During the Vietnam war, Walton served in the Green Berets as part of the Studies and Observations Group. He was involved in combat in the A Shau Valley and in Laos, where he was the medic and second-in-command of a unit named "Spike Team Louisiana".[2] Walton later received a Silver Star for bravery in combat.
Later lifeedit
After returning from Vietnam, Walton learned to fly and went to work as a pilot for Walmart. He later left the company to fly crop-dusters over cotton fields in several southern states and co-founded Satloc, an aerial application company that pioneered the use of GPS technology in agricultural crop-dusting. Walton then moved to San Diego where he founded Corsair Marine,[3] a company that built trimaran sailboats. He also lived in Durango, Colorado, and was an enthusiastic skier, mountain biker, hiker, motorcycle rider, skydiver and scuba diver.
The National Transportation Safety Board later reported that Walton had improperly reinstalled the rear locking collar on the elevator control torque tube. This allowed the torque tube to move rearward during his flight and loosened the elevator control cable tension. The outcome of the failed repair was an inflight loss of pitch control, without which Walton could not control the aircraft's altitude.
Shortly before his death, Forbes magazine had estimated Walton's net worth to be US$18.2billion, tied with his brother Jim as the 4th richest person in the United States[9] and 11th-richest person in the world.
Walton was survived by his wife Christy and their son Lukas. He was previously married to Mary Ann Gunn, who later became a judge in Arkansas.[10] He had two brothers, S. Robson Walton and Jim Walton and a sister, Alice Walton.
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John Thomas Walton October 8 1946 1 June 27 2005 was an American war veteran and a son of Walmart founder Sam Walton He was also the chairman of True North Venture Partners a venture capital firm Walton cofounded the Children s Scholarship Fund providing tuition scholarships for disadvantaged youth John T WaltonBorn 1946 10 08 October 8 1946Newport Arkansas U S DiedJune 27 2005 2005 06 27 aged 58 Jackson Wyoming U S Resting placeBentonville Cemetery Bentonville Arkansas U S Spouse s Mary Ann Gunn divorced Christy WaltonChildrenLukas WaltonParentsSam Walton father Helen Walton mother RelativesS Robson Walton brother Jim Walton brother Alice Walton sister Kelly Rohrbach daughter in law and see Walton family Contents 1 Early life and service in the Vietnam War 2 Later life 3 Death 4 See also 5 References 6 External linksEarly life and service in the Vietnam War editWalton was born in Newport Arkansas He graduated from Bentonville High School where he was a star football player Walton went on to attend the College of Wooster in Wooster Ohio He dropped out of college in 1968 to spend more time playing the flute and enlisted in the U S Army after the Vietnamese Tet Offensive During the Vietnam war Walton served in the Green Berets as part of the Studies and Observations Group He was involved in combat in the A Shau Valley and in Laos where he was the medic and second in command of a unit named Spike Team Louisiana 2 Walton later received a Silver Star for bravery in combat Later life editAfter returning from Vietnam Walton learned to fly and went to work as a pilot for Walmart He later left the company to fly crop dusters over cotton fields in several southern states and co founded Satloc an aerial application company that pioneered the use of GPS technology in agricultural crop dusting Walton then moved to San Diego where he founded Corsair Marine 3 a company that built trimaran sailboats He also lived in Durango Colorado and was an enthusiastic skier mountain biker hiker motorcycle rider skydiver and scuba diver In 1998 as part of the Philanthropy Roundtable Walton and friend Ted Forstmann established the Children s Scholarship Fund to provide tuition assistance for low income families to send their children to private schools 4 He was an advocate of school vouchers For his achievements he received the William E Simon Prize for Philanthropic Leadership 5 6 7 Death edit nbsp Wreckage of Walton s experimental aircraft at Grand Teton National Park Photo taken by the National Park Service on June 27 2005 Walton died on June 27 2005 when the CGS Hawk Arrow home built ultralight aircraft registered as an experimental aircraft under FAA regulations that he was piloting crashed in Jackson Wyoming Walton s plane crashed at 12 20 p m local time 18 20 UTC shortly after taking off from Jackson Hole Airport 8 The National Transportation Safety Board later reported that Walton had improperly reinstalled the rear locking collar on the elevator control torque tube This allowed the torque tube to move rearward during his flight and loosened the elevator control cable tension The outcome of the failed repair was an inflight loss of pitch control without which Walton could not control the aircraft s altitude Shortly before his death Forbes magazine had estimated Walton s net worth to be US 18 2 billion tied with his brother Jim as the 4th richest person in the United States 9 and 11th richest person in the world Walton was survived by his wife Christy and their son Lukas He was previously married to Mary Ann Gunn who later became a judge in Arkansas 10 He had two brothers S Robson Walton and Jim Walton and a sister Alice Walton See also editForbes list of billionaires 2004 Walton familyReferences edit Tedlow Richard S July 23 2001 Sam Walton Great From the Start HBS Working Knowledge Harvard Business School Retrieved January 23 2011 An account of the battle in Laos can be found in the book Across the Fence The Secret War in Vietnam ISBN 0 9743618 0 1 by John Stryker Meyer Edwards Larry M September 7 1992 Corsair Marine Inc Another Walton Filling a Niche San Diego Business Journal Retrieved January 23 2011 John Thomas Walton News Wal Mart Stores Inc June 29 2005 Retrieved January 23 2011 Excellence in Philanthropy Updates On Past Winners 2001 2013 John Walton Archived from the original on 2014 10 19 Retrieved 2014 10 29 Jacobs Joanne The Carnegie of School Choice John Walton s work to ensure good schools for all children leaves a lasting legacy 2005 Archived from the original on 2015 06 17 Retrieved 2014 10 29 The Philanthropy Hall of Fame John Walton Archived 2014 11 06 at the Wayback Machine DEN05FA100 NTSB October 31 2006 Retrieved January 23 2011 Forbes 400 Richest in America 2004 4 Walton John T Forbes com Son of Wal Mart founder killed in plane crash Associated Press June 28 2005 External links edit nbsp Wikinews has related news Wal Mart heir John Walton killed in plane crash John T Walton at Find a Grave Forbes com Forbes World s Richest People 2004 Genealogy of the Walton family Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title John T Walton amp oldid 1207411599, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
