On July 24, 2026, at the General George Patton Museum at Fort Knox, a sixth-generation soldier stood down for the last time. He gave twenty-four years to the uniform and sixteen more to making sure other soldiers were not left behind — and he happens to be my brother. 

A Last Formation at Fort Knox

On July 24, 2026, family, friends, and old comrades gathered at the General George Patton Museum at Fort Knox, Kentucky, to mark the retirement of Colonel (Retired) Walter M. Herd — my brother — after a lifetime of service to the United States. 

A Sixth-Generation Soldier

Walter Herd was commissioned into the Regular Army in June 1983, becoming the sixth generation of our family to wear the uniform. He spent most of his career in Special Operations — the small, hard-selected units the Army sends where the work is most dangerous and least seen. He served in the 1st Ranger Battalion, earned the Green Beret that marks a fully qualified Special Forces soldier, and rose steadily through Special Forces command: a Special Forces A-team, then three companies, then a battalion of roughly 350 Green Berets, and ultimately a Special Forces group in combat.

That last command — his first at the brigade level — was the 3rd Special Forces Group (Forward), a 4,000-person, seven-nation Combined Joint Special Forces Task Force in Afghanistan. (He told me later that he had a weapon strapped to his hip on in his hands 24 hours a day for months at a time.)

He later commanded the Army’s Marketing Brigade at Fort Knox until his Army retirement in 2007.

Along the way he earned a historian’s education — a Bachelor of Arts in History from Centre College of Kentucky, three master’s degrees, and graduation from the Army War College at Carlisle Barracks — and, in 2013, he turned that Afghanistan command into a memoir, Unconventional Warrior (McFarland). It is (very characteristically) less a war story than a story about leadership. 

The Second Watch: Making Sure No One Was Left Behind

What I also find so remarkable about my brother’s service is not just the first part of his career, but the second half. Many colonels retire and rest; Walter re-enlisted himself, in a manner of speaking. In August 2010, he took over as the Army’s Transition Division Director at Human Resources Command, and helped re-engineer the Army’s Transition Assistance Program (TAP) — the program, mandated by the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and by Congress, that prepares departing soldiers, Army civilians, and retirees for civilian life through counseling, education, and employment help.

Under his leadership, TAP grew into a greater, more comprehensive program, helping more than 1.5 million soldiers ever year, with an average of roughly 106,000 more transitioning annually.

A man who spent his first career going into harm’s way spent his second making sure the people who followed him into harm’s way had somewhere to land when they came home.

Regular readers know this blog is written by a maritime lawyer who is also a sailor. My brother chose a career based on the land and the mountains; I preferred work based around the water. But I have come to think our two callings have something important in common: His responsibility was leading and protecting our soldiers; mine is looking out for the rights of mariners, deckhands, and offshore workers who keep the Gulf Coast running.

Both jobs should be about making sure the people who do the hard, dangerous, essential work are not left behind. 

We are honored to share two moments from the day below: the opening remarks that framed Walter’s career, and Walter’s own remarks near the ceremony’s close. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Maritime Trivia Question!

Q: For forty years my brother was, in a phrase the Army borrowed from the sea, “squared away.” Where did that expression come from?

A: On a square-rigged ship, to “square away” was to brace the yards at right angles to the keel so the sails caught a following wind and the vessel ran clean and true before it; squaring the yards after anchoring likewise meant clearing the decks and making everything tidy and ready. A ship that was squared away was in good order. The phrase came ashore — and settled deep into military speech — to mean prepared, orderly, exactly as things should be. 

It’s a fitting word for a man who spent forty years making sure other people were squared away, and who has now, at last, earned the right to be squared away himself for good: in good order, and standing down. Fair winds, Colonel.

Congratulations, Colonel. From your brother, and from all of us at the firm: well done — and welcome ashore.

We at the Herd Law Firm are proud to fight for seamen, maritime workers, and passengers in all types of personal injury and death claims. As maritime personal injury attorneys (and sailors ourselves!) located in northwest Houston, we never waver in our commitment to help maritime workers, passengers, and their families when they are injured or mistreated.

The information in this post is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. For questions specific to your maritime law issue, please contact us at 713-955-3699 or at Charles.Herd@HerdLawFirm.com.

Sources

  1. Retirement Ceremony Program, “In honor of Walter M. Herd,” General George Patton Museum, Fort Knox, Kentucky, July 24, 2026 (retirement biography, TAP figures, sequence of events, and Army Song note).
  2. U.S. Army, “Army Transition Assistance Program (TAP),” MyArmyBenefits. myarmybenefits.us.army.mil
  3. Congressional Research Service, “Military Transition Assistance Program (TAP): Background and Issues for Congress,” Report R48114. congress.gov
  4. Walter Morris Herd, Unconventional Warrior: Memoir of a Special Operations Commander in Afghanistan. McFarland & Company, 2013. mcfarlandbooks.com
  5. Library of Congress, “The Army Goes Rolling Along,” Patriotic Melodies. loc.gov
  6. U.S. Army, “Army returns to original song,” Army.mil, June 14, 2013. army.mil
  7. Herd Law Firm, “Rescuers with the Fewest Remedies: Cumulative Brain Injury and a Warning for Every Mariner.” herdlawfirm.com
  8. Herd Law Firm, “Honoring Heroes: A Heartfelt Memorial Day Tribute.” herdlawfirm.com
  9. Collins English Dictionary, “square away” (nautical origin: to set a square-rigger’s yards at right angles to the keel; to make ready and in order). collinsdictionary.com