Major, U.S. Marine Corps
With the onset of World War II, Jesse Walker enlisted in the U.S. Navy and entered flight school at the beginning of 1942. He served as a Marine Corps pilot in the Pacific theater, flying the C-47 transport aircraft in the South Pacific Combat Air Transport. Air Transport was a vital element of combat. Often serving in the background of battle, these brave pilots flew unarmed aircraft crammed with troops, food, ammunition, medical supplies and even gasoline. Walker remained in the Marine Corps Reserve, retiring with 13 years of service and more than 300,000 miles of flight time.
Receiving his doctorate at LSU in 1960, Walker was invited by Dr. Fred B. Kniffen and Dr. Richard B. Russell to join the LSU Department of Geography & Anthropology as an assistant professor. He was named departmental chair in 1962, a position he held until 1969. Under his leadership, the department enjoyed healthy growth, doubling the number of faculty from five to 11. Walker’s eclectic interests and abilities allowed him to teach a variety of courses, including climatology, geomorphology, human-environment courses and special offerings on his Arctic and coastal research topics.
Led by Walker, the LSU department became a major geographic center of coastal research and teaching. In 1977, Walker was named Boyd Professor, LSU’s highest academic honor and rank, joining Dr. Richard B. Russell, Dr. Fred B. Kniffen and Dr. Robert West, becoming the fourth LSU geographer to achieve this status. He epitomized what Tom Brokaw had in mind when he coined the term “The Greatest Generation … From Depression Era deprivation, to daring service in World War II.”
Harley Jesse “Jess” Walker passed away in 2015.