Walters, Johnnie M. (Johnnie McKeiver), 1919-

Johnnie McKeiver Walters (b. 1919, Hartsville, South Carolina) was confirmed as Commissioner of Internal Revenue in August of 1971 and served until 1973. He was educated in the Hartsville public schools and received his A.B. degree from Furman University in 1942. During World War II he served with distinction in the U.S. Army Air Force as a navigator, flying fifty bombing missions out of Southern Italy. Walters earned his law degree in 1948 from the University of Michigan, where he also met and married his wife, Donna Hall. Walters began his legal career with the Chief Counsel's Office of the Internal Revenue Service in Washington, D.C. In 1961 he returned to South Carolina to become a founding partner of the Greenville law firm of Geer, Walters & Demo. He remained at the firm until 1969, when he was appointed Assistant Attorney General in the Tax Division of the United States Department of Justice. In this role, he was deeply concerned with civil unrest and headed one of five Civil Disturbance Teams, often being deployed across the country to cities where incidents of civil unrest were anticipated. As Assistant Attorney General, Walters was also actively involved in the nomination processes of several Supreme Court and District Court judges. As IRS Commissioner, Walters worked to emphasize fast, orderly, and efficient service. Beyond his role in the Watergate investigations, Walters may be best remembered as a vocal advocate for reform of the voluntary tax system into a more taxpayer-friendly system. He received attention from the media for his efforts to simplify and clarify tax forms, for his reintroduction of the 1040A form, and for his pledge to crack down on corporate tax fraud. After returning to private practice with the Washington, D.C., firm of Hunton, Williams, Gay & Gibson, Walters was an active member of the American Bar Association and promoted specialization in the legal profession as well as reform of the tax system. He left Hunton & Williams in 1979 and returned to Greenville, where he was a partner with the firm of Leatherwood, Walker, Todd & Mann until 1996. He subsequently became Executive Vice President and General Counsel of Colonial Trust Company of Greenville, an investment management firm providing administrative and custodial services to individuals, corporations, partnerships, and non-profit organizations.

From the description of Walters, Johnnie M. (Johnnie McKeiver), 1919- (U.S. National Archives and Records Administration). naId: 10611272

Native of Hartsville, S.C.

From the description of Johnnie M. Walters papers, 1918-2003 (University of South Carolina). WorldCat record id: 64597622