Willie J. Walker

Private 1st Class, U. S. Army

Distinguished Service Cross

GENERAL ORDERS:
War Department, General Orders No. 142 (1918)
CITATION:
The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 9, 1918, takes pride in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross (Posthumously) to Private First Class Willis J. Walker (ASN: 181766), United States Army, for extraordinary heroism in action while serving with Salvage Squadron No. 1, Quartermaster Corps, A.E.F., in connection with military operations against an armed enemy near Bezu St. Germain, France, 7 September 1918.
When fire broke out in a wood where a salvage detachment was encamped, seriously endangering the lives of 200 men because of its proximity to a pile of salvaged German high explosives 155-millimeter shells, Private First Class Walker and Sergeant Afton E. Wheeler voluntarily ran to the scene of the fire and attempted to extinguish the flames fully aware of the grave danger to themselves. They fought the fire with blankets and sticks, but the fire quickly spread to the shells. Both men were killed by the explosion which followed.