World news – US – A 101-year-old veteran of WWII begins a tour of the Veterans Day Parade

Harrisburg officers on Tuesday gave a warm bye and police escort to a 101-year-old WWII veteran traveling across the country to raise awareness about the shrinking number of veterinarians from the war

Sidney Walton brought his tour to Harrisburg Tuesday in front of the Hilton Harrisburg downtown, where Harrisburg Mayor Eric Babenfoz presented a key to Walton and Harrisburg police officers salute Walton

After answering questions from a crowd of media surrounding Elton and his son Paul, photos were taken with the mayor and officers.

Walton waved goodbye from the passenger seat of his Buick decked out with larger-than-life pictures of him as a soldier, and he’s nowadays, and a large text on both sides reads, « 101 Years – An Old World War II Veterinary Tour » No Regrets « above the flag American

After this, Walton’s car was escorted by Harrisburg police on the first leg of his tour toward the Washington Dig.

He plans to drive from the Washington DC to Philadelphia to New York City on Wednesday, to celebrate Veterans Day with his parade

“This one-of-a-kind Veterans Day offer is my father’s last honor to all veterans,” said his son Paul, who is traveling with him, “He is my true patriot in this time of electoral chaos and intense division. This unity work could not come at a better time.” For our nation « 

Walton, an American WWII veteran, said he always regretted not meeting the last veterinarians of the Civil War while they were still alive so he launched this tour with his son in 2018 to travel to all 50 states and meet all governors The 50 states on a « no regrets tour », where people can meet a veterinarian from WWII

It was already his tour of 35 states that Walton hoped to draw attention to the sacrifices made by US soldiers and the importance of keeping their memories alive.

Walton left college in New York City at age 21 to join the military and « fight Hitler, » he said, nine months before Pearl Harbor had fought Walton in China, Burma, India Theater, 34th Infantry, 8th Division, according to a statement. Journalist

The press release said the only time he took a break in five years of the war was attending his mother’s funeral at his home in New York City.

The United States is losing World War II veterinarians quickly, according to UX Veterans Affairs Department statistics. More than 325,000 of these veterinarians survived in 2020 out of the 16 million Americans who served

But nearly 300 veterinarians from WWII die every day, according to museum reports, which means almost all of them could disappear within 15 years or so

More than 18,000 veterinarians from WWII are still alive in Pennsylvania, according to the World War II Museum

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World War II Veterans Day, Harrisburg