Page 70 - Senior Link Magazine Winter 2019- Online Magazine
P. 70
John Walden One Olton Family –
Five Veterans
by Jane Bromley
was blessed with “Olton was a great place to grow
four sons: Bill in up,” he reminisced.
1929, Paul in 1932,
Travis in 1934 and Bill enlisted in the Navy in 1951
John in 1935. The when the Korean War started. He
boys were a big was assigned to the SeaBees in
help on the 96- San Diego, then sent to electrician
acre farm, raising school and finally to Japan,
cotton, corn, where he was put in charge of
potatoes, wheat all the telephones in the country.
and anything “He didn’t know the first thing
else they could about telephones,” John said,
to survive the since the Waldens hadn’t had one
Depression and in their home until 1950.
the Dust Bowl Paul was drafted into the Army
days. They also in 1954 and stationed at a missile
owned up to eight silo outside of Philadelphia. He
dairy cows and served his country for two years
sold the milk to on active duty and six more
a cheese factory years in the reserves. Travis was
in Plainview. drafted in 1956 but received a
Little John started deferment so he could finish a
milking at age six semester at Texas Tech; then he
and driving the entered the Army in 1957.
hen Ernest Walden tractor at age 12.
arrived home in 1918 John had already started farming
Wfrom France after John loved everything about while Travis was in school, but
WWI, his family was overjoyed. working on the farm, including he knew his own draft notice
They didn’t expect to see him the chore of breaking the ice was imminent. He didn’t want to
again when he left to fight in on the cattle tanks in winter. be called up after planting or in
“The War to End All Wars”. He loved his big brothers, even the middle of harvesting, so he
But the young man did come though “we fought all the time.” volunteered for the draft, ahead
home and went on to raise four At that time, there was a family of older brother Travis. He was
strapping young boys who every 80-160 acres, and all of sent to Ft. Carson, Colorado and
followed his lead in serving their them had kids. “They’d gather then to Signal Corps School at
country. Ernest found the land at our place a lot because Dad Ft. Gordon, Georgia. From there,
he’d homesteaded with his dad had built us a swimming pool.” his unit was flown to Ft. Lewis,
and brother in Eunice, NM in bad He remembers lots of raucous (Seattle) “on a little prop plane”.
shape. So, he rode on horseback football games in the front yard. They were among 5000 troops
to Borger, Texas, where he All that practice led to a position who boarded the USAT General
earned a living as a carpenter. on the outstanding Olton High Daniel I. Sultan for the 13-day
After marrying Alpha Edgin, School football team; John was cruise to Korea by way of the
her father gave Ernest some land the last of the Walden boys to Aleutian Islands and Japan. The
to farm near Olton. The couple graduate from there in 1954. soldiers waded ashore in waist-
70 Lubbock Senior Link
