“After he graduated high school, he told his father and I that he was following his mother’s footsteps and join the Navy,” she said. “… Our hearts are broken, and he will be missed by many.”
Watson’s brother posted on Facebook that his sibling “died a hero” after giving first responders information on the shooter’s location though he was mortally wounded by gunfire.
“After being shot multiple times he made it outside and told the first response team where the shooter was and those details were invaluable,” Adam Watson wrote.
The Navy praised all three flight school students for their “exceptional heroism and bravery in the face of evil.”
“When confronted, they didn’t run from danger; they ran towards it and saved lives,” Capt. Tim Kinsella, the commanding officer of Naval Air Station Pensacola, said in a statement Saturday.
Cameron Walters had just arrived in Pensacola after graduating from boot camp in Great Lakes, Illinois, on Nov. 22, the sailor’s father said. Before enlisting, Walters had worked for a gun manufacturer headquartered near his hometown of Richmond Hill, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) outside of Savannah.
Walters joined the Navy, in part, because his father had served.
“Partly to follow in his dad’s footsteps, to get a better purpose in life,” Shane Walters said. “He was just that kind of kid.”
He described his son as athletic, playing sports including basketball and soccer. Not surprising for a young man living near the coast, Cameron Walters also loved boating and fishing.
When Walters’ birthday came around in June, his father said, the young man liked to spread out the celebration for as much as two weeks surrounding the actual day.
“When it came close to his birthday, he didn’t think he should have to take out the trash. And it’s not even his birthday yet,” Shane Walters said. “We’re supposed to have a cake every night. Things like that.”
Associated Press
