From Landlocked Childhood to Service at Sea
By Woody Freeman
USS Calcaterra (Designation DE-390) circa 1944. “USS Calcaterra.” Aspen-Ridge.net. Accessed July 6, 2025, https://www.aspen-ridge.net/Shipmates/USS_Calcaterra/body_uss_calcaterra.html.
Harley Lee Walker
August 25, 1925 – December 7, 2019
Harley Lee Walker was born on the 25th of August 1925 in Henderson, a small community in Northeastern Colorado. His father, Harley B Walker, came from Indiana and his mother, Thelma Laura Walker, was from Georgia.[1] Harley was the youngest of three sons: Laurence and Frederick and he had a younger sister named Edna.[2] Not much is known about Walker’s childhood but Walker’s draft card suggests that he moved to Brighton, Colorado with his family.[3] His father worked as a nightwatchman in a canning factory.[4] Meanwhile, his mother was the owner of her own café in Brighton.[5] During this time, Brighton, had a large Asian-American population and many of the people living there worked on farms or in food processing factories.
In 1942, Harley Lee Walker and his brothers were drafted into the United States military. The eldest of the brothers, Laurence Walker would join the US Army at aged 19.[6] Frederick would also join the US Navy at 18 and work as a torpedoman while Harley joined the Coast Guard.[7] Throughout the Second World War, the Coast Guard was under the control of the Department of the Navy and so they worked closely throughout the war in all theatres.[8] Throughout his time in service, Harley Lee Walker would be given the rank of Motor Machinists Mate 1st Class (MOMM1) onboard the USS Calcaterra.[9] The rank of Machinist Mate (MM) is an rank granted to personnel operating in the engineering and maintenance of the vessel, with a focus on the main powering units of a ship. The men assigned to the Motor Machinist branch ensured the upkeep of the motor systems that kept the ship moving.[10] The USS Calcaterra was a destroyer escort ship used in the Joint US and British merchant convoys during the war in the Atlantic. Between 1944 and 1945, the USS Calcaterra would cross the Atlantic eight times and saw combat numerous times and faced off with German U-Boats during these crossings.[11] The ship was armed with numerous anti-submarine armaments, such as depth charges and hedgehogs.[12] These weapons would sink to depths set by the crew, then cause a large explosion. If deployed correctly, the explosion would damage the hostile submarine enough for it to have to surface. Interestingly, Harley Walker would have the same rank as Herbert Calcaterra, the namesake of the ship.[13]
Harley was discharged from the US Coast Guard on April 5, 1946, suggesting he remained onboard the Calcaterra right until the end of the war. The ship redeployed to the Pacific and served as troop transportation before being sold and scrapped in the 1970s. He returned home safely, alongside his brothers, and went back to Colorado and took up a job as a floor sander at Floor Sanding & Refinishing in Brighton, Colorado.[14] Brighton was positively impacted by the Second World War, developing due to the nearby military production that occurred in nearby factories, and airfields.[15] This meant that Brighton didn’t change significantly before or after the war, providing a friendly welcome home for the Walker brothers.
He did have to register for the Korean War as he was still of fighting age at the end of World War Two, but he didn’t end up having to go. His draft card shows that he was not married at this time, and there is no record of him getting married throughout his life, nor is there evidence that he had children. He passed away on the 7th of December 2019 in Brighton and is now buried in Fort Logan National Cemetery in Denver, Colorado.
Footnotes ↓
[1] “1930 United States Federal Census.” Ancestry.com, entry for Harley L Walker, accessed July 10, 2025, https://www.ancestry.com/sharing/41676041?mark=7b22746f6b656e223a2252434b44797657756965416e366f465378427053346c4c334565766c724a505473584965433757514a61513d222c22746f6b656e5f76657273696f6e223a225632227d.
[2] Ibid.
[3] “Page 1 - US, WWII Draft Registration Cards, 1940.” Fold3. Entry for Harley Lee Walker, accessed July 10th, 2025, https://www.fold3.com/image/538572483/walker-harley-lee-page-1-us-wwii-draft-registration-cards-1940.
[4] “1950 United States Federal Census.” Ancestry.com, entry for Harley B Walker, accessed July 10, 2025, https://www.ancestry.com/sharing/43394956?mark=7b22746f6b656e223a226e55583662447a62684861546e74326e533657516f38656a34614b5454777a4c5a5555614445684c522b6b3d222c22746f6b656e5f76657273696f6e223a225632227d.
[5] “1950 United States Federal Census.” Ancestry.com, 2021, entry for Laura T Walker, accessed July 10, 2025, https://www.ancestry.com/sharing/43395081?mark=7b22746f6b656e223a22396e435a596c426f5359314a786a2b4d3369384670674f33474b7a4b537772674c42515352636b7a326d383d222c22746f6b656e5f76657273696f6e223a225632227d.
[6] “Lawrence Scott Walker (1922-2006) - Find a Grave...” Findagrave.com. Accessed August 14, 2025, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/60713062/lawrence-scott-walker?_gl=1.
[7] “Fredrick B. ‘Bill’ Walker (1923-2000) - Find A...” Findagrave.com. Accessed August 14, 2025, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/71431261/fredrick-b.-walker?_gl=1.
[8] “The Coast Guard’s World War II Crucible.” 2016. U.S. Naval Institute, accessed July 12, 2025, https://www.usni.org/magazines/naval-history-magazine/2016/october/coast-guards-world-war-ii-crucible.
[9] “U.S., Korean War Era Draft Cards, 1948-1959.” Ancestry.com, entry for Harley Lee Walker, accessed July 12, 2025, https://www.ancestry.com/sharing/43397072?mark=7b22746f6b656e223a2278784b4c3257316977635078346846465a5a4166483277394e6a46626c7267304f5151366c355a357a56413d222c22746f6b656e5f76657273696f6e223a225632227d.
[10] “U.S. Navy Machinist Mate Careers | Navy.com.” www.navy.com. Accessed July 12, 2025, https://www.navy.com/careers-benefits/careers/industrial-mechanical/machinists-mate.
[11] “Calcaterra (DE-390).” 2016. Navy.mil. April 18, 2016, accessed July 12, 2025, https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/c/calcaterra.html.
[12] “USS Calcaterra.” n.d. Aspen-Ridge.net. Accessed July 12, 2025, https://www.aspen-ridge.net/Shipmates/USS_Calcaterra/body_uss_calcaterra.html.
[13] “Calcaterra (DE-390).” 2016. Navy.mil. April 18, 2016, accessed July 12, 2025, https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/c/calcaterra.html.
[14] “U.S., Korean War Era Draft Cards, 1948-1959.” Ancestry.com, entry for Harley Lee Walker, accessed July 10, 2025, https://www.ancestry.com/sharing/43397072?mark=7b22746f6b656e223a2278784b4c3257316977635078346846465a5a4166483277394e6a46626c7267304f5151366c355a357a56413d222c22746f6b656e5f76657273696f6e223a225632227d.
[15] Wolfenbarger, Deon. “Historic Preservation | Brighton Colorado.” www.brightonco.gov. Accessed August 10, 2025, https://www.brightonco.gov/1072/Historic-Preservation.
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