Walter Eldon Rich, born in Morgantown, West Virginia on August 19, 1932, passed away peacefully at the age of 93 at his home in Seffner, Florida on September 25, 2025. He is survived by his wife Sally Rich, and his children Elizabeth, Walter, Dwight, and Grace.

Walter served in the United States Air Force for more than 26 years and embraced his military career soon after boot camp serving quietly in the National Security Agency (NSA) for 14 years in various locations around the world including Washington D.C., Greece, and Vietnam. There were probably other places, but he never told his family or friends about those assignments. In fact, he barely said anything about those 14 years of his life which confused his family about his military service—only learning 40 years later that he had a top-secret life.

Upon leaving his NSA assignment after marriage, he became a distinguished aircraft mechanic with the Air Force in England, California, Georgia, and the Philippines. As Master Sergeant, he was awarded "The Air Force Commendation Medal" for meritorious service in 1975.

According to the Air Force, "Master Sergeant Walter E. Rich distinguished himself through superior knowledge, experience, leadership, and managerial practices enabling his organization to set new records for mission reliability and perfection."

He once told his oldest son, "If you ever run out of gasoline in your car, don't call me. Your car has a fuel gauge."

According to his wife, he was a good man. He helped move her entire immediate family from war-torn Vietnam to settle in the United States—assisting them all along the way until the end of his life.

His family is in the planning stages for a military funeral service to be held at the Florida National Cemetery managed by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) located in the Withlacoochee State Forest approximately 50 miles north of Tampa. He never used any VA benefits. His national cemetery burial location request is the one and only VA benefit he ever formally requested.