Walker, William John, Maj

POW/MIA
 
 Service Photo 
 Service Details
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Final Rank
Major
Last MOS
7564-Pilot Ch-53 A/D Qualified
Last MOSGroup
Pilots/Naval Flight Officers
Primary Unit
1967-1968, 7564, H&MS-16, Marine Aircraft Group 16 (MAG-16)
Service Years
1956 - 1968
Official/Unofficial USMC Certificates
Golden Dragon Certificate
Major

 Current Photo 
 Personal Details 

22 kb


Home State
California
California
Year of Birth
1934
 
This Military Service Page was created/owned by LCpl Ashley Roberts to remember Marine Maj William John Walker.

If you knew or served with this Marine and have additional information or photos to support this Page, please leave a message for the Page Administrator(s) HERE.
 
Contact Info
Home Town
Riverside
Last Address
Riverside
MIA Date
Apr 20, 1968
 
Cause
KIA-Killed in Action
Reason
Air Loss, Crash - Land
Location
Quang Nam (Vietnam)
Conflict
Vietnam War
Memorial Coordinates
51E 014
Military Service Number
0 - 73 919

 Official Badges 


 Unofficial Badges 


 Military Associations and Other Affiliations
Vietnam Veterans MemorialThe National Gold Star Family Registry
  1968, Vietnam Veterans Memorial
  2023, The National Gold Star Family Registry


 Additional Information
Last Known Activity:


UH-1E CRASHED DURING FIRING RUN 3 KM SOUTHEAST OF HILL 65 (22 KM SOUTH-SOUTHWEST OF DANANG) 20APR68, UTM grid reference is AT905555, UH-1E 152436.

Major John Walker was the co-pilot of a UH-1E (#152436) was on 20 April 1968, two VMO-2 gunships and one HML-167 gunship launched a search and destroy mission in the [Operation] Foster area.  During a gun run, the HML-167 aircraft crashed, killing all aboard.  The VMO-2 gunships provided cover in the crash area, and other gunships were launched to provide suppressive fire in the area.  The lost crew members included aircraft commander 1LT Joseph A. Cestare, pilot MAJ William J. Walker, crew chief CPL Warren C. Parsons, and gunner SGT Joseph A. Zutterman Jr. Search and rescue units were unable to recover their remains and all were listed Killed In Action - Body Not Recovered.

This Veteran has an (IMO) In Memory Of Headstone in Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial, Hawaii as well as one in Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, San Diego, California. 

Cheryl DiFiore Daughter of his friend My father, Hal DiFiore, flew with Bill Walker.  During the war there was a shortage of pilots, so the pilots were cross-trained.  Bill and Hal were flying jets, so they had to choose between helicopters and fixed-wings for their second aircraft.  Bill chose the former.  My father chose the latter (C-130's) because he said that helicopters were widow-makers.  In April 1968, both my father and Bill were in Viet Nam flying for different squadrons.  I can remember the day my mother found out that Bill was killed.  I was 11 years old and my mother fell apart after the phone call.  I thought that something had happened to my father, but quickly realized it was Bill.  My father died in 1991 of Chronic Lymphatic Leukemia.  It has now been proven to be a direct link to Agent Orange.  My father carried 100's of barrels of the stuff on his cargo plane on a weekly basis.  At the time, he didn't know that Agent Orange would also create a lot of widows. I hope they are finally both flying in peace.  Friday, October 17, 2003.

   
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Vietnam War/Counteroffensive Phase II Campaign (1966-67)
From Month/Year
July / 1966
To Month/Year
May / 1967

Description
This campaign was from 1 July 1966 to 31 May 1967. United States operations after 1 July 1966 were a continuation of the earlier counteroffensive campaign. Recognizing the interdependence of political, economic, sociological, and military factors, the Joint Chiefs of Staff declared that American military objectives should be to cause North Vietnam to cease its control and support of the insurgency in South Vietnam and Laos, to assist South Vietnam in defeating Viet Cong and North Vietnamese forces in South Vietnam, and to assist South Vietnam in pacification extending governmental control over its territory.

North Vietnam continued to build its own forces inside South Vietnam. At first this was done by continued infiltration by sea and along the Ho Chi Minh trail and then, in early 1966, through the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). U.S. air elements received permission to conduct reconnaissance bombing raids, and tactical air strikes into North Vietnam just north of the DMZ, but ground forces were denied authority to conduct reconnaissance patrols in the northern portion of the DMZ and inside North Vietnam. Confined to South Vietnamese territory U.S. ground forces fought a war of attrition against the enemy, relying for a time on body counts as one standard indicator for measuring successful progress for winning the war.

During 1966 there were eighteen major operations, the most successful of these being Operation WHITE WING (MASHER). During this operation, the 1st Cavalry Division, Korean units, and ARVN forces cleared the northern half of Binh Dinh Province on the central coast. In the process they decimated a division, later designated the North Vietnamese 3d Division. The U.S. 3d Marine Division was moved into the area of the two northern provinces and in concert with South Vietnamese Army and other Marine Corps units, conducted Operation HASTINGS against enemy infiltrators across the DMZ.

The largest sweep of 1966 took place northwest of Saigon in Operation ATTLEBORO, involving 22,000 American and South Vietnamese troops pitted against the VC 9th Division and a NVA regiment. The Allies defeated the enemy and, in what became a frequent occurrence, forced him back to his havens in Cambodia or Laos.

By 31 December 1966, U.S. military personnel in South Vietnam numbered 385,300. Enemy forces also increased substantially, so that for the same period, total enemy strength was in excess of 282,000 in addition to an estimated 80,000 political cadres. By 30 June 1967, total U.S. forces in SVN had risen to 448,800, but enemy strength had increased as well.

On 8 January U.S. and South Vietnamese troops launched separate drives against two major VC strongholds in South Vietnam-in the so-called "Iron Triangle" about 25 miles northwest of Saigon. For years this area had been under development as a VC logistics base and headquarters to control enemy activity in and around Saigon. The Allies captured huge caches of rice and other foodstuffs, destroyed a mammoth system of tunnels, and seized documents of considerable intelligence value.

In February, the same U.S. forces that had cleared the "Iron Triangle", were committed with other units in the largest allied operation of the war to date, JUNCTION CITY. Over 22 U.S. and four ARVN battalions engaged the enemy, killing 2,728. After clearing this area, the Allies constructed three airfields; erected a bridge and fortified two camps in which CIDG garrisons remained as the other allied forces withdrew.

 
   
My Participation in This Battle or Operation
From Month/Year
January / 1967
To Month/Year
May / 1967
 
Last Updated:
Mar 16, 2020
   
Personal Memories
   
Units Participated in Operation

7th Marine Regiment

5th Marine Division

4th Marine Regiment

1st Marine Regiment

2nd Battalion, 1st Marines (2/1)

1st Battalion, 1st Marines (1/1)

Marine Air Support Squadron 3 (MASS-3)

Marine Attack Squadron (All Weather) 242 (VMA(AW)-242)

2nd Light Antiaircraft Missile Battalion (2nd LAAM)

Marine Attack Squadron 542 (VMA-542)

1st Combat Engineer Battalion (CEB)

Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 262 (HMM-262)

Marine Attack Squadron 121 (VMA-121)

3rd Battalion, 7th Marines (3/7)

Marine Wing Support Group 17 (MWSG-17)

2nd Battalion, 7th Marines (2/7)

Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 165 (HMM-165)

3rd Combat Engineer Battalion (3rd CEB)

Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 161 (HMM-161)

26th Marine Regiment

Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron 152 (VMGR-152)

L Company, 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines (3/7)

Marine Attack Squadron 214 (VMA-214)

3rd Marine Division

Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 115 (VMFA-115)

Marine Observation Squadron 2 (VMO-2)

4th Battalion, 12th Marines (4/12)

Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 232 (VMFA-232)

2nd Battalion, 3rd Marines (2/3)

H&MS-16, Marine Aircraft Group 16 (MAG-16)

Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 361 (HMM-361)

1st Battalion, 4th Marines (1/4)

2nd ROK Marine Brigade., Blue Dragons, ROK Marine Corps

Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron 352 (VMGR-352)

12th Marine Regiment

9th Engineer Support Battalion (9th ESB)

Marine Attack Squadron 323 (VMA-323)

2nd Battalion, 5th Marines (2/5)

Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 163 (HMM-163)

Marine Helicopter Transport Squadron 163 (HMR-163)

H&S Battalion, 1st Marine Logistics Group (1st MLG)

Marine Observation Squadron 3 (VMO-3)

Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 367 (HMLA-367)

9th Engineer Battalion

 
My Photos From This Battle or Operation
No Available Photos

  2239 Also There at This Battle:
  • Adair, Don, Sgt, (1964-1968)
  • Adams, Roy, Sgt, (1957-1966)
  • Aguglia, Biagio, LCpl, (1965-1968)
  • Allen, Bill, Cpl, (1964-1970)
  • Arcand, Paul, Cpl, (1963-1967)
  • Bailey, James, Cpl, (1966-1968)
  • Bailey, John, Sgt, (1964-1975)
  • Baker, George, PFC, (1967-1967)
  • Barnhart, Glenn, Pvt, (1963-1967)
  • Barr, Douglas, SgtMaj, (1962-1992)
  • Bartusevics, John, CWO4, (1960-1990)
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