Walter Llewellyn Tucker was born November 15, 1921, in Simpson, N.C., the third child and eldest son of Walter Simon Tucker (1887-1963) and his wife, Velma Harrington Tucker (1893-1981). He graduated from Greenville High School in 1938, then studied at ECTC, graduating with honors in 1942. While an ECTC student, Tucker excelled on several counts: his senior year, he served as president of the Men’s Student Government Association. He also helped found the ECTC Young Democrats Club, served on its Executive Committee his junior year, and helped establish the campus YMCA. Tucker was also on the business staff of the Teoan, a member of the Commerce Club, the International Relations Club, and voted a “superlative” his senior year. He was inducted into the Phi Sigma Pi National Honor Society and Who’s Who in American Universities and Colleges.
After graduating from ECTC, Tucker joined the Army Air Corps at Fort Bragg, August 12, 1942. A graduate of the aviator mechanics course at Seymour Johnson Field, Goldsboro, Tucker served as an instructor engineer and bomber engineer assigned to the 376th Bombardment Group (Heavy), filling the position of engineer gunner on a B-24 Liberator bomber. He was stationed in Italy and the Mediterranean where he personally completed 35 strategic combat bombing missions against enemy targets in Germany, Italy, Austria, France, and the Balkans, reportedly seeing “every country anywhere near Italy.”
The B-24 Liberator bombardment group Tucker served with flew over 400 combat missions. In recognition of his service, Tucker was awarded the Air Medal with three oak leaf clusters. He was also awarded the European-African-Middle Eastern theatre ribbon, plus two campaign stars. And he was authorized to wear the Distinguished Unit badge reflecting honor and recognition the 376th Bombardment Group received for operations over North Africa and Sicily.
Following WWII, Tucker returned to eastern North Carolina and served as district officer of the N. C. Veterans Commission, a position he held for 40 years. In that capacity, he worked at first in the Wilson, N.C. office and then was instrumental in the opening of the Greenville office. Throughout his career, Tucker focused on helping veterans secure college scholarships and other aid.
Tucker, 83, passed away on February 7, 2005. He is buried in Pinewood Cemetery, Greenville, N.C. His outstanding work as a student, as a serviceman in WWII, and then with the Veterans Commission in the decades following WWII make Tucker one of the outstanding exemplars of East Carolina’s service ethic.
Sources:
- “Addresses Of Service Alumni Gathered By Association.” Teco Echo. December 11, 1942. P. 1.
- “Eighteen Carolina Men Returned From Overseas.” Charlotte Observer. December 24, 1944. P. 33.
- “Ends Air Course.” News and Observer. January 31, 1943. P. 6.
- Goggin, Jean. “With The Armed Forces.” Teco Echo. January 20, 1945. P. 2. https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/37947
- Goggin, Jean. “With The Armed Forces.” Teco Echo. October 28, 1944. P. 2. https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/37943
- “Men’s Student Government Association.” Tecoan. 1942. P. 112. https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/15347
- “Obituaries: Walter L. Tucker.” News and Observer. February 9, 2005. P. 30.
- “Phi Sigma Pi.” Tecoan. 1942. P. 128. https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/15347
- Taylor, Harold. “They’re In The Army Now, Also The Navy And Air Force.” Teco Echo. January 29, 1943. P. 1. https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/37914
- “Walter Tucker.” Tecoan. 1942. P. 61. https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/15347
- “Walter Tucker Heads ECTC Men Students.” Teco Echo. April 11, 1941. P. 1. https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/37889
Related Materials
Walter Llewellyn Tucker. Image Source: Green Lights, Greenville High School Yearbook, 1938.
Walter Llewellyn Tucker’s Draft Registration Card. Image Source: U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947. Ancestry.com.
Citation Information
Author: John A. Tucker, PhD
Date of Publication: 5/18/2022