Walter K. Wilson Sr.

Walter K. Wilson (7 October 1880 – 20 January 1954) was a career officer in the United States Army. A veteran of World War I and World War II, he served from 1902 until 1946 and attained the rank of major general. Wilson was a specialist in Coast Artillery and his commands included the Harbor Defenses of Manila and Subic Bay, III Corps, the 9th Coast Artillery District, and the Northern California Sector of the Western Defense Command.

A native of Nashville, Tennessee, Wilson was raised and educated in Nashville before attending the United States Military Academy at West Point. He graduated in 1902 and was commissioned as a second lieutenant of Artillery. When the Artillery branch split into Field Artillery and Coast Artillery, Wilson chose to serve with the Coast Artillery. Early assignments included adjutant of the Artillery District of Pensacola, which was based at Fort Barrancas, Florida. After completion of the basic and advanced courses for Artillery officers, he served as assistant to the army's Chief of Coast Artillery and commander of the 47th Coast Artillery Company. During World War I, he was in charge of the Cablegram Section of the United States Department of War and was responsible for coordinating communications between the War Department and the American Expeditionary Forces in France.

After the First World War, Wilson graduated from the United States Army War College and commanded the army's Coastal Defenses of San Diego and Southern California Border District, as well as the post at Fort Ruger, Hawaii Territory. Senior commands during World War II included the 2nd Coast Artillery District in New York City and the 9th Coast Artillery District in San Francisco. From January 1944 through the end of the war, he served as director of Army Emergency Relief (AER); retired for disability after a heart attack in June 1944, he was immediately recalled to active duty and continued as AER director. He retired from the military in 1946 and continued as the civilian director of AER until retiring in 1951. He died in Washington, DC on 20 january 1954 and was buried at Arlington National Cemetery.