Click On Image For Full Size Image	Size	Image Description		Contributed By
Namesake
	53k	John Grimes Walker was born in Hillsborough, N.H., on 20 March 1835 and was appointed a midshipman on 5 October 1850 and graduated at the head of his class at the Naval Academy in 1856. He served in Falmouth and St. Lawrence in 1858 and 1859; in Susquehanna in 1860 and 1861; in Connecticut in 1861; and in Winona in 1861 and 1862. He distinguished himself under Farragut during the Mississippi River campaigns while serving in Winona, Baron de Kalb (which he commanded), and Saco. He participated in the engagements with Forts St. Philip and Jackson, as well as the Chalmette batteries during the operations which resulted in the fall of New Orleans. He later took part in the Navy's operations against Vicksburg. During the winter of 1862 and 1863, Walker participated in the thrusts against Haines Bluff and Arkansas Post. He also took part in the Yazoo Pass expedition, the attack on Fort Pemberton, and the capture of Yazoo City. At the siege of Vicksburg, Walker commanded the naval gun battery attached to the 15th Army Corps. His subsequent war service included operations which resulted in the capture of Fort Fisher, and he participated in the ensuing bombardments of Forts Anderson and Caswell on the Cape Fear (N.C.) River and in the capture of Wilmington, N.C. Promoted to commander in 1866, Walker served as Assistant Superintendent of the Naval Academy from 1866 to 1869. After commanding Sabine in 1869 and 1870—during which time he took the ship to Europe on a midshipman training cruise—he served as secretary to the Lighthouse Board from 1873 to 1878. From 1881 to 1889, Walker held the post of Chief of the Bureau of Navigation before he went to sea commanding the White Squadron in 1889, with his flag in Chicago. Appointed rear admiral in 1894, he took the White Squadron to Hawaii in 1895 when a coup d'etat posed a threat to American interests. He received a commendation for his attitude of watchful waiting and his squadron's posture of readiness to respond to a possible emergency. Upon his return to shore duty in 1896, he headed the Lighthouse Board and concurrently chaired the committee investigating locations for deep water harbors in southern California. Soon after retiring as a full admiral in 1897, Walker was chosen to serve as President of the Nicaraguan Canal Commission. Two years later, in 1899, he was appointed President of the Isthmian Canal Commission to look into possible routes for a canal across the Central American isthmus. Admiral Walker died on 16 September 1907, at the age of 72, at Ogunquit, Maine. Digital ID: cph 3b22602, Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.		Bill Gonyo/Robert M. Cieri
USS Walker (DD-163)
	134k	"Red Lead Row" at the San Diego Destroyer Base, date unknown. This is where most of the inactivated flush deck destroyers rested. Six boats up from the bottom are two Eagle Boats sandwiched in among the flush deckers. Visible are the USS Walker (DD-163), USS O'Bannon (DD-177), and USS Hpward (DD-179) (far back). Photos from Warship Boneyards, by Kit and Carolyn Bonner.		Robert Hurst
	230k	Post World War I San Diego image including the USS Walker (DD-163), USS Lea (DD-118), USS Gamble (DD-123), USS Montgomery (DD-121), USS Roper (DD-147), USS Ramsay (DD-124), USS Tarbell (DD-142), USS Thatcher (DD-162), USS Evans (DD-78), USS Crosby (DD-164), USS Jacob Jones (DD-130), USS Hazelwood (DD-107), USS Gillis (DD-260), USS McLanahan (DD-264), USS Howard (DD-179), USS Schley (DD-103), USS Dorsey (DD-117), USS Tattnall (DD-125), USS Wickes (DD-75), USS Laub (DD-263), USS Zane (DD-337), USS Perry (DD-340) and USS Alden (DD-211).		Mike Mohl
	160k	Undated, location unknown. Photo from the collection of the Vallejo Naval and Historical Museum.		Darryl Baker
	225k	1919 at Boston Navy Yard. Leslie Jones Collection, Boston Public Library.		Ed Zajkowski
	87k	USS Walker (Destroyer # 163) At Boston, Massachusetts, 1 February 1919. Panogramic photograph by J. Crosby, Naval Photographer, # 11 Portland Street, Boston. Courtesy of the Naval Historical Foundation, Washington, D.C. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.		Fred Weiss
	78k	Photo #: NH 85033 USS Cuyama (Oiler # 3) at Acapulco, Mexico, circa 1919 with several destroyers alongside, from left to center: USS Walker (Destroyer # 163); USS Crosby (Destroyer # 164); and USS Thatcher (Destroyer # 162). USS Gamble (Destroyer # 123) is moored along Cuyama's port side. Courtesy of Donald M. McPherson, 1976. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.		Tony Cowart
0505610	189k	RPPC of Ericsson (Destroyer No. 56), McKee (Destroyer No. 87) and Walker (Destroyer No. 163) moored at an unknown port, probably in the Carribbean, circa 1919.		Dave Wright
	161k	(L-R) USS Crosby (DD-164) and USS Walker (DD-163) in California waters circa December 1919. Originally thought to be San Pedro, the presence of Star & Crescent's excursion boat Estrella of 1918 in the center indicates this is actually San Diego.		Alan Leigh Armstrong
0516310	179k	RPPC of Walker (DD-163) nested with a dozen or so other destroyers, probably at San Pedro, 1919-1920. Breese (DD-122) is visible at far right.		Dave Wright
	74k	Circa 1920, location unknown.		Jim Flynn
	144k	In the Canal Zone area, probably July 1920.		Dave Wright
	96k	USS Walker (DD-163) at Mare Island in March 1922.		Darryl Baker
	160k	USS Walker (DD-163), USS Trever (DD-339), USS Perry (DD-340) and USS Decatur (DD-341) at Mare Island in April 1922. Note Trever, Perry and Decatur were not in commission.		Darryl L. Baker

LCDR Harold Asa Waddington    Jan 31 1919 - Mar 10 1919

LCDR Joseph McEvers Bayard Smith    Mar 10 1919 - May 23 1919 

LCDR John Forsyth Meigs Jr.    May 23 1919 - Aug 7 1919

LCDR Calvin Hayes Cobb    Aug 7 1919 - Aug 7 1919 (Later VADM)

LCDR Calvin Hayes Cobb    Aug 7 1919 - Aug 27 1920 (Later VADM)

LCDR Herbert James Ray    Aug 27 1920 - Feb 10 1921(XOIC)

LT Roger Franklin Armstrong    Feb 10 1921 - Jan 15 1922

LTJG Arthur Frederick Anderson    Jan 15 1922 - Jun 7 1922

Back To The Main Photo Index

To The Destroyer Index Page

Comments and Suggestions about this page, E-mail DestroyerInfo
Problems and site related matters, E-mail Webmaster

This page was created by Fred Willishaw (ex ARG-4, AS-11 & DD-692) and is maintained by David L. Wright

Last Updated 12 July 2024