[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 85 (Thursday, June 25, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Page S7216]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                TRIBUTE TO JAMES EDWIN ``JIMMY'' WALKER

 Mr. SHELBY. Mr. President, I rise today to salute a great 
Alabamian and a great American whose life was cut short by war--
Lieutenant James Edwin ``Jimmy'' Walker. I did not have the pleasure of 
knowing Jimmy, but many people from my home state who knew this young 
man have nothing but praise for him.
  Born in 1913, Jimmy became one of the most outstanding athletes in 
the history of Holt High School. He was the captain of the football, 
baseball, and basketball teams, leading his small school to athletic 
prominence in the state. Jimmy's former high school coach and teacher 
described him as having ``superior athletic abilities, and as being a 
great and popular leader.'' He further described Jimmy as ``a joy and 
an inspiration to those who had the good fortune to work and play with 
or for him.''
  In 1932, Jimmy entered the University of Alabama, in Tuscaloosa, on 
an athletic scholarship. Throughout his three years of varsity 
competition, he started on both the football and basketball teams. On 
campus, as well as on the athletic field, Jimmy was well known, loved 
and respected. He was a member of the ``A'' Club, Alabama Quadrangle, 
Jason's Honorary Junior Society, Pi Gamma Alpha Fraternity, O.D.K., 
Cotillion Club, and the Court of Appeals of the Student Government. 
Notably, Jimmy was captain of the victorious Rose Bowl and national 
championship football team of 1935, as well as captain of the 1934 
Crimson Tide Basketball team. He was an All-Conference, All-
Southeastern, and All-American basketball player while remaining active 
on campus and successful in the classroom. Jimmy ultimately received 
his Bachelor of Science degree in 1935.
  Jimmy continued in athletics, coaching basketball at Virginia 
Military Institute. As in high school, Jimmy led a small school to 
great heights. His teams were outstanding, consistently ranking higher 
than the much larger southern schools. At the time, newspapers called 
his accomplishment ``a coaching masterpiece.''
  Despite his considerable professional and personal success and his 
growing notoriety, Jimmy asked for a leave of absence from coaching to 
join the United States Navy at the start of World War II. When he 
became a First Lieutenant in the Navy, he told his family that he had 
finally ``made the team.'' After a period of distinguished wartime 
service, on December 22, 1943, this Alabama sports-hero-turned-Naval-
officer sadly died in South America, from wounds received while in the 
performance of his official duties.
  Jimmy died serving his country. He was a true leader, not only on the 
athletic field but in all areas of life. As a coach, a student, and a 
military officer, he was a fine role model for those around him. His 
dedicated, patriotic spirit will be remembered for a long time. He 
truly gave his all for victory.
  Today, 45 years after his untimely passing, my thoughts are with 
Jimmy's family and friends. His spirit will forever live on in those 
who knew him. Perhaps Jimmy's sister, Neta Walker Laycock, of 
Tuscaloosa, Alabama, captured his outstanding personality best when she 
said: ``If you knew him, you loved him. If you didn't, you missed a 
treat.''

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