Edwin Anderson Walker
Edwin Anderson Walker (born November 10, 1909 in Center Point , Kerr County , † October 31, 1993 in Dallas ) was a major general in the United States Army and known for his racist and anti-communist views.
Life
Early years
His parents were Charolette Thorton and George Pickney Walker. After primary school, he attended the Schreiner Institute . Edwin "Ted" Walker studied at the New Mexico Military Institute from 1927 and graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1931 .
Military time and war
In January 1944, Walker commanded a regiment of the First Special Service Force ( Devil's Brigade ), a unit made up of Americans and Canadians, in Operation Shingle . In August 1944, Walker succeeded Robert T. Frederick as commander of the Devil's Brigade . The Devil's Brigade landed on the islands off Hyères . He later commanded the 417th Infantry Regiment, which was part of the Third Army. On VE Day he commanded a unit in Oslo.
In January 1946, Walker was the assistant director of the Field Artillery School , Fort Sill .
During the civil war in Greece , Walker headed the Greece division at the United States Department of Defense and visited Greece and Turkey on official missions.
During the Korean War , Walker commanded the 7th Infantry Regiment of the Third Infantry Division and was a military advisor to the 1st Corps of the South Korean Army .
Later he was a military advisor to Chiang Kai-shek .
In 1957, Walker was the commander of the Arkansas Military District at Little Rock . In 1957, racial segregation was enforced at Little Rock Central High School . The then governor of the state of Arkansas, Orval Faubus , deployed the United States National Guard under his control on the evening before the first day of school on September 2 to deny the students access to the building. On September 24, 1957, President Eisenhower placed all Arkansas police and army units under federal command. Walker became a member of the John Birch Society .
In 1959, Walker was given command of the 24th US Infantry Division , which was stationed in Augsburg . Walker had officers secretly photograph their soldiers from the roofs of the barracks. Walker received an appointment with the psychological service . Under Walker in 1961 a political education program called "Pro Blue" was carried out for members of the Army. On the strategic maps, the NATO troops were shown in blue and those of the Warsaw Pact were shown in red. As part of the political education program, Walker had works from the John Birch Society distributed in his division. The Overseas Weekly , an English-language magazine for US military personnel published in Frankfurt, quoted Walker as saying that Harry S. Truman , Eleanor Roosevelt and Dean Gooderham Acheson were definitely "pink". This quotation was interpreted in such a way that, according to a political theory of colors that was common at the time, Walker would have doubts about the political loyalty of those who were assessed as “definitely pink”. Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara relieved Walker from command and an investigation was conducted on the direction of John F. Kennedy . The investigation report found that the US Army's political education program should not be associated with the John Birch Society. In October 1961, Walker was transferred to the General Staff for maneuvers and operations in the Pacific at Marine Corps Base Hawaii. On November 2, 1961, Walker resigned from his post in the US Army, declaring that he could no longer serve in uniform to cooperate with the transfer of sovereignty to the United Nations.
After the military career
In February 1962, Walker stood in the primaries for the candidacy for governor of Texas in the Democratic Party . The candidacy was supported by Barry Goldwater and Haroldson Hunt . In the May 1962 primaries, Walker was elected sixth and John Connally .
In September 1962, Walker agitated against the use of federal troops to enforce the registration of the African American James Meredith at the University of Mississippi .
“This is Edwin A. Walker speaking. I'm in Mississippi with Governor Ross Barnett . I call for a nationwide protest against the conspiracy. To a move for the cause of freedom in a justified indignation, a resounding protest and bitter silence under the flag of Mississippi against the use of federal troops. This is a shame for the nation today, a direct threat, a shame not to be understood except for the enemy. This is the crucifixion conspiracy by the Supreme Court anti-Christian conspirators in their denial of prayer and betrayal of a nation ”
Walker was charged with violating four federal laws, including seditious conspiracy, insurrection, and rebellion, and he was arrested. During his five days in detention, he described himself as a political prisoner in the Kennedy administration. After deposit of a deposit of $ 50,000, he was released and returned to Dallas, where he was greeted by about 200 supporters. Following a court-ordered psychiatric examination, Robert L. Stubblefield declared Walker to be sane. The charges against him were dropped during a trial in January 1963. The proceedings should have been resumed within a period of five years, which was not done.
In February 1963, Walker took part in the anti-communist, pro- segregation tour "Operation Midnight Ride" by evangelical Billy James Hargis . On the tour, it was alleged that the Kennedy administration had controlled the press on the issue of segregation. The murders of two journalists have been attributed to this agitation .
In a speech on March 4, 1963, which was published in the Dallas Times Herald of March 6, 1963, he called on the US military to liquidate the plague that had settled in Cuba - meaning Fidel Castro.
On April 10, 1963, the later Kennedy assassin Lee Harvey Oswald tried to shoot him. However, a window cross deflected the bullet, so Walker was only injured on the forearm. In his novel The Attack , Stephen King incorporates Oswald's attack on Walker into his story.
In 1964, the racist murderer Byron De La Beckwith was charged with the murder of the black civil rights activist Medgar Evers . Governor Barnett and Walker visited him while he was in prison.
On June 23, 1976, Walker was arrested at a public lavatory in a Dallas park. The undercover agent who arrested him alleged in the ad that Walker had sexually approached him. Walker was arrested again on March 16, 1976 for public obscenity. In one of the two proceedings, Walker pleaded for the proceedings to be terminated. He was given a suspended sentence of 30 days in prison, a $ 1,000 fine and legal costs.
Walker died of lung cancer on October 31, 1993 in Dallas.
Individual evidence
- ^ A b c The New York Times , Nov. 2, 1993, Gen. Edwin Walker, 83, Is Dead; Promoted Rightist Causes in 60’s
- ^ Britannica.com
- ↑ Ira H. Latour: About the Making of Antonio Gaudi (And Sundry Tales Thereto Related) . ( Memento from February 1, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
- ^ Runoff in Texas . In: Time , May 18, 1962
- ↑ tshaonline.org
- ^ Larry J. Sabato: The Kennedy Half-Century. The Presidency, Assassination, and Lasting Legacy of John F. Kennedy . Bloomsbury, New York 2013, p. 170.
- ↑ General stars, Texas hat and convict clothing . In: Die Zeit , No. 41/1962
- ↑ textfiles.com
- ^ Gus Russo: Live by the sword: the secret war against Castro and the death of JFK . P. 124
- ^ Larry J. Sabato: The Kennedy Half-Century. The Presidency, Assassination, and Lasting Legacy of John F. Kennedy . Bloomsbury, New York 2013, p. 169 ff.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Walker, Edwin Anderson |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Walker Ted |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American major general |
| DATE OF BIRTH | November 10, 1909 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Center Point , Texas |
| DATE OF DEATH | October 31, 1993 |
| Place of death | Dallas , Texas |