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Contact Info
Home Town Salem, Oregon
Last Address Orlando, Florida
Date of Passing Sep 07, 1961
Location of Interment Arlington National Cemetery (VLM) - Arlington, Virginia
Major General Leo A. Walton, one of the original members of the Aviation Section of the Signal Corps of 1916 and a veteran of World War II, assumed command of the 14th Air Force at Orlando, Fla., on May 27, 1946.
Graduating from West Point in the Class of 1915, General Walton's first assignment was with General Pershing in the Mexican campaign.
Returning to the United States in 1916, and like his pioneer friends Henry H. Arnold and Carl A. Spaatz, he turned his attention to aviation. He won his wings at Brooks Field, Texas, in August 1917, and returned to that base as the officer in charge of flying in March 1918.
On July 1, 1920, he transferred from the Field Artillery to the Air Service. He was assigned to Langley Field, Va., in November 1920 to the Field Officers' School. He completed his course in August 1921 and was called to Washington, D.C., for duty in the Office, Chief of the Air Service. In June 1923 General Walton was sent to McCook Field, Ohio, to attend the Air Service Engineering School. Later, in 1924, he was assistant chief of the engineering division at McCook Field.
In August 1925 the general was ordered to the Philippines and served as commanding officer of Kindley Field, Fort Mills, Corregidor, and later at Clark Field, where he was station commander and commanding officer of the 3rd Pursuit Squadron, serving in those capacities until May 1928. He then returned to the United States and was assigned to March Field, Calif., as assistant commandant of the Air Corps Primary Flying School.
In September 1937 General Walton attended the Command and General Staff School at Fort Leavenworth, Kan. He was then assigned to Maxwell Field, Ala., at the Air Corps Tactical School.
In July 1940 he assumed command of the Air Corps Advanced Flying School at Stockton, Calif.
During the outset of World War II, he was assigned to the headquarters of the West Coast Training Center, Santa Ana, Calif., as chief of staff. In November 1944 he was designated as chief of staff of the 6th Air Force, which position he held until early in 1945. He then became chief of staff of the entire Caribbean Defense Command. In July 1945 he was called to China as air inspector of the Chinese theater. For his able and outstanding skill in this capacity he was awarded the Bronze Star.
During the early emergency when the Army needed pilots, General Walton, as chief of staff for Western Flying Training Command, planned and executed a streamlined training program. For his foresight and resourcefulness on this mission, he was awarded the Legion of Merit medal.
He also holds the Mexican Border Service Ribbon, Asiatic-Pacific Ribbon, Pre-Pearl Harbor Ribbon, American Defense Ribbon and the Victory Medal for World Wars I and II.
He is rated as a command pilot and combat observer.
Description The Mexican Service Medal is an award of the United States military which was established by General Orders of the United States War Department on December 12, 1917. The Mexican Service Medal recognizes those service members who performed military service against Mexican forces between the dates of April 12, 1911 and June 16, 1919.
To be awarded the Mexican Service Medal, a service member was required to perform military duty during the time period of eligibility and in one of the following military engagements.
Veracruz Expedition: April 21 to November 23, 1914
Punitive Expedition into Mexico: March 14, 1916 to February 7, 1917
Buena Vista, Mexico: December 1, 1917
San Bernardino Canyon, Mexico: December 26, 1917
La Grulla, Texas: January 8 – January 9, 1918
Pilares, Chihuahua: March 28, 1918
Nogales, Arizona: November 1–26, 1915, or August 27, 1918
El Paso, Texas and Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua: June 15 – June 16, 1919
The United States Navy issued the Mexican Service Medal to members of the Navy and Marines who participated in any of the above actions, as well as to service members who served aboard U.S. naval vessels patrolling Mexican waters between April 21 and November 26, 1914, or between March 14, 1916, and February 7, 1917.
The Mexican Service Medal was also awarded to any service member who was wounded or killed while participating in action any against hostile Mexican forces between April 12, 1911 and February 7, 1917.
Although a single decoration, both the Army and Navy issued two different versions of the Mexican Service Medal. The Army Mexican Service Medal displayed an engraving of a yucca plant, while the Navy version depicts the San Juan de Ulúa fortress in Veracruz harbor. Both medals displayed the annotation "1911 - 1917" on the bottom of the medal.
The Mexican Service Medal was a one time decoration and there were no service stars authorized for those who had participated in multiple engagements. For those Army members who had been cited for gallantry in combat, the Citation Star was authorized as a device to the Mexican Service Medal. There were no devices authorized for the Navy's version of the decoration.
A similar decoration, known as the Mexican Border Service Medal also existed for those who had performed support duty to Mexican combat expeditions from within the United States.
