Gen. Walker Day Press Release

WALKER AVIATION MUSEUM FOUNDATION
ROSWELL,  NEW MEXICO
WWW.WAFBMUSEUM.ORG

News Release
General Walker Day
September 18, 2015
Contact:  Steve Wolfe, stevewolfe@cableone.net
Office: 575-622-4014, Cell: 575-420-1362

The Walker Aviation Museum Foundation invites the public to join them in celebrating “General Walker Day” on Friday, September 18.  Brigadier General Kenneth N. Walker, a native of New Mexico and recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor, is the highest ranking MIA from World War II.  His B-17 was shot down by enemy fire on January 5, 1943 over Rabaul, New Guinea.  The day will mark Roswell’s commemoration of POW/MIA Recognition Day, the 70th Anniversary of the end of WWII, the 68th anniversary of the establishment of the US Air Force, and the 5th anniversary of the opening of the Walker Aviation Museum.

Festivities will begin at 2:00 PM with the dedication of the new Walker Air Force Base Historic Marker located at the intersection of US 285 (Southeast Main) and the Relief Route.  This brief ceremony will include comments from B/Gen Doug Murray; WAMF board president, Bob Pottle; Vice Chair of the NM Cultural Program Review Committee, Reginald Richey; New Mexico Department of Transportation Cabinet Secretary, Tom Church; and General Walker’s son, Douglas Walker; Roswell Chamber of Commerce Red Coats ribbon cutting; and a fly-over.  Immediately following the ceremony, a reception will be held at the museum, inside the terminal at the Roswell International Air Center.  These events are free and open to the public.

That evening the museum foundation will host a banquet at the Roswell Convention and Civic Center.  The cash bar opens at 5:30, with dinner at 6:00.  Cost for the rib-eye steak and chicken buffet, provided by Pepper’s, is $40 per person.

Mr. Rick Dunn, Guest Speaker

Mr. Rick Dunn, Guest Speaker

Keynote speaker Richard L. Dunn will present “The Search for General Walker,” which covers Gen. Walker’s last mission and the efforts underway to find the missing B-17 and crew, ending the mystery surrounding their disappearance.  Mr. Dunn has spent decades researching the air war in the Pacific from both Allied and Japanese sources.  His articles have appeared in both reference and popular journals, as well as on-line.  Dunn’s book, “Exploding Fuel Tanks,” explores the influence of aircraft vulnerability in determining the outcome of the Pacific air war.  Mr. Dunn graduated with a BA, cum laude, from the University of New Hampshire and earned law degrees from the University of Maryland and Washington University (highest honors).  He has served on several study groups of the National Academy of Science and Defense Science Board.  Dunn was a senior fellow at the University of Maryland , and from 1987 to 2000, he was the General Counsel of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.  Previously, he was with NASA, in private legal practice, and was on active duty as a Judge Advocate in the U.S. Air Force.

The NMMI Junior ROTC will present the colors, and the NMMI Chorale will perform.  Mayor Dennis Kintigh will read a proclamation, and Councilor Jason Perry will provide the invocation.

Krumland Auto Group is the Legacy Sponsor for the day’s events.  In-kind sponsors include the City of Roswell, Fairfield Inn and Suites, New Mexico Military Institute, the New Mexico Department of Transportation, the New Mexico Historic Preservation Division of the Department of Cultural Affairs, and the Cultural Properties Review Committee.

Reservations may be made by mailing a check to the Walker Aviation Museum Foundation, PO Box 4080, Roswell, NM 88202, or on the website:  www.wafbmuseum.org.  For additional information, please contact Doug Murray at 575-624-8020, or Judy Armstrong at 575-622-9218 or visit the WAMF Facebook page.