WALTON DE 361
Ship Name and Designation History
This section lists the names and designations that the ship had during its lifetime. The list is in chronological order.
Keel Laid March 21 1944 - Launched May 20 1944 |
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This section lists active links to the pages displaying covers associated with the ship. There should be a separate set of pages for each name of the ship (for example, Bushnell AG-32 / Sumner AGS-5 are different names for the same ship so there should be one set of pages for Bushnell and one set for Sumner). Covers should be presented in chronological order (or as best as can be determined).
Since a ship may have many covers, they may be split among many pages so it doesn't take forever for the pages to load. Each page link should be accompanied by a date range for covers on that page.
- Covers Page 1 (1951-62)
Postmarks
This section lists examples of the postmarks used by the ship. There should be a separate set of postmarks for each name and/or commissioning period. Within each set, the postmarks should be listed in order of their classification type. If more than one postmark has the same classification, then they should be further sorted by date of earliest known usage.
A postmark should not be included unless accompanied by a close-up image and/or an
image of a cover showing that postmark. Date ranges MUST be based ONLY ON COVERS IN
THE MUSEUM and are expected to change as more covers are added.
>>> If you have a better example for any of the postmarks, please feel free to replace the
existing example.
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Postmark Type |
Date From to Date To |
Thumbnail Link To Postmark Image |
Thumbnail Link To Cover Image |
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2nd Commissioning January 26 1951 to September 20 1968
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Locy Type |
1951-04-14 |
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First Day Postal Service
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Locy Type |
1962-02-07 |
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Note:
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Locy Type |
1951-04-18 |
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Note:
Other Information
WALTON earned two battle stars for her Korean War service
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons...
Combat Action Ribbon (retroactive) - China Service Medal - American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal - World War II Victory Medal - National Defense Service Medal w/ 1 star - Korea Service Medal w/ 2 stars - Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal - Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation - Philippine Liberation Medal - UN Korean Service Medal - Republic of Korea War Service Medal
NAMESAKE - Merrit Cecil Walton USMC (December 18 1915 - August 7 1942)
Walton enlisted in the United States Marine Corps on May 19 1937 at San Francisco, Calif., and initially served at San Diego, Calif., before going to the Asiatic Station that autumn. As a member of the 4th Marine Regiment—quartered in the International Settlement of Shanghai, China—Walton witnessed part of the bloody battle that raged for that key city between Chinese and Japanese forces and, as such, was an early observer of Japanese aggression in the Far East. During his tour in China, he received promotion to Private, 1st Class, on May 10 1939. Returning to the United States in the autumn of 1940, Walton served successive tours of duty at the Marine barracks at Mare Island, Vallejo, Calif.; the Naval Air Station, Lakehurst, N.J.; Quantico, Va.; and New River, N.C. He was promoted to Sergeant on August 1 1941 and platoon sergeant on April 8 1942. Platoon Sergeant Walton was serving in a parachute battalion as part of the 1st Marine Division (Reinforced) that was selected to land in the Solomons in August 1942. Companies A and B of that battalion landed on the island of Gavutu on the morning of August 7 1942. The enemy, already alterted by the landings on Guadalcanal and Tulagi, met the marines' frontal assault with a withering fire. Although fully aware of the danger involved, Platoon Sergeant Walton volunteered to reconnoiter the position of a troublesome Japanese machine gun nest threatening his platoon's right flank. Once he had spotted the weapon's location, he led a daring attack during which the leathernecks silenced the gun. Mortally wounded, however, Platoon Sergeant Walton died later that same day. Posthumous awards accorded the sergeant included the Navy Cross, the Purple Heart, and a share of the Presidential Unit Citation awarded the 1st Marine Division (Reinforced)
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