579 Folly Road, P.O. Box 12242 Charleston SC, 29422
#4. Issue: Taking care of our Military & Veterans by a vet.
endorsed by these citadel cadets!
On the left stands Carlton Walker, and on the right is his father, Jay Walker a Citadel graduate class of 1969 in Electrical Engineering.
This photo captures a defining moment at The Citadel, where Carlton delivered a stirring 60-minute speech outlining his vision as your next representative and his hopes for the future of South Carolina. His words resonated deeply, inspiring these cadets to rally behind his campaign for the South Carolina State House.
This is what being "Island Strong" means to Myself Carlton Walker. When elected, I will fight to pass a law so that every fallen service member is honored by a live bugler, not a recording.
At one point while we were waiting before starting the video, my father leaned against a large headstone, bent over in pain. I stood there watching, worried I might have to walk over and help him. What few people knew in that moment was that he was quietly battling CLL blood cancer, diagnosed in November of 2020, yet he never said a word and never stepped away. The internal struggle he carried that day, both for this community and as an example for me, is indescribable. I am sharing this image so people can understand who my father truly is—the quiet man behind the bugle whose notes bring everyone to tears in full military honor. What most people do not realize is that when a live bugler does not step forward, a recording is often played from a small boombox. I believe our fallen service members deserve better. They deserve a live bugler, standing there in uniform, honoring them with Taps played by human breath, human effort, and real sacrifice.
please Watch this full video to understand what HONORING A TRUE AMERICAN HERO Means: A JAMES ISLAND GULLAH GEECHEE VETERAN REMEMBERED WITH TAPS BY CARLTON WALKER’S FATHER, JAY WALKER, WHILE QUIETLY BATTLING CANCER, & WITH THE AMERICAN LEGION POST 147 HONOR GUARD.
In February of 2023, I filmed my father, Jay Walker, playing Taps on James Island in honor of a fallen Gullah Geechee Army veteran who served in Vietnam. After returning home, he lived a life rooted in the water and the land, building a shrimping business off Sol Legare Road with his cousins and brothers that stretched from the Lowcountry to St. Augustine, Florida. What no one knew that day, except me, was that my father had been diagnosed with CLL blood cancer in November of 2020, and I recorded that moment, believing it might be the last time he would ever play Taps for a fallen service member. I had the opportunity to speak with the veteran’s family, hear their stories, and stay in touch with Author Gilliard, who later helped locate his parents’ graves and secure new headstones for his family. Being raised on these islands by a father who demanded discipline but lived a life of service showed me what real honor looks like. Even while battling cancer, he continued to serve with humility and deep respect for the Gullah Geechee community. He is my hero, and I remain committed to serving our island communities in a way that would make him proud. I humbly ask for your vote. Vote Carlton Walker, so my father can see that I will carry on serving our island community with the same honor and dedication he has shown his entire life.
USS WASP Somalia - 1993
Carlton has a remarkable background having served under General Colin Powell in Somalia as an Aviation Boatswain's Mate Blue Shirt for the Navy. He worked on the Flight Deck and Hanger Bay, which is considered the second most dangerous job in the Navy.
THE AVIATION BOATSWAIN’S MATE INSIGNIA: anchors & Wings. Carlton's military job.
Our insignia — crossed anchors with wings — has symbolized gallantry, teamwork, and unwavering dedication for nearly eighty years. Many outstanding ABs have given their limbs, and too many their lives, performing the dangerous, heroic work of the flight deck.
Let me break it down for you:
The anchor — heavy, steadfast, reliable — holds the ship in place against the tides. A single, well-trained AB is an anchor: securing aircraft on deck, fueling and defueling, directing the dance of jets and helicopters, salvaging damaged planes, operating arresting gear, or launching aircraft from catapults.
But our insignia bears two anchors. Why? Because we can’t do it alone. We rely on each other. We learn from each other. We watch out for each other. Like a symphony, we come together — each playing our part in the grand, dangerous, and beautiful performance of carrier operations. We see one another at our best and our worst. We push and test each other, and though we rarely say it aloud, we love and respect each other deeply. Like those crossed anchors, our souls are forever bonded in friendship, forged in fire and saltwater.
And then — the wings. At first glance, wings on anchors may seem unnecessary, even impossible. Anchors are meant to hold fast; wings are meant to soar. But that is exactly who we are. ABs have the strength to bear the impossible and the determination to rise anyway — to carry the weight and still take flight, no matter the sacrifice.
Those sacrifices are many — and too often overlooked.
Remember the old saying: When a bell rings, an angel gets its wings. On our ships, when the bell sounds, it marks another moment when ABs have sacrificed — through skill, grit, and sheer willpower — and earned their wings.
The wings on our insignia remind us that we have not only anchored the mission here on earth, but we have also earned our place in heaven.
We are ABs. Anchors and wings. Strong enough to hold, strong enough to fly.
USS Wasp — Somalia, 1993, around 0200, the call came over the ship’s speakers: “Flight quarters, flight quarters — all hands man your stations." Chief ABH, "We have a downed bird! Our Marines are down."
During his time, Carlton was part of a flight deck team that had to recover a Marine helicopter H-46, like the one pictured above, that was shot down during the Somalia mission in 1993. Along with another Airedale, Carlton was chosen by his Chief to recover the destroyed H-46 back on deck while his Chief directed the H-53 carrying the destroyed aircraft.
Recently a US Marine F35 Pilot from Beaufort SC Marine Air Station told Carlton that this incident his was in is now a training video. If anyone can get a copy of this training video of this incident on board the USS WASP from April 1993 that would be great to see.
Carlton's bravery and dedication to his country are a testament to his character and leadership skills. These qualities will be valuable in his new role as the SC State House Representative for District 115.
Carlton lives by the motto, "Don't tell me how ROCKY the SEA is, just BRING THE DAMN SHIP IN!" He will use this same attitude to make sure District 115 always gets what it needs from our state government.
At the James Island Lowe’s, Carlton Walker met a disabled veteran who recalls their time serving aboard the USS Wasp during the Somalia H-46 helicopter recovery mission. Two James Island locals, who once served side by side overseas, reunited years later at home — a reminder that service, sacrifice, and community never fade.
At the James Island Lowe’s, Carlton came face-to-face with a shipmate he served alongside aboard the USS Wasp during the Somalia mission in 1993 — a disabled veteran, now working retail to get by.
In that moment, memories of sacrifice, danger, and brotherhood came flooding back — a bond forged on the flight deck, while their ship was in combat and under fire, in service to South Carolina and the United States.
But what struck Carlton even more was the bitter truth: they both risked their lives to defend the Constitution — yet today, South Carolina’s family court system tramples the very rights they fought for.
The 6th, 7th, and 14th Amendments — promises of fairness, due process, and equal protection — ignored by the very government they risked their lives, their Marines and Army bled and died for.
That injustice fuels Carlton’s campaign. Because no veteran — no citizen — should sacrifice everything overseas only to come home and find their rights discarded in their own state.
It’s time to stand up, take back our courts, and hold this broken system accountable.
Support Carlton Walker — because the fight for justice isn’t over.
Due to this mental sacrifice below, Carlton will ensure that the 6th & 7th Amendments are Enforced for all South Carolinians' Rights to a Jury Trial.
Carlton's Biological father's writings about his experience in the story "The Last Time I Saw America." If you zoom in, you can see the impact of PTSD on a combat veteran. Carlton, the child of a father who suffers from PTSD, empathizes with other veterans and is dedicated to fighting for their rights like no other representative. Carlton knows the importance of these sacrifices and will fight to
Here are the pages that Carlton wrote about when his father lived in Lot 57 8810 Deerwood Drive, and in the middle of the night, he came out in the road firing a shotgun in the air. This was 1997, when Carlton lived in the trailer at 8810 Lot A Deerwood Drive. Carlton watched as his father was screaming and having flashbacks of a Vietnamese his helicopter killed while he begged for his life not to
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VOTE CARLTON WALKER - JUNE 9, 2026
