Walter Benedict Havekorst II was born in Hanover, Kansas on June 4 1893. He attended college at the University of Kansas and was elected president of the Student Council during his last year at school. As an undergraduate, he was a member of Phi Alpha Tau. After graduation he was admitted to the Kansas State bar and became a member of the Phi Delta Phi legal fraternity.

On June 5, 1917, Havekorst registered for the draft and enlisted in the Army Air Service. He applied for pilot training and attended ground school at the University of California, Berkeley, and was then assigned to Rockwell Field at North Island for primary flight training. Upon completion, he was assigned to Imperial Beach for Advanced Aerial Gunnery School. His roommate during part of this training was none other than Jimmy Doolittle, who later became General James Doolittle.

In 1919, Havekorst was released from the Army and moved to Imperial, California, where he became very successful in the dairy business and served as a director for the Imperial Valley Milk Producers Association and a director at large with the Farm Bureau. He also began a long and distinguished career in the banking industry and moved up in rank to Vice President and Manager of the Bank of America in Long Beach, California. Walter Havekorst was also the President of the Long Beach Chamber of Commerce and Director of the Armed Forces YMCA Committee. He passed away in Long Beach on June 2, 1963 just two days shy of his 70th birthday.