Name: A. W. WALKER
Rank / Rating: STM1-Steward
Service #: 846 18 35
DOB: May 04, 1925
From: Somerville, TN
Parents: Dave Wilbert Walker and Minnie Walker
Went Aboard: Oct 31, 1943
Age When Ship Went Down: 20 years, 2 months, 26 days
Spouse:
Children:
Grandchildren:
Bio Submitted By: Jane Gwinn Goodall
Date Posted:

A. W. Walker was born on 4 May 1925 to parents Dave Wilbert Walker, a farmer, and Minnie Walker. They had eight children and cared for other family members as well. Walker had an older brother Jimmie (1921), three younger brothers, Robert (1927), David, Jr.(1936), and a name that is difficult to decipher from the handwriting on the Census. It may perhaps be Simon (1937). He also had three younger sisters, Nancy (1930-31), Margaret (1932), and Ruby (1939). Their home in Somerville, Tennessee was full. According to the 1930 U.S. Census, his paternal grandmother, Nancy Walker, and four cousins, Luke Moaning, Eddie Walker, Viola Ellington, and Paul Ellington, lived with the family when he was young. Ten years later, the 1940 Census indicated that his older brother, Jimmie, and three of the cousins had moved on. By this time, A.W. was 14 years old. There were ten persons in the household, including the parents, six younger siblings, a cousin named Paul Walker, in addition to A.W.

Walker registered for the draft on 8 May 1943 in Fayette, Tennessee. He was 18 years old and by that time was employed by Mr. Rhea Taylor in Somerville, Tennessee. A.W. listed his father, Dave Walker as his next of kin. He enlisted in the U.S. Navy on 19 August 1943 in Nashville, Tennessee. On 20 October 1943, Walker was transported on the USS Terror CM-5 to report for ship reassignment in the Fifth Fleet 14th Naval District by way of the transfer center at Camp Shoemaker, Dublin, California. Walker was received on board USS Indianapolis (CA-35) on 31 October 1943 as Steward’s Mate Second Class. He received a promotion to Steward’s Mate First Class on 1 April 1944. A. W. Walker served in eight of the ten heroic battles of Indy, beginning with the three-week battle to secure the Gilbert Islands in late November and early December 1943. He was 20 years old when he lost his life in the sinking of USS Indianapolis (CA-35). His parents, Mr. and Mrs. Dave Wilbert Walker, Somerville, Tennessee, were notified of his death.