Franklin Wirth Walker Papers

Collection

Identifier: TMD387

Staff Only

Content Description

Collection consists mainly of correspondence from Franklin Wirth Walker to Vera Mae (Foster) Walker during his service with the 10th Mountain Division at Camp Hale, Colorado; Camp Swift, Texas; and in Italy. There are also letters from Vera to Franklin and to and from other family members and friends. One folder contains Franklin's life insurance certificate and Army salary allotment receipt, Vera's teaching contract and the couple's wedding announcement.

Dates

1941-1945

Creator

Walker, Franklin Wirth, 1923-1945 (Person)

Language of Materials

Materials are in English unless otherwise noted.

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

All requests for permission to publish, reproduce, or quote from material in the collection should be discussed with the appropriate librarian or archivist. Permission for publication may be given on behalf of the Denver Public Library as the owner of the physical item. It is not intended to include or permission of the copyright holder, which also must be obtained by the customer. The imply Library does not assume any responsibility for infringement of copyright or publication rights of the manuscript held by the writer, heirs, donors, or executors. Reproduction restrictions are decided on a case-by-case basis.

Biographical / Historical

Franklin Wirth Walker (known as Wirth) was born on November 9, 1923 to Roy F. and Hazel Walker in Sidney, Nebraska. He graduated from high school in Sheridan, Wyoming and attended Colorado State College of Agriculture in Fort Collins, Colorado. There he met Vera Mae Foster (now Vera F. Pearce), whom he married on August 13, 1944.

Walker enlisted in the United States Army on December 3, 1942 and joined the 10th Mountain Division at Camp Hale, Colorado. He was assigned to the 85th Infantry Regiment, Company C and attained the rank of private first class. Walker deployed to Italy in December 1944, where he participated in the Apennine Mountain campaign and in the assaults on Riva Ridge and Mount Belvedere. He was hit in the heart by shrapnel and killed in action on February 20, 1945. Walker is interred at Grandview Cemetery in Fort Collins, Colorado.