- The year was 1953. The place was South Ruislip, England, a suburb of
London. I arrived for my assignment with the 7th Air Division (SAC), United States Air
Force. I had been in my assigned living quarters only a very short time when an Air Force
Staff Sergeant walked in and introduced himself as
Walter Church, also informing me that his
friends called him
"Willie
Church". Thus began one of my most outstanding and lasting
friendships that I would know in my lifetime. This friendship would last for more than
forty years. So I sit here in 1996, after all these years and try and recall times with,
and events about
Walter. The following paragraphs are not in any special order, but recorded just as
they come to my mind. One might ask how accurate are these comments after all these years.
I can assure you that these comments are accurate and as real today as the day that they
occurred. When you experience a friendship like the one that existed between
Walter and myself, you
never, never, forget any of the details.
- The three years we spent in England together were probably the most memorable in that we
were able to spend a lot of time together. This time was mostly spent sightseeing and
taking pictures. We traveled all over England and spent a lot of time in the London area.
To name a few places, we visited: Oxford, Cambridge, White Cliff’s of Dover, Brighten
by the sea, Tower of London, London Bridge, Buckingham Palace, Houses of Parliament,
Trafalgar Square, Windsor Castle, St. Albans, William Penn’s Old Quaker Church, and
Stratford Upon Avon (Shakespeare’s Home).
Walter had arrived in England early enough to see
the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth in June of 1953. He considered himself lucky to have
witnessed this once in a lifetime event. He spoke of it often.
- I have such fond memories of each of these places we visited together. For example, when
we visited St. Albans, the hometown of Errol Flynn, but our reason there was to visit a
Pub named "Ye Ole Fighting Cock." This Pub had been in continuous operation
since the year 795 (this is not a typo, the year is 795). Near the Pub was part of the old
Roman Wall that had been erected the length of England and could be seen as one exited
from the Pub. As we walked out of the Pub and looked at the remains of the Wall,
Walter turned to me and
said: "Ollie, I am sure you were there and helped build that Wall."
Walter’s sense of
humor and timing would rival Yogi Berra’s.
- The assignment to 7th Air Division not only was some very hard and interesting work, but
also included a very good social life. The folks within our small group were very
compatible and shared a lot in common. Therefore, we met frequently in each other's home
for dinner and exchange war stories. The English Penny was a large copper and we all saved
our pennies and when we met we all played penny poker. We just had a good dinner and a lot
of just plain old good fun. I, for one, feel very fortunate to have been selected to serve
with this group of people. We were all hand selected for this job. Most of the activities
we were involved in were highly classified. The place where we worked was near High
Wycomb, England. This site was a three-story building all under ground. It was the
location of the Old World War II, Headquarters of the 8th Air Force, known as Pinetree. In
1953, it had been cleaned up and became known as Lancer Control. From this location, we
monitored and controlled all the Strategic Air Command’s aircraft operating East of
the Azores throughout Europe and North Africa. This facility operated 24 hours, seven days
a week. This is where we met all the guys that
Walter and I would talk about for years to come.
Names like Grazier, Middleton, Pickavance, Orth, Outram, Whitworth, Patton, Pearson,
Darcy, Steel, McCourt, Brown, Nysson, Corbin, Hardin, Coates, and others. This was a time
and place a special group of people did a great job and did it extremely well.
- Over the years our paths crossed with both good and sad times. On a visit to Washington
D. C.,
Walter treated me to a steak dinner at Blackie’s House of Beef, located at 21st
and M Street. Years later I would take my wife, Loraine, there where we reminisced about
Walter. On a sad note we
met in Washington at Arlington Memorial Cemetery, in 1956, to bury a very good mutual
friend, Roy Brown, who died unexpectedly at a young age.
Walter and I along with John Nysson
(another mutual friend) were honorary pallbearers.
- Within a few days after I first met Walter, we went house hunting. I was married and my
wife, Loraine, was still in South Dakota. This time period being so soon after World War
II, housing was in very short supply in England. Therefore, your family could not come to
England until you had located adequate housing. The reason for this commentary is to tell
another Walter fun event. We soon located two rooms in a widow's house where we would share the
kitchen. I had no plans of living there, I took the place just to have an address so that
I could get Loraine on her way to England. The landlady had a turtle in the back yard, she
had had this turtle for a number of years. The turtle was kept on a chain. A hole had been
drilled into the turtle's shell and the chain hooked through and the other end tied to a
large tree. Shortly after I took up residence, Walter came over and we were enjoying the evening in
the back yard. Walter decided that he would share his beer with the turtle. I then followed offering
the turtle some of my beer. We could not believe how much beer that darn turtle drank. The
more the turtle drank the more we poured. It was not long before the poor old turtle could
not even walk. We laughed many times about this event.
 One day in the
Pentagon I answered the phone and it was
Walter. He was approaching the date for his last
reenlistment tour in the Air Force before his retirement.
Walter wanted to know if I would perform
the oath of office at his reenlistment ceremony? I immediately became aware of how close
our friendship had become over the years. At this time
Walter was working in the National Military
Command Center, the nerve center of the United States Defense Department. He was in daily
contact with three and four star Generals, any of whom would have gladly performed his
reenlistment ceremony. Yet,
Walter reached into the basement of the Pentagon for a lowly Lt. Colonel, his friend
"Ollie" to perform this honor. I was very touched by this request and felt it a
great honor and a privilege to perform this ceremony for my dear friend
Walter.
Walter was a very caring person. I am sure he had no enemies. He was very devoted to
his family and frequently talked of them while visiting in our home. I felt I knew all of
his family although I had never met any of them. But this did not last long, since Loraine
and I would be traveling through High Point, NC he insisted that we stop by and visit with
his Mom and Dad. We did stop and have lunch and they were just as Walter described them.
Beautiful people, I then understood why Walter was such a wonderful son and individual. On
another trip through High Point we had the pleasure of meeting and spending the night with
Walter’s sister Margaret, and her family. Margaret had two daughters, which
Walter cherished and
dearly loved. I do not think any one could be loved and cared for more than these two
nieces. Walter talked continually about these two girls, you would have thought that they were
his very own children. Walter LOVED THESE GIRLS.
Walter was a very avid Washington Redskin and North Carolina Tar Heel football fan. He
waited so many years to get his season tickets, with the first ones being in the end zone,
but the location of the seats did not matter to true and die- hard fans. I had the
pleasure of sharing his seats with him several times. He also took Loraine along. One time
when Loraine’s parents were visiting us in Washington, Walter insisted that I
use his tickets and take my father-in-law to see the Redskins. I can remember one year in
the 1970’s when Walter bought a new Chevy. It was a true North Carolina Tar Heel blue and he was
extremely excited about this car, but most of all its color.
 I guess the most touching
and memorable event that occurred during our long friendship was the day of my retirement
from the Air Force. A retirement party sponsored by my Pentagon associates was held in the
basement of the Pentagon.
Walter was in attendance, my peers were aware of my close relationship with
Walter and made
arrangements that he be there. There is a custom in the Air Force that upon your
commissioning as a Second Lieutenant, you reward the person that you receive your first
salute from with a one-dollar bill. I know of no such custom for receiving your last
salute. Unbeknown to me, after the party and I was leaving the big Pentagon parking lot,
at the exit point, there stood
Chief
Master Sergeant Walter A. Church, at attention, with one of the
sharpest salutes that I ever recall receiving. I returned the salute, stopped, and
Walter approached the
car. I said
Willie that salute was worth at least five dollars. With a tear on my cheek I handed
Walter a five-dollar
bill, and he replied that that five dollars would be framed and hung on a wall in his
apartment. I will never forget that moment. I still don’t know how
Walter got from the
Pentagon basement to the point of exit so fast.
- The last time I saw
Walter was on a Thanksgiving Day in Virginia. We drove all the way from Georgia and had
a wonderful Thanksgiving Dinner. But what had made it an extra special day, was our host
knowing what good friend we were with
Walter, had worked hard and located him in
Washington and invited him for dinner as a surprise for us. He was the same as the first
time we had met thirty years earlier. He had that BIG GRIN which turned into a BIG SMILE.
Looked as fit and trim as always along with his trademark "SHINED SHOES". I
don’t think I ever saw
Walter when his shoes were not shined to the highest gloss.
- Everyone has heard the saying: "If you can’t say something good about an
individual, keep your mouth shut." Walter practiced this more than anyone that I have
ever known. He always had something good to say about everyone he knew regardless of any
extenuating circumstances. I recall on one occasion when I talked with him, while he was
working in the Department of Justice Command Post. Mr. Ed Meese was the United States
Attorney General and was catching flack from all sides. Walter said don’t believe all those
things the Media is saying about Mr. Meese, he is really a fine fellow. He always had good
and nice words with whom ever he had contact.
PRENTIS L. OLLIS, Lt. Col., USAF, Retired
A Friend of Walter
Church
The Year 1996
Walter's illness was
pancreatic cancer.
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