Emmett Hudson Walker Jr.

General Emmett Hudson (Mickey) Walker, Jr. died December 12, 2007 at Baptist Medical Center in Jackson, MS. Visitation is Friday, from 5:00 - 7:00 at Christ United Methodist Church on Old Canton Road in Jackson. A 1:00 visitation followed by a 2:00 celebration of his life will be held Saturday, December 15 at Christ United Methodist Church with the burial in Wright and Ferguson's Parkway Memorial Cemetery in Ridgeland.
General Walker was born March 16, 1924, near Abbott, Mississippi, to Mae Stanley Walker and Emmett Hudson Walker, Sr. After graduating from Starkville High School, he attended Mississippi State University; however, his education was interrupted by World War II.
He started his military career December 15, 1942, in the Enlisted Reserve Corps, and was commissioned a second lieutenant by the Infantry Officer Candidate School in May, 1944. His first assignment as an officer was with the 42nd Infantry "Rainbow" Division, Camp Gruber, Oklahoma, and shortly thereafter was ordered overseas and assigned to the 95th Infantry Division in Northern France.
In September, 1944, as a Platoon Leader, Cannon Company, 378th Infantry, General Walker entered battle in France at the Metz Fort and following that the Siegfried Line, the Battle of the Bulge, and the Rhineland Campaign. During his time in combat he was offered an appointment to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, but declined, feeling that his country and men were better served by his remaining with them in battle. This decision was to prove itself nine days later in an action for which he earned the Silver Star for gallantry beyond the call of duty and again on April 14, 1945, when he earned the Bronze Star for valor.
Once home from the war. he resumed his education at Mississippi State University where he graduated with Special Honors, receiving a BS in Agricultural Economics in 1947. He was a member of Kappa Sigma Fraternity, DDK, Scabbard & Blade, and Who's Who in American Colleges and Universities. He married the late Elizabeth (Tuta) Parsons Walker of Crystal Springs on February 16, 1947.
In May, 1949, General Walker joined the Mississippi Army National Guard as a first lieutenant in Battery C, 932nd Field Artillery Battalion, Pontotoc, Mississippi. On December 16, 1951, then a newly promoted captain, he was mobilized with the 3st Infantry "Dixie" Division at Fort Jackson, South Carolina for service in the Korean conflict and subsequently in the Far East Command Liaison Group.
Upon discharge and return to the Mississippi Army National Guard, he served in several assignments in the 31st Division before assuming command of the 4th Battalion, 114th Artillery from December, 1961, to February, 1968. After serving for 4 years as Commando 63st Artillery Group, General Walker was promoted to Brigadier General, appointed Assistant Adjutant General, State of Mississippi where he served until October 1976.
On October 15, 1976, he was ordered to active duty as Deputy Director Army National Guard. National Guard Bureau, the Pentagon. He became Major General, Director of the Army National Guard on August 22, 1978. In August of 1982, President Reagan appointed General Walker as Chief of the National Guard Bureau of the United States and promoted him to Lieutenant General.
On August 18, 1986, General Walker retired, and he and Tuta returned to their home in Jackson. Upon his return, he was promoted to full General by the State of Mississippi.
His decorations include the Dept of Defense Distinguished Service Medal, Army Distinguished Service Medal, Air Force Distinguished Service Medal, National Guard Bureau Distinguished Service Medal, Silver Star, Legion of Merit (2 awards), Bronze Star (2 awards and "V" Device), Meritorious Service Medal. Army Commendation Medal, and the Combat Infantryman's Badge. The Armed Forces Museum at Camp Shelby, the LTG Emmett H. Walker, Jr. Mississippi Army National Guard Complex, and the Jackson Chapter of the Military Order of World Wars have been named in his honor.
General Walker was a member of Christ United Methodist Church, Rotary Club, Military Order of World Wars, American Legion, At Ease Gang, Five O'clock Club, and Walter Scott Coffee Club. He has served as the president of the Mississippi State Alumni Association.
His survivors include daughters Ann Walker Sansbury and husband Ken of Lilburn GA, Wyeth Walker Curtis and husband Billie of Houston, TX, Kathryn Walker Senseman and husband David of Birmingham, AL; and son John Stanley Walker and wife Kris of Falls Church, VA; twelve grandchildren: Bryan Sansbury, Michael Sansbury, Emily Curtis Therrell, Trent Sansbury, Allison Curtis, Austin Senseman, Walker Senseman, John Curtis, Robert Senseman, Jordan Walker, Shelby Walker, and Alyssa Walker, and five great grandchildren: Michael Sansbury, Jr., Mabry Sansbury, Jack Sansbury. Cooper Sansbury, and Presley Sansbury.
General Walker was preceded in death by his wife and parents, and his brother Colonel Archie Stanley Walker and sister Frances Walker Thames, both of Starkville. Mississippi National Guard Honor Guard Team will serve as his pall bearers. The Honorary Pallbearers are the Walter Scott Coffee Club and the Five O'clock Club,
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be sent to the Armed Forces Museum, Camp Shelby, MS or the Christ United Methodist Church Building Fund.