Walter Walsh

Walter Rudolph Walsh (May 4, 1907 – April 29, 2014) was an FBI agent, USMC shooting instructor and Olympic shooter. Walsh joined the FBI in 1934, serving during the Public enemy era, and was involved in several high-profile FBI cases, including the capture of Arthur Barker and the killing of Al Brady. He served in the Pacific theatre during World War II with the Marine Corps and, after a brief return to the FBI, served as a shooting instructor with the Marine Corps until his retirement in the 1970s. A high-profile shooter, Walsh won numerous tournaments within the FBI and the Marine Corps, as well as nationally, and participated in the 1948 Summer Olympics. He received awards for his marksmanship until the age of 90 and served as the coach of the Olympic shooting team until 2000. At the FBI's 100th anniversary celebration he was recognized as the oldest living former agent and noted as being a year older than the organization itself. Aside from some hearing and memory loss, he remained physically fit at his 103rd birthday and, in March 2013, became the longest-lived Olympic competitor. Early life Walsh was born on May 4, 1907, to Dolinda (nee Invernizzi) and Walter Brooks Walsh in West Hoboken, New Jersey, which merged with Union Hill to become Union City in 1925. Walsh’s father was a firefighter and for a period operated a saloon. When he was 16 years old he lied about his age in order to join the Civilian Military Training Corps. He subsequently joined the New Jersey Army National Guard in 1928. FBI career After graduating from Rutgers Law School in 1931, Walsh joined the Federal Bureau of Investigation in 1934, becoming a member of the first cohort of agents permitted to carry firearms. His first assignment was to the Bureau’s office in St. Paul, Minnesota, covering four states.