Walt was born in Mesena, Georgia, and reared in Stevenson, Alabama. After finishing high school in Stevenson he enlisted in the Air Force where he served twenty-eight years in various assignments throughout the world, including Germany, the Pentagon, and Southeast Asia. He continued his education while in the military, attending Rollins College in Orlando, Florida, and community colleges in San Bernardino, California, and Honolulu, Hawaii. During his five-year tour at Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii, Walt traveled extensively throughout the Pacific Theater of Operations managing munitions storage activities for the AF. Following the Hawaiian tour he was assigned to Patrick Air Force Base, Florida, where he retired in 1979. Walt achieved the rating of Chief Master Sergeant. Included in his awards and decorations are the Meritorious Service Medal and five Air Force Commendation Medals. Walt and his wife, Jan, live in Panama City, Florida, and can usually be found on a golf course.

In 1972 Walt, a history buff, became interested in genealogy and began researching the history of his paternal ancestors. He accumulated, organized, and individually indexed more than eight thousand names of relatives and related families that are presented in this review. His first effort to publish resulted in: Descendants of Matthew Russell and Related Families of Jackson County, Alabama: A Collection of Genealogies