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According to this military historian's master's thesis [1], CWO John Walker was probably lying about walking into the Soviet embassy in Washington DC and that he probably walked into a different embassy when he was abroad with the navy. This inaccuracy should be removed from the article. (but not by me--I have poor writing style.) 24.43.87.201 00:31, 27 November 2005 (UTC)
What exactly happened to the guy? is he still alive and kicking? where is he being held? the biography seems to come to an abrupt halt once he is sentenced.
About twelve years ago, when I was still in the service, we were shown a documentary on Walker which included a reference to his P.I. days. He had been the subject of a five- or ten- minute profiling for the awesome carreer and lifestyle he had, talking about how he did the stuff "Tom Selleck could only dream of." The theme music from "Magnum, P.I." was playing in the background. It had been on one of those shows like "A Current Affair" or "Inside Edition", and had been made BEFORE he was identified as a spy and arrested, which I thought was incredible. I wish I could remember it or get more info about either the TV show or the documentary, because there was some other good info in it, including interviews with Walker in jail. (It was also in this documentary that he was quoted as having said "If I had access, consider it gone," as I had previously added but could not properly cite.) 165.97.69.26 ( talk) 14:21, 24 April 2009 (UTC)
There are too many to cite, but because this page involves the dealings of an entire family, there are several locations where just the name Walker is used. While it's generally decipherable if one really reads the full context of everything before it, skimming the page or even jumping to sub headings makes it rather difficult if not outright impossible to really understand which Walker is being discussed. Even still, I did read the entire page carefully and thoroughly and there were at least 2 or 3 separate examples where I truly felt I couldn't be positive which Walker was being referenced, particularly around the details of their capture, arrest, and plea bargaining.
While I generally fully support just providing the last name of a subject once they have been established, I think this page would strongly benefit from full names being used throughout for the benefit of the reader. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Kevinludlow ( talk • contribs) 16:16, 1 October 2019 (UTC)
I don't understand what John Walker has to do with the shootdown of KAL 007. If the claims cannot be substantiated, I think they should be removed. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 76.17.185.154 ( talk) 00:56, 4 February 2007 (UTC).
It'd be a neat trick for Congressman McDonald to blame Walker for the KAL 007 shootdown, considering that McDonald died on that flight. Unless someone cites evidence for this accusation from beyond the grave, it should be removed. ANTPogo 05:31, 3 June 2007 (UTC)
Though he was head of the soviet union he never held the office of premier.
This article really needs some attention, as it is quite full of violations of the WP:BLP policy. Passages such as: "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.", are POV, and in addition, not cited with sources. Two references for such a controversial topic (a spy) is insufficient. There needs to be sources for statements like: "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 the summer of 1955. John's older brother Arthur Walker (already serving in the Navy) talked the judge into letting John join the Navy instead of going to prison.", that is unacceptable to have in an article without verification. Additionally, the article uses many words to avoid, such as "allegedly": "Initially, Walker maintained a defiant attitude, allegedly telling his interrogators "If I had access, consider it gone!" " It also has original research in it, such as: "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." I'm going to place this article on the noticeboard for BLP issues, as these are fairly serious issues that will need to be resolved. I'm unfamiliar with the subject, so I'm hoping another editor will be able to address these very serious issues. Thank you for reading! Ariel ♥ Gold 09:29, 16 November 2007 (UTC)
First the article states that John was born in Washington, DC,
then it says also that he was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania.
Which is right?
DocRushing (
talk) 23:52, 12 July 2012 (UTC)
"In the June 2010 issue of Naval History Magazine, John Prados, a senior fellow with the National Security Archive in Washington, DC, pointed out that after Walker introduced himself to Soviet officials, North Korean forces seized the USS Pueblo (AGER-2). Prados added that North Korea subsequently shared information gleaned from the warship with the Soviets, enabling them to build replicas and gain access to the US naval communications system, which continued until the system was completely revamped in the late-1980s."... The point that Prados is pointing out might or might not be that Walker's contact with Soviets prompted them to get North Korea to capture the Pueblo. Or Prados might or might not be saying that some of the harm that Walker caused would have been caused anyway, since the Soviets got information by examining the Pueblo. It sounds like Prados knows a lot of good stuff, so let's get a clearer summary of what he said. 2601:7:7700:1A6:9031:6C2F:7613:CDE0 ( talk) 18:34, 8 December 2013 (UTC)
In the first paragraph of the section entitled "
Arrest and imprisonment", the last sentence says, "[Barbara] did not then know that Michael had become an active participant".
However, the second sentence declares, "When John drew Michael into his espionage activity, Barbara sought to put an end to the spying and save her only son".
Those two statements clearly contradict each other.
Which one is correct?
Maybe one or more of the watchers here know about that – or have access to the requisite reference materials.
Thanks.
Doc –
DocRushing (
talk) 17:26, 28 April 2014 (UTC).
is there any possible reliable source about how Walker fared in prison, such as assaults or treatment? Bearian ( talk) 13:14, 8 September 2014 (UTC)
No such thing as authority or not. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Lyhendq ( talk • contribs) 04:08, 21 September 2018 (UTC)
Arthur Walker is mentioned and his sentence listed before his relation to John Walker is explained (in the next paragraph). NOwhere else in the story does Arthur Walker appear, so it's a mystery as to how and in what ways Arthur Walker was involved in the spying. - 64.187.160.52 ( talk) 10:52, 15 August 2015 (UTC)
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I don't understand what the Walker spy ring had to do with the shootdown of KAL 007. It seems like quite a stretch for me. If that link cannot be substantiated, I think it should be removed. |
Last edited at 00:54, 4 February 2007 (UTC). Substituted at 20:06, 29 April 2016 (UTC)
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This WaPo article from 1985 seems to indicate he was heavily involved in recruiting for the Ku Klux Klan. Surely this merits mentioning in the article? https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1985/06/11/note-says-walker-recruited-for-klan-birch/ba9328aa-4934-4733-9dce-2e14af8b2c51/
2605:E000:1302:8BC2:48CD:7502:9E37:DBB4 ( talk) 06:40, 30 June 2020 (UTC)
Is anyone aware of what, if any efforts the Navy made when they realized they had this spy ring to break stop access to such critical material being passes? IF so - is that cleared for public release? Wfoj3 ( talk) 23:01, 29 August 2023 (UTC)
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According to this military historian's master's thesis [1], CWO John Walker was probably lying about walking into the Soviet embassy in Washington DC and that he probably walked into a different embassy when he was abroad with the navy. This inaccuracy should be removed from the article. (but not by me--I have poor writing style.) 24.43.87.201 00:31, 27 November 2005 (UTC)
What exactly happened to the guy? is he still alive and kicking? where is he being held? the biography seems to come to an abrupt halt once he is sentenced.
About twelve years ago, when I was still in the service, we were shown a documentary on Walker which included a reference to his P.I. days. He had been the subject of a five- or ten- minute profiling for the awesome carreer and lifestyle he had, talking about how he did the stuff "Tom Selleck could only dream of." The theme music from "Magnum, P.I." was playing in the background. It had been on one of those shows like "A Current Affair" or "Inside Edition", and had been made BEFORE he was identified as a spy and arrested, which I thought was incredible. I wish I could remember it or get more info about either the TV show or the documentary, because there was some other good info in it, including interviews with Walker in jail. (It was also in this documentary that he was quoted as having said "If I had access, consider it gone," as I had previously added but could not properly cite.) 165.97.69.26 ( talk) 14:21, 24 April 2009 (UTC)
There are too many to cite, but because this page involves the dealings of an entire family, there are several locations where just the name Walker is used. While it's generally decipherable if one really reads the full context of everything before it, skimming the page or even jumping to sub headings makes it rather difficult if not outright impossible to really understand which Walker is being discussed. Even still, I did read the entire page carefully and thoroughly and there were at least 2 or 3 separate examples where I truly felt I couldn't be positive which Walker was being referenced, particularly around the details of their capture, arrest, and plea bargaining.
While I generally fully support just providing the last name of a subject once they have been established, I think this page would strongly benefit from full names being used throughout for the benefit of the reader. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Kevinludlow ( talk • contribs) 16:16, 1 October 2019 (UTC)
I don't understand what John Walker has to do with the shootdown of KAL 007. If the claims cannot be substantiated, I think they should be removed. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 76.17.185.154 ( talk) 00:56, 4 February 2007 (UTC).
It'd be a neat trick for Congressman McDonald to blame Walker for the KAL 007 shootdown, considering that McDonald died on that flight. Unless someone cites evidence for this accusation from beyond the grave, it should be removed. ANTPogo 05:31, 3 June 2007 (UTC)
Though he was head of the soviet union he never held the office of premier.
This article really needs some attention, as it is quite full of violations of the WP:BLP policy. Passages such as: "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.", are POV, and in addition, not cited with sources. Two references for such a controversial topic (a spy) is insufficient. There needs to be sources for statements like: "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 the summer of 1955. John's older brother Arthur Walker (already serving in the Navy) talked the judge into letting John join the Navy instead of going to prison.", that is unacceptable to have in an article without verification. Additionally, the article uses many words to avoid, such as "allegedly": "Initially, Walker maintained a defiant attitude, allegedly telling his interrogators "If I had access, consider it gone!" " It also has original research in it, such as: "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." I'm going to place this article on the noticeboard for BLP issues, as these are fairly serious issues that will need to be resolved. I'm unfamiliar with the subject, so I'm hoping another editor will be able to address these very serious issues. Thank you for reading! Ariel ♥ Gold 09:29, 16 November 2007 (UTC)
First the article states that John was born in Washington, DC,
then it says also that he was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania.
Which is right?
DocRushing (
talk) 23:52, 12 July 2012 (UTC)
"In the June 2010 issue of Naval History Magazine, John Prados, a senior fellow with the National Security Archive in Washington, DC, pointed out that after Walker introduced himself to Soviet officials, North Korean forces seized the USS Pueblo (AGER-2). Prados added that North Korea subsequently shared information gleaned from the warship with the Soviets, enabling them to build replicas and gain access to the US naval communications system, which continued until the system was completely revamped in the late-1980s."... The point that Prados is pointing out might or might not be that Walker's contact with Soviets prompted them to get North Korea to capture the Pueblo. Or Prados might or might not be saying that some of the harm that Walker caused would have been caused anyway, since the Soviets got information by examining the Pueblo. It sounds like Prados knows a lot of good stuff, so let's get a clearer summary of what he said. 2601:7:7700:1A6:9031:6C2F:7613:CDE0 ( talk) 18:34, 8 December 2013 (UTC)
In the first paragraph of the section entitled "
Arrest and imprisonment", the last sentence says, "[Barbara] did not then know that Michael had become an active participant".
However, the second sentence declares, "When John drew Michael into his espionage activity, Barbara sought to put an end to the spying and save her only son".
Those two statements clearly contradict each other.
Which one is correct?
Maybe one or more of the watchers here know about that – or have access to the requisite reference materials.
Thanks.
Doc –
DocRushing (
talk) 17:26, 28 April 2014 (UTC).
is there any possible reliable source about how Walker fared in prison, such as assaults or treatment? Bearian ( talk) 13:14, 8 September 2014 (UTC)
No such thing as authority or not. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Lyhendq ( talk • contribs) 04:08, 21 September 2018 (UTC)
Arthur Walker is mentioned and his sentence listed before his relation to John Walker is explained (in the next paragraph). NOwhere else in the story does Arthur Walker appear, so it's a mystery as to how and in what ways Arthur Walker was involved in the spying. - 64.187.160.52 ( talk) 10:52, 15 August 2015 (UTC)
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Cheers.— cyberbot II Talk to my owner:Online 12:32, 26 February 2016 (UTC)
The comment(s) below were originally left at Talk:John Anthony Walker/Comments, and are posted here for posterity. Following several discussions in past years, these subpages are now deprecated. The comments may be irrelevant or outdated; if so, please feel free to remove this section.
I don't understand what the Walker spy ring had to do with the shootdown of KAL 007. It seems like quite a stretch for me. If that link cannot be substantiated, I think it should be removed. |
Last edited at 00:54, 4 February 2007 (UTC). Substituted at 20:06, 29 April 2016 (UTC)
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This WaPo article from 1985 seems to indicate he was heavily involved in recruiting for the Ku Klux Klan. Surely this merits mentioning in the article? https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1985/06/11/note-says-walker-recruited-for-klan-birch/ba9328aa-4934-4733-9dce-2e14af8b2c51/
2605:E000:1302:8BC2:48CD:7502:9E37:DBB4 ( talk) 06:40, 30 June 2020 (UTC)
Is anyone aware of what, if any efforts the Navy made when they realized they had this spy ring to break stop access to such critical material being passes? IF so - is that cleared for public release? Wfoj3 ( talk) 23:01, 29 August 2023 (UTC)