Navy League Blog

Our "Telling the Navy League Story" series takes a look at what makes our members so passionate to volunteer their time and support the sea services.  

Name: Bull Walker
Navy League Council: Ingleside Area Council
Council Location: Aransas Pass, Texas
Years a Member: 26 years

What’s your personal connection to the sea services before you became a Navy League member?

I'm a retired Navy. Actually, I didn't know anything about the Navy League until my last duty station, which was NAS [Naval Air Station] Chasefield in Beeville, Texas. That's where I met the Navy League. So, I retired. That's how I wanted to get involved, because they did such wonderful things for us [Walker and his wife] and see if we could turn the tables a little bit.

Can you tell me about a time or event you recall where you felt like your work as a volunteer made a real difference?

Our council just had the ... annual Coast Guard barbeque. A dear friend of mine from Beeville, Texas, asked if he could participate. He dragged a 40-foot barbeque pit from Beeville, Texas, to Corpus Christi to the Coast Guard hangar so we could have this barbeque. The Coasties love it. They talk about it for a whole year. ... If it puts a smile on a Coastie's face then, it's worth every minute we spent putting it together. It's a labor of love so it's a lot of fun. We really enjoy it.

How have you personally been affected by your work through the Navy League?

We've gotten to travel a lot. The funny thing is, so many civilians ask, "How much does the Navy League pay for you to go to all these meetings and do everything that you do with the JROTCs and all that stuff?" I said, "Simple. It's zero." It's a volunteer organization, and we support the sea services, and we're all civilians. I don't care what your military rank was or what you retired or may not have retired as. We're all civilians. That's what we do, and it's worth it to put a smile on a kid's face or a smile on a Coastie's face. 

If someone's not a Navy League member why should they join?

Civilians in support of our sea services: It's our mantra. The kids who go to sea, the kids who serve in the Marine Corps. They need our support. The only way we can do it is by spending our time and our effort giving them whatever we can. Doesn't necessarily have to be monetary. Just a thank you, a pat on the back. It's so inexpensive to be part of this organization, why not? I can't think of a good excuse not to become a member.