An Oval Office Finish : Walkin’ Willie Delivers His Message on Cancer to Bush

For a carwash man from Hawaiian Gardens, the feeling is still overwhelming. After completing his second cross-country walk for cancer awareness last week, he had sat in the White House with the President.

“It was my greatest triumph,” William Croker said Monday.

Starting Feb. 6 from Seal Beach, Croker walked 3,341 miles, arriving 72 days later on April 18 in suburban Washington. He realized his goal Friday when he met with President Bush, who, upon seeing his visitor, exclaimed: “Here comes Walkin’ Willie!”

The trip took a toll. The 41-year-old Croker, a carwash operator at a Lakewood gasoline station, developed chronic pain in his legs and his feet hurt from the time he reached Texas in late February.

Snow Was 2 Feet Deep

“My knees felt like someone put a needle in them,” said Croker, who flew home Saturday.

The highways, steamy during Croker’s summer crossing in 1987, had this time been cruelly cold. Temperatures usually were in the 30s. In Odessa, Tex., where Croker’s water bottle froze, snow was two feet deep.

“I didn’t know the wind-chill factor was 10 below,” he said. “People said, ‘Hey, you shouldn’t walk out here.’ I had two pairs of gloves and a ski mask on, trompin’ down the road.”

There were also thunderstorms “like 150 howitzers going off” in Arkansas, and hail in Illinois and Indiana, where it was “ugly every day . . . black, the wind blowing.”

Listened to Elvis Tapes

But Croker, inspired by Elvis Presley tapes he listened to as he walked, averaged 50 miles a day despite the elements and depressing brown countrysides that seemed to change only in Missouri, which already wore a lush green spring coat.

To each town’s media, he told his story: How his mother, father and sister had died of cancer; how a doctor told him in 1970 that if his mother had come to him a year earlier, she might have been saved; how he has dedicated the years since to encouraging people to have early cancer check-ups, and how, because of his crusade, Congress is expected soon to designate April as Cancer Awareness Month.

“We spread the word,” said Croker, who does not have cancer. “So many more people were interested this time in the cancer aspect, and also the athletic part of it. A lot were amazed a man could walk that far. Reporters watched the miles go off and couldn’t believe it.”

During the first walk, Croker had complained of an apathetic media. “In ’87 we were the 32nd film clip on the nightly news,” he said. “Now I was the feature story.”

The Springfield, Ill., State Journal-Register published a large color photo of a bearded Croker, under which was his quote: There are a lot of people walking down the street today with cancer and they don’t even know it.

Besieged by Senators

In Jefferson City, Mo., Croker was besieged by state senators. “Every one wanted a picture of me,” he said. “There were about 26 of them in a walkers group. Each morning, before they go legislate, they walk 10 miles to relieve their stress.”

Outside of St. Louis, Croker was made aware of his message’s value. “A woman who was working at the hotel where we were staying had heard about us,” he said. “She had gone for a checkup and they found traces of cancer. Because they found it early, she won’t have to lose a breast. I remember how much she was crying when she got to meet us.”

In Tennessee, Croker met with Gov. Ned Ray McWherter, and a record company asked him if he had a favorite country singer he would like to meet. Dolly Parton, he told them, but she was not in town.

Croker did not always walk alone. “People who had seen me on TV joined me,” he said. “It seemed that they were proud to be out there.”

On a cramped, four-lane bridge high above the Mississippi River in Memphis, about 20 walking enthusiasts accompanied him, along with three TV crews. “It was scary,” he said. “There was nowhere to go unless you wanted to jump in the Mississippi.”

When he got across the bridge, Croker changed his socks. “My feet were bloody,” he said.

By April 15, when he arrived in Columbus, Ohio, the pain was so bad that Joann Dill had to put his shoes and socks on him each morning. Dill and her husband, Bob, went ahead of Croker in a motor home. Also on the trip was Jimmy Doyle, 20, who rode a bicycle and brought Croker water, bandages and fresh socks.

The trip was easier than the one in 1987.

“I didn’t have to worry about money or whether we had enough gas to get to the next town,” Croker said. He said $10,000 had been raised at a rally the day the walk began and that former baseball star Reggie Jackson had made a sizable donation.

This Time, He Ate Steak

In ‘87, with only $80 to start out with, Croker had to eat baloney sandwiches and sleep in bug-infested campgrounds. This time, Joann Dill fixed him steaks. As a result, the 6-foot-2 Croker, who had lost 36 pounds during the first trip, dropped only from 210 to 198.

Many nights were spent in hotels, courtesy of the Ramada Corp. His shoes (two pairs) and socks (114 pairs) were furnished by Nike.

Discomfort, however, was a steady companion.

“I was so tired I would go to sleep and wouldn’t want to get up,” Croker said. “I was concentrating so much that I never knew what time it was or what day it was. You lose all consciousness out there. All you look for is the next city. You just plug on.”

With his knees plaguing him, he plugged on past the farms of the Midwest and into the Allegheny Mountains of Pennsylvania and West Virginia. “Jesus, they were awesome,” he said. “Just big ol’ mountains.”

As he descended into Maryland, his anxiety rose.

“I wanted to get it over with,” Croker said. “There was a lot of emotion. I started to cry. I felt proud, but I had my doubts if I was going to be able to see the President. I knew this thing couldn’t be a success until I saw him. But I could smell it in my blood.”

He had doubts because two years ago President Reagan had been unavailable when Croker arrived in the capital. But Sen. Pete Wilson (R-Calif.) had promised Croker that a visit with Bush would be arranged.

There was a reception, complete with Walkin’ Willie posters and balloons, when he arrived just outside Washington in Alexandria, Va.

At his hotel there, he received a call from the White House. “My hand was shaking so much I could hardly hold the phone,” he said. “A woman said that the President would like to see me Friday and asked if I could arrange it in my schedule. I told her, ‘Does a bear like honey?’ ”

After appearing on the Today Show Friday morning, he went by cab to the White House gate.

“I didn’t have any ID,” said Croker, who has never owned a driver’s license. “So I pulled out a Times article that had been written about me. They (the guards) were a little leery. They’re looking at me and it’s as if they’re thinking, this guy’s got an appointment with the President?

“Then this beautiful lady came out and said, ‘I’m here to escort you back.’ ”

Meeting in Oval Office

And so, dressed in a black suit, a nervous Croker was led into the Oval Office.

“I stood at the door and the President looked at me and said, ‘Here comes, Walkin’ Willie!’ He grabbed my hand and I said, ‘How you doin’, Mr. President?’

“He checked my legs; he looked so much bigger than me. I turned to my right and I never seen so many media people in my life. Flashes were going.”

Croker described his work in cancer awareness to Bush.

“I told him I lost my family to cancer,” Croker said. “He turned his head and I could see a tear in his eye. I knew I was with a man who really cared. He kept talking, as if a world leader was sitting there with him. I’m just a carwash man. I was totally humbled. It was beautiful.”

Croker estimates that he has now walked 17,500 miles during his 19-year crusade. He intends, after a little rest, to add more.

When Bush inquired about his plans, Croker told him that next year he wants to walk across the Soviet Union.

“I’ve got the momentum now,” he said this week, holding a tie clasp he received from Bush as tightly as his memories.