Recruits raise their right hand and pledge to serve the United States of America, unsure of what that pledge may entail. Will the military require sitting behind a desk, or sitting behind the wheel of a tank? Will there be a sacrifice of time with family (months, years) or the ultimate sacrifice- of one’s life? Russell Dixon’s father Walter had no idea what would follow his brief swearing in. His is the story of a local veteran that spans two continents, more than two decades of service, two marriages, two and a half years in a prisoner of war camp, and a son determined to honor his father.
Walter B. Dixon was born in Shawnee, Oklahoma, the last of seven children born to a farmer and a homemaker. He was a very active youth who roamed the countryside near Essex, Missouri and loved hunting and fishing. Walter was 18 months old when his mother died in a tragic accident; two of his older brothers were drowning in a pond in Oklahoma, and in her attempts to rescue them, she also perished. Orphaned at age 10 by the death of his father, Walter was moved to Poplar Bluff, to be raised by his older sister.
He graduated from high school at age 14, and at 15 he joined the Navy as World War II raged in the Pacific. He transferred to the Army in 1950 for the Korean War. He began his Army service stationed at Fort Gordon, Georgia and was married only five days before being sent to Tokyo, Japan as an Honor Guard for General Douglas MacArthur.
The Army needed some volunteers to go to Korea on a two-week mission; and while serving with the 38th Infantry, Walter witnessed soldiers shot in a firefight and rushed to their aid. He wrapped his Army field jacket around a soldier’s broken legs, unaware that the enemy was creeping up behind. Walter was captured, and the wounded soldiers were killed. He was taken to a POW camp where he tried to escape five times; he was bayoneted once for running away. Heat and food were scarce - Walter collected and burned pieces of wood to stay warm and cooked rats to eat. Each time he tried to escape the camp, he was caught and punished; he was shot eight times. The camp was liberated on September 5,1953; after two-and-a-half years a prisoner of war, he returned to his home to find his wife had remarried and had a son. Mistakenly, she had been told that Walter had been killed, since there was a packet of letters she’d written to Walter in the pocket of that Army jacket. When the dead soldiers’ bodies were retrieved, the Army assumed it was Walter who had died and declared him legally dead. He ended up with a death certificate signed by President Truman, seven purple hearts and a grave in Korea with his name on it. Walter never held a grudge against his former wife; he was quoted as saying, “if you can make something funny out of whatever situation you’re in, it’s better than crying over something you can’t do anything about. Courage isn’t lack of fear; it’s the conquest of it.”
Walter was severely malnourished when he returned from the war. The doctors at the time told him that due to his extremely poor body condition, he was most likely sterile (would never be able to father children).
However, Walter went on to remarry (his new wife Dee was ironically the writer of his obituary), have three children (Richard, Russell and Randi Jo) and live to the ripe old age of 91 after 25 years serving his country in three wars (WWII, Korea, and Vietnam). Walter was stationed at Ft. Benning, Georgia, then Germany and Texas, then back to Korea two more times; and lastly, he was stationed at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri in 1965.
After his military retirement in 1970, he sold life insurance for Mutual of Omaha and worked for a heavy equipment company in St. Louis. He was a frequent speaker at Veteran functions during his second retirement; he wrote many poems and was happy to share his amazing story.
One of Walter’s sons is Russell Walter Dixon of Waynesville, a retired Community Relations worker at Security Bank of Pulaski County, a Waynesville St. Robert Chamber of Commerce Ambassador, and an Ambassador for the HEROES Marathon Event. Russell will be running the half marathon on Nov. 16 from Lake Spring to Rolla, as a way to honor his father.
Last year he ran the full 26.2-mile marathon (he’s completed six marathons).
“We were very close,” Russell says of his father, “He took my brother and I hunting, taught us gun safety, and taught us to survive as he had had to do in Korea.” Russell continued, “My dad said that he identified with the movie “Castaway”- he had to learn to survive plus came home to find his wife had remarried.”
Walter’s words can be heard on a STORYCORPS (NPR) recording done before his death. Looking back on his life. Walter reflected, “I just enjoyed my military service. I would do it all again. I’m proud of it.”
A HERO sign honoring Walter Dixon (along with 60 other veterans) will be placed along the last half mile of the HEROES Marathon course, signs commemorating lives of sacrifice and service… no doubt as Russell Dixon passes his father’s sign at the end of his 13.1 mile run, he’ll pause to reflect on his hero, his dad, and for all those who have paid dearly for our precious freedom.
To learn more about the HEROES Marathon, Half Marathon, Relay Marathon, 10K. 5K and Honor Walk, visit www.heroesmarathon.com.
The ninth running of this charity event will be held on Nov. 16 at Lions Club Park, and all funds raised benefit local veterans and Mission 22.
