Walter Theodore Barlow Jr. was born on April 23, 1924, in Fernwood, Pike County, Mississippi. He was the son of Walter Theodore Barlow and Agnes Lee Allen Barlow. He began his military career at the age of 16 in November 1940, when members of the National Guard were inducted into federal service. He served for six months at Camp Blanding, Florida, before receiving an honorable discharge after military authorities discovered that he was underage. On September 7, 1942, having reached the age of 18, he reenlisted in the Army Air Corps, where he quickly advanced to the rank of Staff Sergeant and became a turret gunner.

On January 20, 1944, he was killed in an aircraft accident near Alamogordo, New Mexico, when the bomber aboard which he was serving suffered an engine failure and crashed approximately two miles short of the airfield. Barlow was the only crew member killed in the accident. He was 19 years old at the time of his death and was laid to rest at Hollywood Cemetery in McComb, Pike County, Mississippi.

Sources of information: www.findagrave.com, americanarchive.iwm.org.uk