Service (USAAS)Craven and Cate Vol. 1, p. 9 (also known as the ''"Air Service"'', ''"U.S. Air Service"'' and before its legislative establishment in 1920, the ''"Air Service, United States Army"'') was the aerial war ...
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 Barron Field (Camp Taliaferro Field #2) is a former World War I military airfield, located West-southwest of Everman, Texas. It operated as a training field for the Air Service, United States Army between 1917 until 1921. It was one of thir ...
. 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 Henry Post Army Airfield is a military use airport located at Fort Sill in Comanche County, Oklahoma, United States. This military airport is owned by United States Army. Established as Post Field in 1917, it was one of thirty-two Air Service ...
, where Walker spent the next four years as a pilot, instructor, supply officer, and post adjutant.


Between the wars

Walker became one of many officers holding wartime commissions to receive a commission in the
Regular Army A regular army is the official army of a state or country (the official armed forces), contrasting with irregular forces, such as volunteer irregular militias, private armies, mercenaries, etc. A regular army usually has the following: * a standin ...
, into which he was commissioned as a
first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a ...
on 1 July 1920, but was subsequently reduced in rank to second lieutenant on 15 December 1922, another common occurrence in the aftermath of World War I when the wartime army was demobilized. Already a command pilot, he also qualified as a combat observer in 1922. He was promoted to first lieutenant again on 24 July 1924. Walker courted Marguerite Potter, a sorority member and sociology graduate at the Norman campus of the
University of Oklahoma , mottoeng = "For the benefit of the Citizen and the State" , type = Public research university , established = , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.7billion (2021) , pr ...
. The two were married in September 1922. In lieu of a honeymoon, they boarded a troop transport to the Philippines on 12 December 1922. Walker initially became Commander of the Air Intelligence Section at
Camp Nichols Camp Nichols, also known as Fort Nichols or Camp Nichols Ranch, was a short-lived historic fortification located in present-day Cimarron County, Oklahoma, about northwest of the community of Wheeless, Oklahoma. It was built by New Mexico and Calif ...
. He was then posted to the Philippine Air Depot, where he served at various times as property officer, supply officer, adjutant, and depot inspector, before ultimately being assigned to the
28th Bombardment Squadron 8 (eight) is the natural number following 7 and preceding 9. In mathematics 8 is: * a composite number, its proper divisors being , , and . It is twice 4 or four times 2. * a power of two, being 2 (two cubed), and is the first number of t ...
in 1924. In August 1923 he crashed an
Airco DH.4 The Aircraft Manufacturing Company Limited (Airco) was an early British aircraft manufacturer. Established during 1912, it grew rapidly during the First World War, referring to itself as the largest aircraft company in the world by 1918. Ai ...
on takeoff but walked away unhurt. The Walkers had two sons, Kenneth Jr., born in February 1927, and Douglas, born in January 1933. Walker returned to the United States in February 1925 and was posted to
Langley Field Langley may refer to: People * Langley (surname), a common English surname, including a list of notable people with the name * Dawn Langley Simmons (1922–2000), English author and biographer * Elizabeth Langley (born 1933), Canadian perfo ...
, where he became a member of the Air Service Board. He served successively as adjutant of the 59th Service Squadron, commander of the
11th Bombardment Squadron An international call prefix, international dial-out code or international direct dial code (IDD code) is a trunk prefix that indicates an international phone call. In the dialling sequence, the prefix precedes the country calling code (and, furt ...
, and operations officer of the
2nd Bomb Group The 2nd Bomb Wing is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Force Global Strike Command and the Eighth Air Force. It is stationed at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. The wing is also the host unit at Barksdale. The wing wa ...
there. In June 1929 he graduated from the
Air Corps Tactical School The Air Corps Tactical School, also known as ACTS and "the Tactical School", was a military professional development school for officers of the United States Army Air Service and United States Army Air Corps, the first such school in the world. C ...
, where he studied under Captain
Robert Olds Robert Olds (June 15, 1896 – April 28, 1943) was a general officer in the United States Army Air Forces, theorist of strategic air power, and proponent of an independent United States Air Force. Olds is best known today as the father of Brig. ...
, a former aide to air power pioneer
Billy Mitchell William Lendrum Mitchell (December 29, 1879 – February 19, 1936) was a United States Army officer who is regarded as the father of the United States Air Force. Mitchell served in France during World War I and, by the conflict's end, command ...
and a passionate advocate of strategic bombing. He then served at the Air Corps Tactical School as an instructor under Captain Olds in the Bombardment Section until July 1933, both at Langley and at
Maxwell Field Maxwell Air Force Base , officially known as Maxwell-Gunter Air Force Base, is a United States Air Force (USAF) installation under the Air Education and Training Command (AETC). The installation is located in Montgomery, Alabama, United States. O ...
, where the school was relocated in 1931. Walker became part of a small clique of Air Corps Tactical School instructors that became known as the "
Bomber Mafia The Bomber Mafia were a close-knit group of American military men who believed that long-range heavy bomber aircraft in large numbers were able to win a war. The derogatory term "Bomber Mafia" was used before and after World War II by those in t ...
", that argued that bombardment was the most important form of airpower. Its members also included Haywood Hansell, Donald Wilson,
Harold L. George Harold Lee George (July 19, 1893 – February 24, 1986) was an American aviation pioneer who helped shape and promote the concept of daylight precision bombing. An outspoken proponent of the industrial web theory, George taught at the Air Corps T ...
, and
Robert M. Webster Robert Morris Webster (October 19, 1892 – March 1, 1972). Retrieved on November 5, 2009. was a United States Air Force major general who was an early advocate of daylight precision bombing as a war-winning strategy. A rated command pilot, he c ...
, Their influence was such that, during their tenure, bombardment achieved primacy over pursuit in the development of Air Corps doctrine. One of Walker's tasks was to rewrite the bombardment text. He felt it was flawed because it failed to drive home what he saw as the most important fact, that "bombardment aviation is the basic arm of the air force". Following the views of air power theorists Billy Mitchell,
Hugh Trenchard Marshal of the Royal Air Force Hugh Montague Trenchard, 1st Viscount Trenchard, (3 February 1873 – 10 February 1956) was a British officer who was instrumental in establishing the Royal Air Force. He has been described as the "Father of the ...
, and
Giulio Douhet General Giulio Douhet (30 May 1869 – 15 February 1930) was an Italian general and air power theorist. He was a key proponent of strategic bombing in aerial warfare. He was a contemporary of the 1920s air warfare advocates Walther Wever, Billy ...
, Walker enunciated two fundamental principles: that bombardment would take the form of daylight precision bombing; and that it should be directed against critical industrial targets. In his article "Driving Home the Bombardment Attack", published in the ''Coast Artillery Journal'' in October 1930, he argued that fighters could not prevent a bombing attack and that "the most efficacious method of stopping a bombardment attack would appear to be an offensive against the bombardment airdrome." The Bomber Mafia argued that bombers flew too high and too fast to be intercepted by fighters, that even if they were intercepted, the bombers had enough firepower to drive off their attackers, and enough armor and resilience to absorb any damage their attackers might attempt to inflict. The Air Corps Tactical School developed a doctrine that became known as
industrial web theory Industrial web theory is the military concept that an enemy's industrial power can be attacked at nodes of vulnerability, and thus the enemy's ability to wage a lengthy war can be severely limited, as well as his morale—his will to resist. The th ...
, which called for precision attacks against carefully selected critical industrial targets. Walker drove home his belief in bombardment with a famous dictum from his lectures: "A well-organized, well-planned, and well-flown air force attack will constitute an offensive that can not be stopped." Walker published another professional article in 1933, entitled "Bombardment Aviation: Bulwark of National Defense". "Whenever we speak in terms of 'air force' we are thinking of bombardment aviation," he wrote, dismissing other forms of aviation. This was orthodox at the Air Corps Tactical School, which taught that "every dollar which goes into the building of auxiliary aviation and special types, which types are not essential for the efficient functioning of the striking force can only occur at the expense of that air force's offensive power." Walker's major thesis was that "a determined air attack, once launched, is most difficult, if not impossible to stop when directed against land objectives." At the conclusion of his article, he renewed his call for the creation of an independent air force "as a force with a distinct mission, of importance co-equal to that of the Army and the Navy." Walker's persistent advocacy of strategic bombing led to frequent clashes with Captain
Claire Chennault Claire Lee Chennault (September 6, 1893 – July 27, 1958) was an American military aviator best known for his leadership of the "Flying Tigers" and the Chinese Air Force in World War II. Chennault was a fierce advocate of "pursuit" or fighte ...
, who led instruction in pursuit aviation at the Air Corps Tactical School from 1931 to 1936. Chennault believed that the right mix of fighters and ground defenses could successfully defeat a bomber assault and ridiculed Walker for suggesting that bombers could not be stopped, leading to "legendary" debates between the two. In November 1934, Walker, now a student at the
Command and General Staff School The United States Army Command and General Staff College (CGSC or, obsolete, USACGSC) at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, is a graduate school for United States Army and sister service officers, interagency representatives, and international military ...
at Fort Leavenworth, testified with Robert Olds, Claire Chennault, Donald Wilson, Harold George and Robert Webster on the military aspects of aviation before the
Howell Howell may refer to: Places In the United Kingdom *Howell, Lincolnshire, England In the United States *Howell, Georgia * Howell, Evansville, a neighborhood of Evansville, Indiana *Howell, Michigan * Howell, Missouri *Howell, Utah * Howell C ...
Commission on Federal Aviation. All were current or former instructors at the Air Corps Tactical School, and all except Chennault were part of the Bomber Mafia. They argued for an independent air force, in contradiction to Army doctrine. Walker told the commission: "unless we create an adequate and separate Air Force, this next war 'will begin in the air and end in the mud'-in the mud and debris of the demolished industries that have brought us to our knees." They were unable to persuade the commission to recommend an independent air force, although it did agree that the Air Corps should be granted greater autonomy within the Army. The commission concluded that "there is ample reason to believe that aircraft have now passed far beyond their former position as useful auxiliaries ... An adequate striking force for use against objectives both near and remote is a necessity for a modern army". The appearance in 1935 of the
Boeing B-17 The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engined heavy bomber developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). Relatively fast and high-flying for a bomber of its era, the B-17 was used primarily in the European Theater ...
bomber gave the bombardment advocates the weapon they had long dreamt of. Not only could it carry an impressive bomb load of of bombs for or for , but its top speed of was faster than that of the contemporary P-26 fighter. Its high speed also led the bombardment advocates to downplay the danger posed by antiaircraft fire. Walker's marriage ended in divorce in 1934, after he had an affair. He remarried and had a son named John, but his second marriage also ended in divorce. Walker graduated from the Command and General Staff School in June 1935 and was posted to Hamilton Field, first as Intelligence and Operations Officer of the 7th Bombardment Group, and then as commander of the 9th Bombardment Squadron. While landing a
Martin B-12 The Martin B-10 was the first all-metal monoplane bomber to be regularly used by the United States Army Air Corps, entering service in June 1934.Jackson 2003, p. 246. It was also the first mass-produced bomber whose performance was superior to ...
bomber, he overshot the runway. The station commander, Brigadier General Henry Arnold reported that Walker, "supposed to be one of our best pilots, apparently cuts out completely, uses up and finally hits a concrete block and spoils a perfectly good airplane when he normally would have given her the gun and gone around again." After fifteen years in the rank, jokes circulated about his being the most senior first lieutenant in the Air Corps, but he was finally promoted to captain on 1 August 1935. He was temporary major from 20 October 1935 to 16 June 1936, and again on 4 October 1938, before the rank finally became substantive on 1 July 1940. He had another accident in 1937, when he crashed a B-17 on takeoff from Denver Municipal Airport but this time his flying skills were credited with saving the entire crew of nine from injury. In 1938 Walker began a three-year tour in Hawaii, where he was operations officer of the
5th Bombardment Group ''005'' (pronounced "''double-o five''") is a 1981 arcade video game by Sega. They advertised it as the first of their RasterScan Convert-a-Game series, designed so that it could be changed into another game in minutes "at a substantial savings" ...
at Luke Field, executive officer at
Hickam Field Hickam may refer to: ;Surname *Homer Hickam (born 1943), American author, Vietnam veteran, and a former NASA engineer ** October Sky: The Homer Hickam Story, 1999 American biographical film * Horace Meek Hickam (1885–1934), pioneer airpower advoc ...
, and then commander of the
18th Pursuit Group 18 (eighteen) is the natural number following 17 and preceding 19. In mathematics * Eighteen is a composite number, its divisors being 1, 2, 3, 6 and 9. Three of these divisors (3, 6 and 9) add up to 18, hence 18 is a semiperfect number. ...
at
Wheeler Field Wheeler Army Airfield , also known as Wheeler Field and formerly as Wheeler Air Force Base, is a United States Army post located in the City & County of Honolulu and in the Wahiawa District of the Island of O'ahu, Hawaii. It is a National His ...
. Commanding a pursuit group involved a considerable change of pace for a man whose career thus far had been spent in bombers. His adjutant, First Lieutenant Bruce K. Holloway felt that Walker never demonstrated the "emotional exhilaration toward flying a high performance machine that is so typical of fighter pilots." Nor did he warm to the Curtiss P-36 Hawk fighter, especially after a near-fatal accident.


World War II


Air War Plans Division

Walker returned to the United States in January 1941 and joined the Air War Plans Division in the Office of the Chief of the
United States Army Air Corps The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical r ...
in Washington, D.C., as an assistant chief of staff. Brigadier General Carl Andrew Spaatz was head of the division. Lieutenant Colonels Olds and
Muir S. Fairchild General (United States), General Muir Stephen Fairchild (September 2, 1894 – March 17, 1950) was a United States Air Force officer and the service's second Vice Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force, Vice Chief of Staff. Early service ...
, old colleagues of Walker's from the Air Corps Tactical School, were two of Spaatz' assistants. Walker was promoted to temporary lieutenant colonel on 15 July 1941. In the June 1941 reorganization of the Air Corps, Spaatz became chief of staff to the Commanding General,
United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...
,
Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...
Henry H. Arnold, who appointed Colonel
Harold L. George Harold Lee George (July 19, 1893 – February 24, 1986) was an American aviation pioneer who helped shape and promote the concept of daylight precision bombing. An outspoken proponent of the industrial web theory, George taught at the Air Corps T ...
, a former student of Walker at the Air Corps Tactical School from 1931 to 1932, to replace Spaatz as head of the Air War Plans Division. Walker joined George's planning team, along with Majors
Haywood S. Hansell Haywood Shepherd Hansell Jr. (September 28, 1903 – November 14, 1988) was a general officer in the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) during World War II, and later the United States Air Force. He became an advocate of the doctrine o ...
and
Laurence S. Kuter General Laurence Sherman Kuter (May 28, 1905 – November 30, 1979) was a Cold War-era U.S. Air Force general and former commander of the North American Air Defense Command ( NORAD). Kuter (pronounced COO-ter) was born in Rockford, Illinois i ...
. All were former instructors at the Air Corps Tactical School and members of the "Bomber Mafia". The Air War Plans Division was tasked with developing a production requirements plan for President
Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
, who wanted it by 10 September 1941. In just nine days in August 1941, George, Olds, Fairchild, Walker, Kuter and Hansell drafted the AWPD-1 plan for a war against Germany. Reflecting their belief in bombardment as the principal form of aviation, the plan was based upon the number of bombers that they estimated would be required to knock out Germany's key industries – electric power, transportation and petroleum. In order to neutralize anticipated opposition from the German Air Force, they planned for bombing aircraft factories and the sources of the light metals needed for aircraft production. These targets were collated along with the estimated tonnage of bombs required to destroy them. The plan called for a bomber force of 98 medium, heavy and very heavy bomber groups, totaling 6,834 aircraft. Sixteen fighter groups would defend the bombers' bases. Should this bomber force prove insufficient to defeat Germany without a major land offensive, provision was made for a tactical air force of 13 light bomber groups, two photo reconnaissance groups, five fighter groups, 108 observation squadrons and 19 transport groups. In retrospect, this part of the plan represented a considerable underestimate. The plan required 2,164,916 personnel, including 103,482 pilots. At the moment though, the United States had, as General Arnold put it, "plans but not planes". Due to poor security, verbatim extracts of AWPD-1 were published in the ''Chicago Tribune'' and other newspapers on 4 December. The war in Europe had cast grave doubt on the Air Corps'
doctrine Doctrine (from la, doctrina, meaning "teaching, instruction") is a codification of beliefs or a body of teachings or instructions, taught principles or positions, as the essence of teachings in a given branch of knowledge or in a belief syste ...
that fighters could not shoot down bombers and
the bomber will always get through "The bomber will always get through" was a phrase used by Stanley Baldwin in a 1932 speech "A Fear for the Future" given to the British Parliament. His speech stated that contemporary bomber aircraft had the performance necessary to conduct a s ...
. In the
Battle of Britain The Battle of Britain, also known as the Air Battle for England (german: die Luftschlacht um England), was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defende ...
the British
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...
had demonstrated that it could shoot down bombers, while its own bomber force had suffered such heavy losses over Germany that it had abandoned daylight bombing in favor of night raids. Nonetheless, the planners held firm in their belief that, since American bombers were better armed and armored than their British or German counterparts, the bombers would get through, even in daylight, and that enemy fighter strength could be destroyed on the ground by bombing airbases and factories. "Each of us," Kuter wrote years later, "scoffed at the idea that fighters would be needed to protect bombers, to enable bombers to reach their objective. In preparing AWPD-l, we stayed in that rut." Walker was promoted to
colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...
on 1 February 1942. In April 1942 Walker joined the Operations Division (OPD) of the War Department General Staff as executive officer of Brigadier General St. Clair Streett's Theater Group. He co-authored a memorandum with Brigadier General Dwight Eisenhower in which they advanced the position that the determinations of the
Joint Chiefs of Staff The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) is the body of the most senior uniformed leaders within the United States Department of Defense, that advises the president of the United States, the secretary of defense, the Homeland Security Council and the ...
"must be taken as authoritative unless and until modified by the same or higher authority." After his death, Walker was awarded the Legion of Merit in recognition of his contributions as a staff officer at OPD.


Papuan Campaign

Walker was promoted to brigadier general on 17 June 1942 and was transferred to the
Southwest Pacific Area South West Pacific Area (SWPA) was the name given to the Allied supreme military command in the South West Pacific Theatre of World War II. It was one of four major Allied commands in the Pacific War. SWPA included the Philippines, Borneo, the ...
, flying to Australia in the company of Brigadier General
Ennis Whitehead Ennis Clement Whitehead (September 3, 1895 – October 12, 1964) was an early United States Army aviator and a United States Army Air Forces general during World War II. Whitehead joined the U. S. Army after the United States entered World War I ...
, another newly promoted brigadier general. The commander of Allied Air Forces there,
Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...
George Brett George Howard Brett (born May 15, 1953) is an American former professional baseball player who played all of his 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a third baseman for the Kansas City Royals. Brett's 3,154 career hits are second-mo ...
, aware that he would soon be replaced, sent the two newcomers on an inspection trip. Walker learned a great deal. He joined three combat missions over New Guinea, experiencing for himself the difficulties that his aircrews faced. He also experienced an air raid in
Port Moresby (; Tok Pisin: ''Pot Mosbi''), also referred to as Pom City or simply Moresby, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea. It is one of the largest cities in the southwestern Pacific (along with Jayapura) outside of Australia and New ...
. For this, Walker was awarded the Silver Star. His citation read: Brett's replacement, Major General
George Kenney George Churchill Kenney (August 6, 1889 – August 9, 1977) was a United States Army general during World War II. He is best known as the commander of the Allied Air Forces in the Southwest Pacific Area (SWPA), a position he held between Augu ...
, arrived in the theater in August, and Walker was appointed Commanding General,
V Bomber Command The V Bomber Command is an inactive United States Army Air Forces unit. It was last assigned to Fifth Air Force, based at Irumagawa AB, Japan. It was inactivated on 31 May 1946. During World War II the unit initially controlled Fifth Air Forc ...
,
Fifth Air Force The Fifth Air Force (5 AF) is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Pacific Air Forces (PACAF). It is headquartered at Yokota Air Base, Japan. It is the U.S. Air Force's oldest continuously serving Numbered Air Force. The organizat ...
on 3 September, with his headquarters in
Townsville Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 180,820 as of June 2018, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland; it is unofficially considered its capital. Estimated resident population, 3 ...
. At this time, Port Moresby was subject to frequent Japanese air raids, so the bombers were generally based in the Townsville area and staged through Port Moresby to minimize their chance of loss or damage on the ground. In mid-September 1942, at the height of the
Kokoda Track campaign The Kokoda Track campaign or Kokoda Trail campaign was part of the Pacific War of World War II. The campaign consisted of a series of battles fought between July and November 1942 in what was then the Australian Territory of Papua. It was primar ...
, Kenney sent Walker to Port Moresby for a few weeks to direct the advanced echelon, to give Whitehead a rest and Walker more experience. Walker attempted to lift morale by improving the men's living conditions. He made a point of small gestures of fellowship, such as standing in line with the men at meal times. But what endeared him most to his men was his willingness to share the dangers as well as their hardships, by flying a mission a week on average. In October,
General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...
Douglas MacArthur gave Kenney a dressing down for flying over the Owen Stanley Range. In turn, Kenney ordered Walker, Wilson and Whitehead not to fly any more missions. For a variety of reasons, all four of them eventually disobeyed their orders. The Southwest Pacific was not a promising theater of war for the strategic bomber. The bombers of the day did not have the range to reach Japan from Australia, and there were no typical strategic targets in the theater other than a few oil refineries. Thus, "The air mission was to interdict Japan's sea supply lanes and enable the ground forces to conduct an island-hopping strategy." This set up a doctrinal clash between Kenney, an attack aviator, and Walker, the bomber advocate. The long-standing Air Corps tactic for attacking shipping called for large formations of high-altitude bombers. With sufficient mass, so the theory went, bombers could bracket any ship with walls of bombs, and do so from above the effective range of the ship's anti-aircraft fire. However the theoretical mass required was two
orders of magnitude An order of magnitude is an approximation of the logarithm of a value relative to some contextually understood reference value, usually 10, interpreted as the base of the logarithm and the representative of values of magnitude one. Logarithmic dis ...
greater than what was available in the Southwest Pacific. A dozen or so bombers was the most that could be put together, owing to the small number of aircraft in the theater and the difficulties of keeping them serviceable. The results were therefore generally ineffective, and operations incurred heavy casualties. Walker objected to Kenney's suggestion that the bombers conduct attacks from low level with bombs armed with instantaneous fuses. Kenney ordered Walker to try the instantaneous fuses for a couple of months, so that data could be gained about their effectiveness; a few weeks later Kenney discovered that Walker had discontinued the use of the instantaneous fuses. In November, Kenney arranged for a demonstration attack on the SS ''Pruth'', a ship that had sunk off Port Moresby in 1924 and was often used for target practice. After the attack Walker and Kenney took a boat out to the wreck to inspect the damage. As expected, none of the four bombs dropped had hit the stationary wreck; but the instantaneous fuses had detonated the bombs when they struck the water, and bomb fragments had torn holes in the sides of the ship. Walker reluctantly conceded the point. "Ken was okay," Kenney later recalled. "He was stubborn, over-sensitive, and a prima donna, but he worked like a dog all the time. His gang liked him a lot but he tended to get a staff of 'yes-men'. He did not like to delegate authority. I was afraid that Ken was not durable enough to last very long under the high tension of this show." In December, Kenney learned that Whitehead had been on board a B-25 in which a Japanese antiaircraft gun had blown a hole in the wing "big enough for him to jump through without touching the sides", and that Walker had flown on a B-17 that had clipped a tree and lost part of a wing. Kenney then repeated his earlier order, explaining the reasons behind it: On 9 January 1943, MacArthur issued a communiqué praising the forces under his command for the victory that had been achieved at Buna and announcing the award of the
Distinguished Service Cross The Distinguished Service Cross (D.S.C.) is a military decoration for courage. Different versions exist for different countries. *Distinguished Service Cross (Australia) The Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) is a military decoration awarded to ...
to twelve officers, including Walker.


Rabaul 5 January 1943

On 3 January 1943, Kenney received intelligence from Allied
Ultra adopted by British military intelligence in June 1941 for wartime signals intelligence obtained by breaking high-level encrypted enemy radio and teleprinter communications at the Government Code and Cypher School (GC&CS) at Bletchley Park. ' ...
codebreakers that the Japanese were about to attempt a reinforcement run from their main base at Rabaul to
Lae Lae () is the capital of Morobe Province and is the second-largest city in Papua New Guinea. It is located near the delta of the Markham River and at the start of the Highlands Highway, which is the main land transport corridor between the Highl ...
, on the mainland of New Guinea. He ordered Walker to carry out a full-scale dawn attack on the harbor's shipping before it could depart. Walker demurred. His bombers would have difficulty making their rendezvous if they had to leave Port Moresby in the dark. He recommended a noon attack instead. Kenney acknowledged Walker's concerns but was insistent; he preferred bombers out of formation to bombers shot down by the enemy fighters that were certain to intercept a daylight attack. In spite of this, Walker ordered that the attack be made at noon on 5 January. Bad weather over northern Australia prevented participation by the bombers there, which left Walker with only those based at Port Moresby: six B-17s and six
B-24 The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and some initial production aircraft were laid down as export models des ...
s. This force was far too small for the tactics that he wanted to use. He flew in the lead plane, B-17 #41-24458, nicknamed "San Antonio Rose I", from the 64th Bombardment Squadron,
43rd Bombardment Group The 43rd Air Mobility Operations Group is an active duty air mobility unit at Pope Field (formerly Pope AFB), Fort Bragg, North Carolina and is part of the Air Mobility Command (AMC) under the USAF Expeditionary Center. The unit is composed of f ...
, which was piloted by Lieutenant Colonel Jack W. Bleasdale, the group's executive officer. The 64th Bombardment Squadron's commanding officer, Major Allen Lindberg was also on board. The briefing officer for the mission, Major David Hassemer, did not think that it was a good idea for so many senior officers to fly in the same plane, but his objection was overruled. They encountered heavy flak and continuous fighter attacks. Owing to the delay, the ten-ship convoy that they were sent to attack had departed two hours earlier, but there were still plenty of targets. Forty and twenty four bombs were dropped from . The mission claimed hits on nine ships, totaling 50,000 tons. After the war, JANAC confirmed the sinking of only one Japanese merchant ship, the 5,833-ton ''Keifuku Maru''. Two other ships were damaged, as was the destroyer . Two B-17s were shot down, including Walker's. Fred Wesche flew the 5 January mission over Rabaul. He later recalled: Kenney was furious when he discovered that Walker had not only changed the takeoff time without notice, but had also defied his orders by accompanying the mission. He told MacArthur that when Walker showed up he was going to give him a reprimand and send him back to Australia on leave for two weeks. "Alright George," MacArthur replied, "but if he doesn't come back, I'm going to send his name in to Washington recommending him for a Congressional Medal of Honor." All available aircraft were sent to search for Walker, preventing attacks on the Japanese convoy as it headed for Lae. They managed to locate and rescue the crew of the other B-17 that had been shot down in the raid, but not Walker's. MacArthur's recommendation therefore went ahead. The Adjutant General, Major General James A. Ulio, queried whether it was "considered above and beyond the call of duty for the commanding officer of a bomber command to accompany it on bombing missions against enemy held territory." Major General
George Stratemeyer Lieutenant general (United States), Lieutenant General George Edward Stratemeyer (24 November 1890 – 9 August 1969) was a senior commander in the United States Air Force. He held senior command appointments in the China Burma India Theater of W ...
, the chief of the air staff, replied that it was. In March 1943, Roosevelt presented Kenneth Walker Jr. with the medal in a ceremony at the White House. It was one of 38 Medals of Honor awarded to flying personnel of the US Army Air Forces in World War II. The citation read: 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 The Manila American Cemetery and Memorial is located in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig, Metro Manila, within the boundaries of the former Fort William McKinley. It can be reached most easily from the city via EDSA to McKinley Road, then to McKinley ...
, Philippines, where servicemen
missing in action Missing in action (MIA) is a casualty classification assigned to combatants, military chaplains, combat medics, and prisoners of war who are reported missing during wartime or ceasefire. They may have been killed, wounded, captured, ex ...
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 Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...
to give family members a place to gather in the United States.


Awards and decorations

General Walker's military awards include: Source: Fogerty, USAF Historical Study 91, ''Biographical Data on Air Force General Officers 1917–1952'' (1953) Air Force Historical Research Agency


Legacy

In January 1948, Roswell Army Air Field in Roswell, New Mexico, was renamed
Walker Air Force Base Walker Air Force Base is a closed United States Air Force base located three miles (5 km) south of the central business district of Roswell, New Mexico. It was opened in 1941 as an Army Air Corps flying school and was active during Worl ...
in honor of Walker. The base was inactivated on 2 July 1965 and closed on 30 June 1967. Walker Hall, and its Walker Air Power Room, at Maxwell Air Force Base, home of the
Air Force Doctrine Development and Education Center The Curtis E. LeMay Center for Doctrine Development and Education (LeMay Center) History In August 1996, the Air Force Chief of Staff consolidated all Air Force doctrine development under a single authority, the Headquarters Air Force Doctri ...
, are also named after him. The Walker Papers is an Air Force Fellows program that 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.


Notes


References

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, Kenneth 1898 births 1943 deaths Air Corps Tactical School alumni American aviators United States Army Air Forces personnel killed in World War II United States Army personnel of World War I United States Army Air Forces Medal of Honor recipients Aviators from New Mexico Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents Missing in action of World War II Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United States) Recipients of the Legion of Merit Recipients of the Silver Star Aviators killed by being shot down United States Army Air Forces generals United States Army Air Service pilots of World War I United States Army Command and General Staff College alumni World War II recipients of the Medal of Honor Aerial disappearances of military personnel in action United States Army Air Forces generals of World War II United States Army officers