Blackie Walker Interview

Blackie Walker

Tricking The Army

Blackie Walker: Let me tell you how that come about. I tried to volunteer and they wouldn’t touch me cause they knowed I was underage. Well they was two or three boys, the last ones that was eighteen years old in Mechanicsburg, and they come to Bland to register. And it was on a Saturday and I come with ‘em and we went to the Courthouse and they registered. And T.D. Huddle was the well, I don’t know what they call him.

Pat Billings: The recruiter.

Blackie Walker: Well he was the man that registered ya. And he registered them boys and then he looked at me and said, “Is there anything I can do for you?” and I said that I won’t be eighteen ‘til Monday. And he said well, I’ll sign you up today and save you a trip up here. I registered and they drafted me, and that’s the way I got in the Army. And nobody ever questioned or asked for a birth certificate or nothing.

General Patton

Blackie Walker: I joined the Third Army.

Pat Billings: Did you ever meet General Patton?

Blackie Walker: I seen him one time in person.

Pat Billings: Was he as impressive as they show him in the movies?

Blackie Walker: I thought he was a real nice guy; he didn’t talk nothing like he did in that movie. He wasn’t no tall man like George C. Scott either he was a short dumpy feller. They had a, he talked to us in a little old town, I don’t know what the name of it was, but there was a great big old rock in the middle of town. And he stood on that rock and said he was gonna jump off and we was gonna go to Germany and ain’t gonna stop until the war was over. And we didn’t when we stopped the war was over in a couple of days.

Pat Billings: So he really knew how to get people energized?

Blackie Walker: Oh, he was a great leader and some people didn’t like him but…

Pat Billings: So he knew how to get things done, and step on someone’s toes?

Blackie Walker: His job was to win wars. And he knowed what he was a doing. You know it’s like anything else you know you make to make sacrifices along the way.

Pat Billings: Sure you can’t please everybody.