Quick Facts
In October 1967, Chief Warrant Officer John Anthony Walker Jr.—known to colleagues as "Smiling Jack"—made a decision that would compromise America's naval dominance for nearly two decades. Working as a watch officer at Atlantic Fleet Submarine Force headquarters in Norfolk, Virginia, Walker photocopied a top-secret document and drove his red 1964 MG sports car to the Soviet Embassy in Washington, DC. There, he offered the classified material to Soviet security personnel. The document included a critical prize: a key for reading encrypted US military messages.
This first act of treason was not an isolated incident. Walker would continue spying for the Soviet Union from 1967 until his arrest in 1985—a span of 17 to 18 years. During his 20-year Navy career, which began in 1955 as a radioman, Walker had risen to a position of extraordinary trust, handling sensitive intelligence including the locations of nuclear submarines. That access made him invaluable to Moscow.
**The Family Operation**
After retiring from the Navy in 1976, Walker didn't abandon his espionage work. Instead, he expanded it into a family enterprise. He recruited his older brother, Arthur L. Walker, a retired Navy Lieutenant Commander working for a defense contractor. Arthur provided repair records and damage-control manuals for naval vessels. John also enlisted Jerry Whitworth, an acquaintance who provided 127 classified documents from the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz, which he left at a dead drop. Most troublingly, John recruited his own son, Michael Walker, who had access to military secrets and participated in the spy ring.
John's daughter was also approached but refused to participate. However, his ex-wife, Barbara Walker, initially harbored knowledge of the conspiracy. By 1984, her ill-will toward John transformed her into his undoing: she contacted the FBI and provided evidence that would eventually lead to his arrest.
