If my history is correct, there are only two African American Brigadier General’s in the United States Army’s history. General Colin Powell and Brigadier General Walter F. Johnson. I had the pleasure of forming a great business relationship between my technology company and BG Wally Johnson’s company several years ago when I moved my technology company from the San Francisco Bay Area to Atlanta.
Mr. Johnson had formed Eagle Group International in 1995 and his sons ran the firm when I met them. I met them via our mutual financial advisor, Mr. Jan Williams, of AXA Advisors in Atlanta. Mr. Johnson, with a lot of blood, sweat, and tears, formed Eagle Group International, as a Government contractors aiming to win logistics contracts with the United States Army.
After many false starts, and almost going belly up, Mr. Johnson and his sons brokered a deal to sell the firm for millions to Lockheed Martin Corporation. The persistence that I learned from Mr. Walter Johnson is unteachable. Young people simply do not want to have any sort of relationship with patience and resilience but this man is the epitome of that.
Mr. Johnson has now written a book called “I Can Do That” to help people grow their businesses. I highly recommend it since I lived this story myself with him and his family.
Walter F. Johnson III, founder of Eagle Group International, Inc. began his life in the Gadsden-Green housing projects in Charleston, SC. In junior high school, he began delivering Charleston’s afternoon newspaper, the Evening Post. He built up his route to make it the largest of any carrier in the city. He also placed second in a city-wide contest for gaining the most new subscribers.
After graduating from West Virginia State College with a BS in zoology and minor in botany, Johnson joined the United States Army as a second lieutenant in 1961. Twenty-six years later, he retired as a brigadier general. After retirement, he began working as the director for Region 7 of the American Hospital Association and was promoted to senior vice-president.
In 1993 he founded and acted as president and CEO of the Institute for Diversity in Health-Services Management. Three years later, at the age of 57, Johnson founds Eagle Group International. The family sold the company in 2008 to Lockheed Martin Corporation. Today, Johnson lives with his wife, Doris, in Georgetown, SC and is involved in many charitable organizations.
