John Walker’s Son Says He Became Spy Because of Close Parental Ties

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — The son of convicted spy John A. Walker Jr. said Tuesday that the main reason he became a spy was his close relationship with his father.

“He was a sailor. I was a sailor. He was a private investigator and so was I,” said Michael Lance Walker, 24.

“And the bottom line was I turned out to be a spy just like him,” Walker said in an interview on the Christian Broadcasting Network’s “700 Club.” Walker was interviewed in the Federal Correctional Institution in Petersburg, where he is serving a 25-year term.

Serving on Carrier

Walker was a seaman aboard the aircraft carrier Nimitz when his father was arrested for espionage on May 19, 1985. The younger Walker was arrested a few days later and charged with supplying classified documents from the ship to his father for delivery to the Soviet Union.

Both Walkers pleaded guilty, and the elder Walker is serving a life term at another federal prison. Arthur J. Walker, John Walker’s brother, and Jerry A. Whitworth, John Walker’s Navy friend, also were convicted of espionage and given lengthy prison terms.

Michael Walker said his father reassured him about spying and said the Soviet Union already knew some of the secrets they were selling.