Frank R. Walker

Frank Robinson Walker (1899–1976) was an admiral in the United States Navy during World War II, most notably during the Solomon Islands campaign between 1942 and 1943.

Born in Florence, Alabama, Walker entered the United States Naval Academy, graduating in 1922. Serving in various positions throughout the 1920s and 1930s, Walker distinguished himself during the attack on Pearl Harbor when, commanding "Patterson" (DD-392), he was one of the few captains to escape the harbor during the raid. In early 1942, Walker was assigned command of Destroyer Division 8 in the Southwest Pacific area, later leading screening and reconnaissance operation shortly before the landings at Guadalcanal and Tulagi on August 7, 1942. Walker would take part in the Battle of Savo Island during the night of August 8–9, where Japanese naval forces sank one Australian and three American cruisers suffering minimal casualties.

While commanding Destroyer Squadron 4 during the Solomon Islands campaign, Walker failed to prevent a Japanese naval force consisting of nine destroyers and twelve various other ships from evacuating the 600-man garrison during the Battle of Vella Lavella on October 6–7, 1943. Appointed commander of Roosevelt Base and Small Craft Training Center at San Pedro (now part of Los Angeles, California) the following year, Walker would remain in that post for the remainder of the war.

In 1946, Walker was given command of "Astoria" (CL-90), until appointed to the Ships' Organization Board, and later the Navy Department's Navy Regulation Board the following year. Walker would eventually resign from military service in 1952 and lived in retirement until his death in 1976.

References

*"Shipmate" obituary notice (December 1976).
*U.S. Naval Historical Center Biographical File, 1947.