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'''William Stewart Walker,''' usually known as '''Stewart Walker''' (October 6, 1914 – February 6, 1999), was a lieutenant colone froom Winnfield [[Louisiana]], who during [[World War II]] as a [[United States Army]] major, rescued 380 of his fellow soldiers from behind enemy lines in [[Belgium]] in December 1944. In 1964, he ran unsuccessfully as a [[Republican Party|Republican]] for Louisiana's since disbanded 8th congressional district seat in the [[United States House of Representatives]].​

'''William Stewart Walker,''' usually known as '''Stewart Walker''' (October 6, 1914 – February 6, 1999), was a lieutenant colone froom Winnfield [[Louisiana]], who during [[World War II]] as a [[United States Army]] major, rescued 380 of his fellow soldiers from behind enemy lines in [[Belgium]] in December 1944. In 1964, he ran unsuccessfully as a [[Republican Party|Republican]] for Louisiana's since disbanded 8th congressional district seat in the [[United States House of Representatives]].​

 

==Large family==​

==Background==​

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Walker was born in the Wyatt Community of southern Jackson Parish just north of the Winn Parish line in north Louisiana, to William Thomas Walker and the former Mary Elizabeth "Lizzie" Stovall (1877–1951), Walker was descended from a large and influential family. William Thomas and Lizzie Walker married in 1896 and had ten other children: Charles Elmer Walker (1897–1941), Pyburn Elton Walker (1899–1987), Edgar Lee "Ed" Walker (1901–1972), Vester Walker (1902–1906), Gladys Oneta Walker (1904–1963), William Elmo Walker (1905–1956), L. Z. Walker (1907–1993), Grace Mae Walker (1909–1991), Edwin Olen Walker (1911–1978), and George Thomas Walker, Sr. (1913–2011).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/thenewsstar/obituary.aspx?n=george-thomas-walker&pid=152392279|title=George T. Walker|publisher=''The Monroe News-Star''|accessdate=July 6, 2011}}</ref> At the time of his mother's death in 1951, the obituary lists Walker as a lieutenant colonel in [[Vienna]], [[Austria]]. "Ed" Walker was a  football coach at the [[University of Mississippi]] at Oxford who led his team to an early Orange Bowl competition, and Olen Walker had been a college football player. George T. Walker, the only sibling to survive William S. Walker, was a dean at [[Northwestern State University]] in [[Natchitoches, Louisiana|Natchitoches]] and the retired president of the University of Louisiana at [[Monroe, Louisiana|Monroe]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.transportcemetery.com/Walker_MES.html|title=Mary Elizabeth "Lizzie" Stovall,  Transport Cemetery records, Dodson, Louisiana|publisher=Transportcemetery|accessdate=July 19, 2009}}</ref>​

Walker was born in the Wyatt Community of southern Jackson Parish just north of the Winn Parish line in north Louisiana, to William Thomas Walker and the former Mary Elizabeth "Lizzie" Stovall (1877–1951), Walker was descended from a large and influential family. William Thomas and Lizzie Walker married in 1896 and had ten other children: Charles Elmer Walker (1897–1941), Pyburn Elton Walker (1899–1987), Edgar Lee "Ed" Walker (1901–1972), Vester Walker (1902–1906), Gladys Oneta Walker (1904–1963), William Elmo Walker (1905–1956), L. Z. Walker (1907–1993), Grace Mae Walker (1909–1991), Edwin Olen Walker (1911–1978), and George Thomas Walker, Sr. (1913–2011).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/thenewsstar/obituary.aspx?n=george-thomas-walker&pid=152392279|title=George T. Walker|publisher=''The Monroe News-Star''|accessdate=July 6, 2011}}</ref> At the time of his mother's death in 1951, the obituary lists Walker as a lieutenant colonel in [[Vienna]], [[Austria]]. "Ed" Walker was a  football coach at the [[University of Mississippi]] at Oxford who led his team to an early Orange Bowl competition, and Olen Walker had been a college football player. George T. Walker, the only sibling to survive William S. Walker, was a dean at [[Northwestern State University]] in [[Natchitoches, Louisiana|Natchitoches]] and the retired president of the University of Louisiana at [[Monroe, Louisiana|Monroe]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.transportcemetery.com/Walker_MES.html|title=Mary Elizabeth "Lizzie" Stovall,  Transport Cemetery records, Dodson, Louisiana|publisher=Transportcemetery|accessdate=July 19, 2009}}</ref>​

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Walker was a [[cousin]] of [[Morgan W. Walker, Sr.]], an [[Alexandria, Louisiana|Alexandria]] businessman who was president and founder of  Continental Trailways.<ref>Obituary of [[Morgan W. Walker,  Sr.]], ''Winn Parish Enterprise News'', Winnfield, Louisiana, February 23, 1983.</ref>​

Walker was a cousin of [[Morgan W. Walker, Sr.]], an [[Alexandria, Louisiana|Alexandria]] businessman who was president and founder of  Continental Trailways.<ref>Obituary of [[Morgan W. Walker,  Sr.]], ''Winn Parish Enterprise News'', Winnfield, Louisiana, February 23, 1983.</ref>​

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Walker graduated from Northwestern State University. On September 1, 1940, he married the former Mary Elizabeth Abel (November 29, 1911 &ndash; September 2, 1999), a [[music]] teacher in Winnfield and the daughter of Florence Kees (1875-1949) and Perry Kees Abel, Sr. (1867-1966).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?dbid=60525&h=4983239&indiv=try&o_vc=Record:OtherRecord&rhSource=2442|title=Perry Kees Abel|publisher=Ancestry.com|accessdate=March 26, 2019}}</ref>

Walker graduated from Northwestern State University. On September 1, 1940, he married the former Mary Elizabeth Abel (November 29, 1911 &ndash; September 2, 1999), a [[music]] teacher in Winnfield and the daughter of Florence Kees (1875-1949) and Perry Kees Abel, Sr. (1867-1966).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?dbid=60525&h=4983239&indiv=try&o_vc=Record:OtherRecord&rhSource=2442|title=Perry Kees Abel|publisher=Ancestry.com|accessdate=March 26, 2019}}</ref>

That summer, Walker was one of twenty delegates from Louisiana to the [[Republican National Convention]] in [[San Francisco]], [[California]] which nominated [[U.S. Senator]] [[Barry Goldwater]] of [[Arizona]] in the race against [[U.S. President]] [[Lyndon B. Johnson]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/walker9.html|title=''The Political Graveyard''|publisher=|accessdate=July 20, 2009}}</ref> Four  congressional nominees from Louisiana were invited to meet privately with former President [[Dwight Eisenhower]], who endorsed the GOP slate, including Walker, future [[Governor]]  [[David C. Treen]], of [[suburban]] [[New Orleans]], publisher Robert "Bob" Angers]] of [[Lafayette]], and businessman Floyd O. Crawford (1907–1995) of [[Baton Rouge]], who opposed incumbent Representative and former gubernatorial candidate James Hobson "Jimmy" Morrison, Sr. (1908-2000) of Hammond, Louisiana.<ref>"Barry Cops GOP Banner for Conservatives", ''[[Shreveport Journal]]'', [[Shreveport, Louisiana|Shreveport]], Louisiana, July 16, 1964, p. 1.</ref>​

That summer, Walker was one of twenty delegates from Louisiana to the [[Republican National Convention]] in [[San Francisco]], [[California]] which nominated [[U.S. Senator]] [[Barry Goldwater]] of [[Arizona]] in the race against [[U.S. President]] [[Lyndon B. Johnson]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/walker9.html|title=''The Political Graveyard''|publisher=|accessdate=July 20, 2009}}</ref> Four  congressional nominees from Louisiana were invited to meet privately with former President [[Dwight Eisenhower]], who endorsed the GOP slate, including Walker, future [[Governor]]  [[David C. Treen]], of [[suburban]] [[New Orleans]], publisher Robert "Bob" Angers]] of [[Lafayette]], and businessman Floyd O. Crawford (1907–1995) of [[Baton Rouge]], who opposed incumbent Representative and former gubernatorial candidate James Hobson "Jimmy" Morrison, Sr. (1908-2000) of Hammond, Louisiana.<ref>"Barry Cops GOP Banner for Conservatives", ''[[Shreveport Journal]]'', [[Shreveport, Louisiana|Shreveport]], Louisiana, July 16, 1964, p. 1.</ref>​

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Walker's opponent was Speedy Oteria Long (1927-2006), an [[attorney]] and a former state senator from Jena in LaSalle Parish. Considered the most [[conservative]] of the Longs, Speedy had unseated his [[cousin]], Gillis William Long (1923-1985) of Alexandria, in the Democratic primary in the summer of 1964. Walker's showing, a half percent better than Treen received in his race against the Democrat [[Hale Boggs]], may have been a reflection of continuing Long factional divisions, which had appeared in 1963 in the gubernatorial primary. In that campaign, U.S. Representative Gillis Long was endorsed by U.S. Senator [[Russell Long]], the son of [[Huey Long|Huey Pierce Long, Jr.]], and the successful opponent, [[John J. McKeithen]], carried the backing of Blanche Beulah Revere Long (1902-1998), Earl Long's politically influential widow. Goldwater was an easy winner in Louisiana and polled large majorities in the northern half of the state prior to passage of the [[Voting Rights Act of 1965]], which brought forth the registration of large numbers of [[African American]]s. Goldwater provided a boost to Walker but insufficient help to defeat a Long candidate.<ref>[[Bill Dodd]], "Peapatch Politics: The Earl Long Era in Louisiana Politics'', [[Baton Rouge]]: Claitor's Publishing, 1991.</ref>​

Walker's opponent was Speedy Oteria Long (1927-2006), an [[attorney]] and a former state senator from Jena in LaSalle Parish. Considered the most [[conservative]] of the Longs, Speedy had unseated his cousin, Gillis William Long (1923-1985) of Alexandria, in the Democratic primary in the summer of 1964. Walker's showing, a half percent better than Treen received in his race against the Democrat Thomas Hale Boggs, Sr. (1914-1972), may have been a reflection of continuing Long factional divisions, which had appeared in 1963 in the gubernatorial primary. In that campaign, U.S. Representative Gillis Long was endorsed by U.S. Senator [[Russell Long]], the son of [[Huey Long|Huey Pierce Long, Jr.]], and the successful opponent, [[John J. McKeithen]], carried the backing of Blanche Beulah Revere Long (1902-1998), Earl Long's politically influential widow. Goldwater was an easy winner in Louisiana and polled large majorities in the northern half of the state prior to passage of the [[Voting Rights Act of 1965]], which brought forth the registration of large numbers of [[African American]]s. Goldwater provided a boost to Walker but insufficient help to defeat a Long candidate.<ref>[[Bill Dodd]], "Peapatch Politics: The Earl Long Era in Louisiana Politics'', [[Baton Rouge]]: Claitor's Publishing, 1991.</ref>​

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Long prevailed, 33,250 votes (54.5 percent) to Walker's 27,735 (45.5 percent). Walker carried only Rapides Parish but polled at least 40 percent in Sabine, Natchitoches,  Grant, LaSalle, and Winn parishes.<ref>Louisiana Secretary of State, Election Returns, U.S. Congress, November 3, 1964.</ref>​

Long prevailed, 33,250 votes (54.5 percent) to Walker's 27,735 (45.5 percent). Walker carried only Rapides Parish but polled at least 40 percent in Sabine, Natchitoches,  Grant, LaSalle, and Winn parishes.<ref>Louisiana Secretary of State, Election Returns, U.S. Congress, November 3, 1964.</ref>​