1. Walter Campbell Short was a lieutenant general and major general of the United States Army and the US military commander responsible for the defense of US military installations in Hawaii at the time of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7,1941.
Walter Short then taught mathematics for a year at a military academy.
Walter Short was commissioned as a second lieutenant of infantry in the US Army on March 13,1902, and assigned duty at the Presidio of San Francisco.
Walter Short served in the Philippines and later Alaska, and took part in the expedition into Mexico with the 16th Infantry Regiment in 1916.
Walter Short was awarded the Army Distinguished Service Medal for his efforts during the war.
Walter Short then attended the Army War College and after graduation served as a staff school instructor.
Walter Short commanded 1st Infantry Division from 1938 to 1940 and I Corps from January 1940 to January 1941.
Walter Short earned the Distinguished Service Medal, and was considered to have had a successful career at that time, especially in light of his promotions during peacetime.
On December 17,1941, Walter Short was removed from command of the Hawaiian Department as a result of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, and was ordered back to Washington, DC by General Marshall.
Walter Short reverted to his permanent rank of major general, as his temporary rank of lieutenant general had been contingent on his command.
Walter Short briefly returned to active duty from October 3,1945 to February 28,1946.
Walter Short retired for the final time in 1946, and died in 1949 in Dallas of a chronic heart ailment.
Admiral Kimmel and General Walter Short received copies of these letters at about the time they assumed their commands.
In 1946 Walter Short testified on his own behalf before Congress about the 1941 attack.
Unlike some of his predecessors in Hawaii, Walter Short was more concerned with sabotage from Japanese-Americans on Oahu.
Walter Short declared that he did not receive adequate warning and suffered from a lack of resources.
Walter Short requested, but did not receive, a formal court-martial.