Walt Plant
Ballplayers Wounded in Combat
| Date and Place of Birth: | May 22, 1921 Chicago, IL |
| Date and Place of Death: | June 26, 2012 Stamford, CT |
| Baseball Experience: | Minor League |
| Position: | Infielder |
| Rank: | Technical Sergeant |
| Military Unit: | Heavy Weapons Platoon, 96th Infantry Division US Army |
| Area Served: | Pacific Theater of Operations |
Walter J. Plant, Jr. - the eldest son of a
door-to-door vacuum salesman, Walter and his wife, Grace - was born in
Chicago, Illinois, on May 22, 1921.
Plant played amateur baseball on Chicago’s south
side for the Chicago Pirates and signed to a minor league contract with
the St. Louis Cardinals in 1941. He joined the Paducah Indians of the
Class D Kitty League before being optioned to the Greenville Lions of
the Class D Alabama State League. The 20-year-old infielder batted .236
in 37 games with Greenville and finished the season back at Paducah,
where he played 34 games and hit .198.
In 1942, Plant started the season with the Green
Bay Bluejays of the Class D Wisconsin State League before joining the
LaCrosse Blackhawks of the same league. Plant batted .243 in 25 games
with LaCrosse.
Plant entered military service in October 1942, and
was stationed at Camp Adair, Oregon, before leading a heavy weapons
platoon of the 96th Infantry Division in the Pacific Theater. Technical
Sergeant Plant was wounded in late 1944, during the assault on Leyte,
but returned to action for the assault on Okinawa, for which he was
awarded the Bronze Star and wounded a second time.
Unable to continue playing baseball due to his
injuries, Plant began a long career as a teacher in the early 1950s. He
taught physical education at inner-city schools in Chicago for several
years before relocating to Stamford, Connecticut in 1955.
Plant became a biology teacher at Dolan Junior High
School. He moved to Rippowam High School when it opened in 1961, and
retired as head of the science department in 1981. Plant's family said
that he was a beloved science teacher "who was celebrated by his
students for his passion, humor and his occasional handstands on the lab
tables."
Walter Plant - who was married for more than 65 years to the former Mary Lombardi, a Stamford native – passed away on June 26, 2012, aged 91. He was buried with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.
Date Added April 28, 2020
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