7 March 2024
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) – Lieutenant Tom Walker was born in New Jersey in 1933. He became a pilot in a nighttime attack squadron over North Korea in the late 1950s. He also competed in 39 triathlons and worked with the man who invented the microchip.
After graduating from Lafayette College in Pennsylvania in 1954, Walker volunteered to join the U.S. Navy. He wanted to be a pilot.
“It always appealed to me. I wanted to fly, and that’s where you get into aviation,” said Walker.
While in flight training in Pensacola, Florida, Walker was introduced to the A-1 Skyraider.
“It was a great airplane. Very fast. Had lots of powerful engines and guns.”
A-1 Skyraider
U.S.S. Ticonderoga
He was given a high clearance rating, and his squadron was assigned to the U.S.S. Ticonderoga aircraft carrier. Built during World War II for the Navy, it was deployed to the Western Pacific.
“We cruised the Pacific Ocean. There was a war going on. The Korean War, and so we were engaging with the enemy planes,” said Walker.
Walker made runs over North Korea, and he was credited with 75 successful nighttime landings on the Ticonderoga.
“It was exciting flying at night and shooting at other aircraft and ships. Flew pretty low over the water.”
He explained when the Skyraiders took off from the deck of the aircraft carrier, instead of going up, his squadron would fly down towards the surface of the ocean. There was a reason for that.
“That’s where we were working.”
After going back to his home base for additional training, Walker returned to the Ticonderoga, and this time, his Skyraider was armed with atomic weapons.
“It just depended on whether we’d drop an atomic weapon or not. We didn’t,” he said.
Walker served in the Navy from 1955 through 1959. Then, he said he went out and found a new job. He became an engineer at a new Dallas company called Texas Instruments, where he rubbed elbows with a notable Kansan. Jack Kilby was credited with inventing, among other things, the microchip and the pocket calculator during his days at T.I. After about 10 years at Texas Instruments, Walker went to work as an officer for Browning-Ferris Industries, a waste management company.
“They sent me overseas to work. Moved to Paris. Learned how to speak French. They (BFI) were expanding internationally,” Walker explained.
He was one of the executives who took Browning-Ferris Industries to the London Stock Exchange. In his spare time, Walker competed in, by his count, 39 triathlons.
“That was fun to go on a run,” he said simply.
Walker and his close friend, Kathy, moved to Wichita two years ago.
Asked if he ever thinks about his days in the Navy, he said, “Landing on the aircraft carrier. We had a lot of close air support protecting the soldiers on the ground. I loved serving my country.”
After he retired, Walker says he bought his own King Air aircraft and traveled all around. The once fearless Navy pilot still has a spark in his eyes when he talks about his days in the cockpit.
If you want to nominate a veteran for our Veteran Salute, email KSN reporter Jason Lamb at [email protected].