Ryan Blanco

Taylor Fagg

Melissa Hooper

Kristin Parks

Walter D. Gardner: Biography

Walter D. Gardner was born on July 15, 1919 in New York City, N.Y. where he attended St. Margaret Mary Elementary School from grades first through eighth.  He then graduated from Far Rockaway High School, Long Island, New York.  While in high school he accomplished many outstanding achievements.  He was co-captain of the swim team; won the NYC championship; placed second in the Eastern National Championship, and third in the National Interscholastic Championships.  He was also senior class representative on the student council and was awarded the Cruickshank Memorial Medal for outstanding achievement in scholarship, citizenship, and athletics.  But things were not always that great as Mr. Gardner struggled through the Depression as a child.  He recalls that his best meal as was the bread loaf made by his mother, which he still only received one slice of for supper.  Gardner told us of times when a friend would stand at the top of a hill and pull the bottom apple off of an apple stand while Walter waited at the bottom to catch the falling apples.  To earn some money, Walter would steal empty milk bottles, turn them in and receive the money.  If there was one good thing about the Depression, it was to never take anything for granted.  It also taught him to be thankful for what you have, as we’ve learned from his stories as well.

While holding the responsibilities as a platoon commander he served four years and four months in WWII and two and a half of those years were spent in North Africa and Italy.  His platoon was an automatic weapons unit and they carried four forty mm. guns and four 50 caliber machine guns.  Walter was also a mine detonation officer, and trial judge advocate when he was discharged; he had the rank of first lieutenant.

Walter Gardner received most of his training at Fort Dix in New Jersey, where he was selected to attend OCS - Officer Candidate School.  There he trained to become an officer.  The students spent hours studying everything from maps to airplanes.  Walter remembers how much of an emphasis was put on studying maps.  Walter said it was vital information for the officers to know exactly where their platoon was or it may become life threatening.  He recalls at OCS if you failed one test you were out of the school.  The largest failure rate was in map readings.

Although it is probably very hard to go back and remember any memories of the war, Walter had memories fresh in his mind.  He explained the harsh weather in North Africa and Italy and the toll it took on his body.  He recalls North Africa as being extremely hot and having very little water.  They were given one canteen of water a day and throughout the day the water would get hot from the sun.  The canteen had to last them through the entire day.  They would only receive warm food once a week.  The rest of the week they had cold canned food, which consisted of hash, beans, and stew.  Walter explained his daily routine as far as food.  He would always eat hash for lunch because it wasn’t greasy and he wanted to leave the taste of beans or stew in his mouth, then each day he would switch the beans and stew around for breakfast or dinner.  In Italy there was a lot of rain from November through February.  Many soldiers got trench foot including water.  They battled wet, slept wet and woke up wet.  Fortunately, Walter’s trench foot wasn’t too severe.

One very memorable experience Gardner recalls was being in action on one of his platoon’s missions, while moving into position, a German airplane began to strafe their position.  Rather than jumping into the foxholes to be safe, they all jumped into action.  Fortunately, they were able to bring down the plane.  Walter said their first reaction was to fight back with no hesitation; it was what they were trained to do.  Gardner was just relieved nobody got hurt.

After the war was over, Walter was able to come home and start a new life.  Long after the war the veteran’s administration diagnosed Walter with PTSD - Post traumatic Stress Disorder.  Back then they didn’t have recovery classes, counseling, or anything relevant to what they have now.  So many soldiers discovered this problem a lot later in life.  Walter struggled with PTSD.  The G.I. Bill was created to pay for college for the returning G.I.’s.  He attended New York University and received his bachelor and Master Degrees in science, arts, and biological sciences.  After four years of teaching anatomy, physiology and kinesiology at New York University, a friend told him how nice it was in California.  So, Walter packed his things and moved to Riverside, California in 1952.  He got a job with the Riverside Unified School High District, now R.U.S.D.  First he taught at Jurupa Jr. High School, and then moved up to becoming the principal.  He was principal of Rubidoux High School and Chemawa Jr. High School as well.  He then became a Personnel Administrator.  After retiring, he worked in adult education for over ten years teaching physical fitness to senior citizens.  He “finally” retired from teaching in August 2003, after serving in education for 53 years.

Walter D. Gardner served in WWII for over four years and then went on to lead a successful career in education.  Although he served in the Army, he is opposed to war.  Walter now knows what condition’s troops are living in and what struggles they are going through because of his experiences in serving our country.  “Veterans Day and Thanksgiving have passed for this year, but we must not forget to give our thanks to our troops for giving us these freedoms we so deeply cherish.  December 7th, 1941 and September 11th, 2001 were both wake up calls to remind us to not take freedom for granted.  If we lose our resolve in this struggle against terrorism, we may lose our freedoms, as we know them today.  Remember, we are not a perfect Government because we are not a perfect people.  Let us not forget that either.” said Mr. Gardner.