Edward A Walker

Edward was born on the 2nd of October 1864, in Huntly, Scotland, and he emigrated to the United States with his family when he was four years old. He enlisted in the US Marine Corps when he was 32 years old in Brooklyn, New York, and was deployed to China in support of the Boxer Rebellion. His actions there earned him the Medal of Honor. The citation reads:

In the presence of the enemy during the battle of Peking, China, 20 June to 16 July 1900. Throughout this period, Walker distinguished himself by meritorious conduct.

The original General Order (number 55) from John Long, the secretary of the Navy at the time, has Edward listed as a Sergeant but since this was written one year after the actions, I do not know if that means he was a Sergeant at the time of the Battle of Peking or if he was a Sergeant at the time of the General Order. He did receive the Medal of Honor in July of 1901, and he was married three years later to Mary. The couple had one son, James, that died only ten days old, and they lived in Pennsylvania until Edward’s retirement from the Marines in 1922. Moving to San Jose, California, he became an active member of several veterans’ organizations, such as the Army and Navy Legion of Valor, the Marine Corps League, Veterans of Foreign Wars, and the United Spanish War Veterans of San Jose. Edward Alexander Walker died in a car accident on the 24th of October 1946, at the age of 82, and he is buried with his wife in the Oak Hill Memorial Park in San Jose, California: Oak Hill Mausoleum, Main Corridor West, Grave 489.