Third Generation Delaware Guardsman Promoted to Colonel

By Staff Sgt. Wendy McDougallOctober 22, 2013

Third generation Delaware Guardsman promoted to colonel
1 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption – (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Third generation Delaware Guardsman promoted to colonel
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Third generation Delaware Guardsman promoted to colonel
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Third generation Delaware Guardsman promoted to colonel
4 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Maj. Gen. Frank Vavala, Adjutant General, Delaware National Guard joins three generations of the Walton family, Pvt. Brandon Walton, Col. Bruce Walton and Brig. Gen. (DE) retired Bruce Walton, following the promotion of Lt. Col. Bruce Walton to Col.,... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

WILMINGTON, Del. - Lt. Col. Bruce R. Walton Jr.'s family has a long history of serving in the U.S. Army's Delaware National Guard.

The military line goes back to his grandfather, George R. Walton Sr., and father, Bruce R. Walton Sr., and continues with his son, Pvt. Brandon R. Walton.

Members of the Walton family were on hand as Maj. Gen. Frank Vavala, Adjutant General, Delaware National Guard, delivered the oath, promoting Lt. Col. Walton to colonel.

"It is an honor to administer this oath to Col. Walton, as I have served with his family for four decades," said Vavala.

Col. Bruce R. Walton Jr. enlisted in the Delaware Army National Guard in 1986 and has served for over 25 years. He was deployed by the National Guard Bureau in support of the Iraq war to Camp Arifjan, Kuwait from September 2009 to June 2010. He served as the battalion commander of the National Maintenance Center in Camp Dodge, Iowa prior to attending the Dwight D. Eisenhower School for National Security and Resource Strategy at Ft. McNair (graduating in June 2013). Col. Walton is currently serving at the National Guard Bureau in Washington as the Deputy, Logistics Division, G4.

The Walton legacy:

The late Brig. Gen. George R. Walton Sr. enlisted in the Delaware Army National Guard in 1931 and retired with 42 years of service. He was deployed to the South Pacific during World War II with the Delaware Guard's 198th Coastal Artillery Battalion from 1941 to 1945. He was a colonel when he retired, but the state gave him the honorary promotion of brigadier general.

Brig. Gen. Bruce R. Walton Sr. enlisted in the Delaware Army National Guard in 1952 and retired with 36 years of service. He was mobilized during the Berlin Crisis from September 1961 to September 1962 with the Delaware Guard's 109th Ammunition Battalion. He too was a colonel promoted to the honorary rank of brigadier general upon retirement.

Pvt. Brandon R. Walton enlisted in the Delaware National Guard on Jan. 25, 2013 at the Guard's Joint Force Headquarters. He is currently a freshman at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y.