Upon his retirement after 33 years of service, Major General Walter Golden Jr said: "There is no more noble profession than serving in the military and leading America's sons and daughters".
Our Post is proud to have sponsored Gen Golden to Boys State in 1975. That experience led to an invitation to apply to West Point upon graduation from Salida High School in 1977. Gen Golden's parents, also Army veterans, made military service a family tradition and encouraged him through the exhaustive West Point application process, even driving him to interviews and testing appointments on the Front Range.
from the Mountain Mail Posted: Wednesday, February 12, 2014
by Arlene Shovald, Special to The Mail
U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Walter M. Golden Jr. will retire Thursday with 33 years in military service.
He will be honored at a retirement ceremony at Collier Fieldhouse at U.S. Army Garrison Yongsan, Seoul, South Korea, where he is stationed.
The general is a 1977 Salida High School graduate and the son of Walt and Linda Golden of Salida.
His brother, Casey Golden, along with wife Kim and daughters Brooke and Bailey, still lives in Salida.
“Both my mom and dad are Army veterans,” Golden said. “They were enlisted and met and got married in Germany. My mom’s father, Frank Frantz, also from Salida, was a World War I veteran and a Rio Grande narrow gauge railroad engineer.”
Since military service was a family tradition, patriotism and service were ingrained in Golden from an early age.
“I wanted to be the first in my family to obtain a college education, and I wanted to be an officer,” Golden said. “I received a recruiting brochure from West Point after being sponsored by Salida Ray Lines American Legion Post to Boys State before my junior year of high school.
“The challenge of competing for a Congressional nomination, then an appointment and finally completing 4 intellectually, physically and spiritually demanding years at West Point to become commissioned as an Army second lieutenant appealed to me.”
He credits “great Salidans” like coach Joe Hergert, Dr. William Mehos and Dr. Allen Hampshire, who wrote letters of recommendation for him.
“My mom and dad encouraged me through the exhaustive application process, drove me to interviews, medical and physical aptitude appointments in Colorado Springs, Denver and Pueblo,” Golden said.
“All of those, plus other family, teachers and mentors like Jim Ragan, Ada Jane and Charles Melien and Tina Giles, shared my sense of accomplishment when I received my nomination from Congressman Frank Evans and later my appointment to West Point.”
He met his wife, Jo Ann (Nowakowaki), during his junior year at West Point on a blind date.
“Our roommates were dating and thought we’d be a good match,” Golden said. “We were married on May 30, 1982, 1 year after I graduated from West Point.”
He was commissioned as a second lieutenant in infantry upon his graduation from the U.S. Military Academy in 1981 and went on to serve in numerous command and staff assignments throughout the world, including Germany, Kosovo, Iraq, Afghanistan and Korea.
Most recently he was deployed to Afghanistan in 2011 as the deputy commander for police, NATO Training Mission, International Security Assistance Force, as part of Operation Enduring Freedom.
He has served as the deputy commanding general, operations, for the Eighth Army in the Republic of Korea since August 2012.
His awards and decorations include the Distinguished Service Medal, Defense Superior Service Medal (with oak leaf cluster), Legion of Merit (with two oak leaf clusters), Bronze Star Medal, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal (with five oak leaf clusters), Air Medal, Army Commendation Medal (with oak leaf cluster) and Army Achievement Medal (with two oak leaf clusters).
He is a master Army aviator with more than 2,200 flying hours, including more than 200 hours flown in combat. He is qualified to fly the TH-55, UH-1 Huey, OH-58A, C and D Kiowa, AH-1 Cobra and UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters as well as the U-21 and C-12 airplanes. He has earned the Joint Chiefs of Staff Identification Badge, Army Staff Identification Badge, Parachutist Badge and Air Assault Badge.
“I’m proud of my service, and I attribute any success I have attained to the values inculcated in me by my parents, the magnificent soldiers that I led and the leadership and mentoring I received from my commanders and colleagues,” Golden said.
“There is no more noble profession than serving in the military and leading America’s sons and daughters.”
Retirement plans at this point are indefinite. He is exploring opportunities in the aerospace, government and nonprofit sectors.
“Colorado is my choice for location, but we are willing to relocate for the right opportunity,” Golden said.
His family now includes his wife; daughter, Natalie, who is engaged to Navy Lt. Will Burke; and sons, Avery Golden, Air Force Capt. Walter Golden III and wife Air Force Capt. Christinia, and Air Force Capt. Adam Golden.
Visits “home” to Salida, will, of course, be part of the retirement plans. He said he hopes to visit Salida the end of March and return again for FIBArk weekend.
