John Anthony Walker, Jr. (born July 28, 1937) is a former Chief Warrant Officer and communications specialist for the U.S. Navy, who sold his services as a spy to the Soviet Union from 1968 to 1985, the height of the Cold War era. In this time he helped the Soviets decipher over one million classified encrypted naval messages, and most observers agree that he was one of the most effective and destructive Soviet spies in U.S. history. is the 209th day of the year (210th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1937 (MCMXXXVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... In the United States military, a Warrant Officer is ranked as an officer above the senior-most enlisted ranks but below the grade of O-1 (NATO: OF-1). ... The United States Navy (USN) is the branch of the United States armed forces responsible for naval operations. ... SPY may refer to: SPY (spiders), ticker symbol for Standard & Poors Depository Receipts SPY (magazine), a satirical monthly, trademarked all-caps SPY (Ivory Coast), airport code for San Pédro, Côte dIvoire SPY (Ship Planning Yard), a U.S. Navy acronym SPY, short for MOWAG SPY, a... For other uses, see Cold War (disambiguation). ...

Early life

Walker was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Coming from a broken home, he had various problems with the law as a teenager. A high school dropout, Walker committed a string of petty thefts and was arrested for one of them in 1955. John's older brother Arthur (already serving in the Navy) talked the judge into letting John join the Navy instead of going to prison. The City of Scranton is the county seat of Lackawanna CountyGR6 in Northeastern Pennsylvania, USA. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 76,415 (2003 estimate: 74,320). ... Year 1955 (MCMLV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1955 Gregorian calendar). ...

Surprisingly, Walker did very well in his naval career and received glowing evaluations by his superiors praising his high technical skills and love of the Navy. He became an expert radioman. He completed submarine training in Groton, Connecticut and received a top secret security clearance for submarine duty, one of the most demanding in the armed forces and eventually reached the rank of Chief Warrant Officer. USS Virginia, a Virginia-class nuclear attack (SSN) submarine Alvin in 1978, a year after first exploring hydrothermal vents. ... Waterfront of Groton, Connecticut looking upriver Groton is a town located on the Thames River in New London County, Connecticut. ... A warrant officer (WO) or a chief warrant officer (CWO) is a member of a military organization, with a rank subordinate to other commissioned officers and senior to noncommissioned officers. ...

In 1957 Walker married Barbara Crowley, whom he had met while stationed in Boston and they had four children together, three daughters and a son. However, before long, the marriage became very troubled due to the couple's long separations. Walker was a flamboyant, hard-drinking womanizer and there were reports that he neglected his wife and children. Year 1957 (MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1957 Gregorian calendar). ... Nickname: Location in Massachusetts, USA Coordinates: , Country United States State Massachusetts County Suffolk County Settled 1630 Incorporated (city) 1822 Government  - Mayor Thomas M. Menino (D) Area  - City  89. ...

Spy ring

Walker began spying for the Soviets in December 1967,^[1] when, facing serious financial problems because the South Carolina bar/restaurant he was operating on the side was deeply in debt and failing fast, he walked into the Soviet Embassy in Washington, DC and sold a classified document (a radio cipher card) for a few thousand dollars. Walker has justified this betrayal on grounds the classified Navy communications data he had initially sold the Soviets was completely compromised during the USS Pueblo incident (in which a U.S. Navy communications surveillance ship was captured on the high seas by North Korea, and its crew held prisoner for nearly a year). However, a 2001 thesis presented at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College using information from Soviet archives and from Oleg Kalugin, indicates that the Pueblo incident may have taken place because the Soviets wanted to study equipment that was described by documents supplied to them by Walker. ^[2] Year 1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the 1967 Gregorian calendar. ... Official language(s) English Capital Charleston(1670-1789) Columbia(1790-present) Largest city Columbia Largest metro area Columbia Area  Ranked 40th  - Total 34,726 sq mi (82,965 km²)  - Width 200 miles (320 km)  - Length 260 miles (420 km)  - % water 6  - Latitude 32° 2′ N to 35° 13′ N  - Longitude... Aerial photo (looking NW) of the Washington Monument and the White House in Washington, DC. Washington, D.C., officially the District of Columbia (also known as D.C.; Washington; the Nations Capital; the District; and, historically, the Federal City) is the capital city and administrative district of the United... USS Pueblo (AGER-2) is a Banner-class technical research ship which was boarded and captured by the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea on 23 January 1968 in what is known as the Pueblo incident or alternatively as the Pueblo crisis. ... Oleg Kalugin Oleg Danilovich Kalugin (Russian: ), (born September 6, 1934) is a former KGB spy. ...

Whenever Walker was transferred away from assignments where his handlers required information, he would recruit friends and members of his own family (his wife, his older brother Arthur and his son, Michael) to join in his spying activity. His friend and fellow spy was a Navy senior chief radioman named Jerry Whitworth, who had access to highly-classified satellite communications data. The resulting Walker Spy Ring continued to provide important intelligence to the Soviets even after John Walker retired from the Navy in 1976. Year 1976 Pick up sticks(MCMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Walker's activities went completely unsuspected by U.S. authorities, despite his living quite extravagantly with his only source of visible income being his Navy pension. Living in Norfolk, Virginia after his Navy retirement he became a licensed private investigator and a private airplane pilot, both of which he conveniently used to explain his lavish lifestyle and frequent journeys all over North America and to Western Europe (mainly to meet his Soviet handler for instructions and to receive payment). As additional cover, he also joined far right-wing political organizations such as the John Birch Society. It is estimated that Walker earned more than $1 million USD from nearly two straight decades of spying. Motto: Crescas (Latin for, Thou shalt grow. ... Retirement is the point where a person stops employment. ... A private investigator, private detective, PI, or private eye, is a person who undertakes investigations, usually for a private citizen or some other entity not involved with a government or police organization. ... North America North America is a continent[1] in the Earths northern hemisphere and (chiefly) western hemisphere. ... The borders of Western Europe were largely defined by the Cold War. ... Agent handler is a generic term common to many intelligence organizations which can be applied to Case Officers, those who aspire to be Case officers, controllers, contacts, couriers and other assorted trainees. ... In politics, right-wing, the political right, or simply the right, are terms which refer, with no particular precision, to the segment of the political spectrum in opposition to left-wing politics. ... The John Birch Society is a conservative American exceptionalist organization founded in 1958 to fight what it saw as growing threats to the Constitution of the United States, especially a suspected communist infiltration of the United States government, and to support free enterprise. ...

Arrest and imprisonment

In May 1985, Walker and his accomplices were arrested on suspicion of espionage by the FBI. Authorities were tipped off by Walker's daughter, Laura, and his ex-wife whom he had neglected for years and finally refused to pay alimony. Investigators took a close look at Walker and found his income from his detective agency was insufficient to provide for his lavish lifestyle. Despite initial reluctance to investigate the case on the part of the FBI, the four men were arrested and were then tried for and convicted of espionage. Most received multiple life prison terms. Year 1985 (MCMLXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link displays 1985 Gregorian calendar). ... Spy and Secret agent redirect here. ... The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is a federal criminal investigative, intelligence agency, and the primary investigative arm of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ). ...

Initially, Walker maintained a defiant attitude, allegedly telling his interrogators "If I had access, consider it gone!" However, Walker offered almost immediate cooperation with authorities in a plea bargain in which his son would receive a sentence of no more than 25 years imprisonment. Walker also agreed to testify at the trial of Jerry Whitworth, and his testimony proved critical to convict Whitworth of espionage. Whitworth's attorneys did not contest his prosecution on tax charges. Walker's son Michael, who had a relatively minor role in the ring and turned state's evidence in exchange for a reduced sentence, was released from prison on parole in February 2000. A plea bargain (also plea agreement, plea deal or copping a plea) is an agreement in a criminal case in which a prosecutor and a defendant arrange to settle the case against the defendant. ... It has been suggested that Medical parole be merged into this article or section. ... Year 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full 2000 Gregorian calendar). ...

Some researchers believe Walker's nearly two decades of spying contributed strongly to the unprecedented accession of then-KGB director Yuri Andropov (whose agents had overseen Walker's activities) to become head of the Soviet Union after the November 1982 death of Leonid Brezhnev. Andropov, then the LKSM KFSSR First Secretary, speaks at the May 9, 1945, victory celebrations Yuri Vladimirovich Andropov (Russian: , Jurij Vladimirovič Andropov) (June 15 [O.S. June 2] 1914 – February 9, 1984) was a Soviet politician and General Secretary of the CPSU from November 12, 1982 until his death just... Year 1982 (MCMLXXXII) was a common year starting on Friday (link displays the 1982 Gregorian calendar). ... Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev (Russian: , Leonid Ilič Brežnev) December 19, 1906 [O.S. December 19, 1906] – November 10, 1982) was General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (and thus de facto ruler of the USSR) from 1964 to 1982, serving in that position longer than anyone...

Walker is currently BOP Prisoner number 22449-037 and is housed at the U.S. Medical Center for Federal Prisoners (MCFP) in Springfield, Missouri. His release date is May 20, 2015, when he will be 77 years old.

Further reading

• Howard Blum; I Pledge Allegiance: The True Story of the Walkers: an American Spy Family; Simon & Schuster Books, 1987, ISBN 0-671-62614-0
• Walker, Laura with Jerry Horner; Daughter of Deceit: The Walker Spy Case; Word Publishing, 1988, ISBN 0849906598
• Kneece, Jack; Family Treason: The Walker Spy Case; Paperjacks, 1988, ISBN 0-7701-0793-1
• Robert W. Hunter; Spy Hunter: Inside the FBI Investigation of the Walker Espionage Case; Naval Institute Press, 1999, ISBN 1-55750-349-4

See also

• KL-7 "Adonis" cipher machine (US Navy 1950s - 1970s)
• KW-37 "Jason" cipher system (US Navy 1950s - 1990s)
• KW-7
• Hans-Thilo Schmidt

KL-7 on display at USAF Communications Agency museum. ... The KW-37, code named JASON, was an encryption system developed In the 1950s by the U.S. National Security Agency to protect fleet broadcasts of the U.S. Navy. ... Hans Thilo-Schmidt (born 1888) was an employee at the German Armys cryptographic headquarters in the early 1930s when, shortly after the Army version of the Enigma cypher machine was introduced, he decided to make some money. ...

References

External links

• Family of Spies: The John Walker Jr. Case
• Code Name Catastrophe by William Scott Malone, William Cran