Samuel Moore Walton was born in Kingfisher, OK., March 29,1918 the first child to Thomas and Nancy Walton. He was an Eagle Scout, quarterback of the state champion football team and student council president. Walton was voted "most versatile boy" of his graduating class at Hickmann High School in Columbia MO, in 1936. Walton worked his way through the University of Missouri at Columbia, delivering newspapers, waiting tables and as a clerk at a five-and-dime store. He took classes in the Army's Reserve Office Training Corps and served as president of the senior class and honor society. After graduating in 1940, with a degree in economic, he worked for J.C. Penney Co. for 18 months. Expecting to be drafted he left and worked at DuPont munitions until drafted in 1942. Walton served state side, due to a heart condition, at Fort Douglas in Salt Lake City, UT., with the US Army Intelligence Corps, supervising security at aircraft plants. He worked up to Captain and was discharge in 1945. At that time, Walton took a management job at a variety store and later, with his brother Bud Walton, founded Walmart. Walton received "the Presidential Medal of Freedom" from President George HW Bush for "his strong commitment to service and for values that help individuals". This is the highest honor in our country, bestowed to a citizen. Courtesy of The New York Times and Wikipedia