Every morning and every night, the American, Navy and Marine Corps flags are raised and lowered at Naval Air Station Pensacola.
As a rule, anyone who is on base and in uniform at the time the colors are raised or lowered must stand at attention and salute the flag. Typically at 7:30 on a Saturday morning, a few dozen or so airmen might fill the yard beneath the flag.
But this Saturday, just 24 hours after a gunman opened fire in a classroom building on base, killing three people and wounding eight more, hundreds of military personnel donned their dress uniforms — typically reserved for only the most formal occasions — and filled the yard with a sea of salutes as the stars and stripes went up.
Pensacola News Journal
This is Building 633 at Pensacola Naval Air Station, which itself sits at the westernmost edge of the Florida Panhandle. Building 633 fronts on Chambers Street on the base. Maps show that It is walking distance from the Base Library and the Base Chapel.
Building 633 measures 122,000 square feet in size; it is not new. Though substantially upgraded by the United States Navy in 2006, its interior configuration (from the few images I’ve been able to find) appears to be much the same as I imagine it was decades ago, when it was built, with school-width hallways and linoleum floors.
Over those decades, those floors have been scuffed by the brown shoes of Alan Shepard, Neil Armstrong and Jim Lovell — aviation heroes all. Last Friday, those same floors were slicked with the blood of three more Navy heroes, each of whom died in a terrorist attack while trying to save others. They were all courageous beyond measure, and they were all very, very young.
Tonight we honor the service and sacrifice of:
• Airman Apprentice Cameron Scott Walters, 21, from Richmond Hill, Georgia. He enlisted Sept. 16 and reported to the Recruit Training Command at Great Lakes before he reported to Pensacola on Nov. 24.
• Airman Mohammed Sameh Hathaim, 19, from St. Petersburg, Florida. He enlisted July 18 and reported to the Recruit Training Command at Great Lakes, Illinois. He reported to Pensacola on Sept. 21 and had earned the Navy Basic Military Training Honor Graduate Ribbon.
• Ensign Joshua Kaleb Watson, 23, from Enterprise, Alabama. He was a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis who was commissioned May 24 and reported for duty in Pensacola on Nov. 15.
“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.
Washington Post
Airman Apprentice Cameron Walters, 21, of Richmond Hill, Georgia, finished boot camp in November. He had been at Pensacola just two weeks.
Fresh out of boot camp, Cameron Walters proudly told his father in Georgia during their nightly video chat (on December 5) that he had passed the exam qualifying him to stand watch and help secure building entrances at Naval Air Station Pensacola in Florida.
He was randomly chosen to fill this assignment the next morning.
When news broke . . . of shots being fired on the base, Shane Walters called his son's cellphone repeatedly throughout the day. There was no answer.
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"He was just looking forward to getting his wings and being a part of flying and whatever job they gave him," Shane Walters said. "He just wanted to earn his wings. He was looking so forward to having those wings pinned on his chest.”
Stars & Stripes
"He was an amazing guy, he always had something good to say to everybody, was always smiling," said Joe Witt, a fellow airman apprentice and one of Walters' three roommates at NAS Pensacola. "Us four, we were a pack here for the last two weeks, we did everything together. He was really just a great overall guy, he always had great energy.”
Witt said Walters talked about wanting to go to Naval Aircrew Candidate School so he could eventually work on military aircraft as an aircrewman.
Witt, Walters and fellow roommates Logan Cave and Taft Manship all came to Pensacola together after basic training as a part of RTC Division 955. They (had known) each other for less than three months . . . but their bond was that of lifelong friends.
(snip)
Witt was also assigned to watch duty Friday morning, but in Building 623. Watch duty requires the person to roam the area they are assigned to, unarmed, making sure the area is in order.
Witt still remembers the last thing Walters said to him.
"Me and him actually walked to watch together that morning at 5:45 a.m.," Witt said. "Last thing he said was 'Have fun on watch.' Sarcastically, of course.”
Pensacola News Journal
Airman Apprentice Walters graduated from Effington County High School in 2016. He was assigned to Pensacola on November 24.
“He was proud to have completed boot camp and was in the Navy Reserve, but was considering enlisting for full-time active duty, his stepmother told The New York Times. His father had also been in the Navy.
The New York Times
Airman Apprentice Walters was killed when the shooter opened fire.
Airman Mohammed Haitham, 19, of St. Petersburg, Florida, joined the Navy in 2018. He had completed boot camp and had recently been assigned to Pensacola for Flight Crew Training. Airman Haitham was killed trying to save others during the attack.
“The commander of his school did call me,” said his mother, Evelyn Brady, herself a Navy veteran who now works for the Veterans’ Administration. “He told me my son did try to stop the shooter.”
(snip)
When Haitham paid his surprise visit to his family (for Thanksgiving), his mother said, he talked about how much he enjoyed serving in the Navy, and how he was looking forward to graduating from the flight school program Dec. 19.
“He said he was going to get his flight jacket for Christmas,” she said. “Now that’s not going to happen.”
Tampa Bay Times
Airman Haitham’s family moved to St. Petersburg from New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. At Lakewood High School, he was a track and field standout, a middle-distance specialist known for his speed.
His father, Sameh Haitham, told The New York Times that Airman Haitham had attended college, but had realized that he “wanted to do something more hands-on. He surprised his family when he joined the Navy, but said he was happy to be in the Service.”
Erin Savage, the principal of Lakewood High, visited the grieving family on Saturday. “In my mind, I see his smile and his face,” (she) said. “And the part that breaks me up is now seeing him in my mind trying to defend himself and trying to defend others. That was Mohammed. That was him.”
The New York Times
When he surprised his family in St. Petersburg by showing up for Thanksgiving, the 19-year-old didn’t look like a teenager any more, they told the Tampa Bay Times.
Airman Haitham would have turned 20 on December 16.
Ensign Joshua Kaleb Watson, 23, of Enterprise, Alabama, was a member of the Class of 2019 at the United States Naval Academy and had been assigned to Pensacola for training as a Navy Pilot. Last Friday, he was the officer on deck. Ensign Watson was shot five times, but made his way out of Building 633 to describe the shooter to first responders before collapsing.
As Ensign Watson’s father told the Pensacola News Journal: "His mission was to confront evil, to bring the fight to them, wherever it took him. He was willing to risk his life for his country. We never thought he would die in Florida."
A native of Enterprise, Alabama, about 125 miles northeast of Pensacola, Kaleb Watson was a natural leader, a huge Auburn football fan and a person who put others first and strived to bring out the best in them, according to his family.
Known as Kaleb, Ensign Watson ”was starting grade school when Sept. 11 happened," his father said. "His uncle, Richard Lindsay, was a former Marine who served in (Operation) Desert Storm.”
(snip)
"He's wanted to be in the military since he was 5 years old," his father said.
Pensacola News Journal
At the Academy, Ensign Watson was a member of 10th Company and majored in mechanical engineering. An expert marksman, he captained the Academy’s Rifle Team.
Over Thanksgiving, he and his father had watched the Iron Bowl and then, for the first time in the five years since he had left for the Naval Academy, cut down and decorated the family Christmas tree together. “He was the one who put the angel on top,” his mother, Sheila Watson, told The New York Times. “And it’s still there.”
The New York Times
Ensign Watson died at Baptist Hospital.
Pensacola NAS has a special place in my own family history. After graduating from the USNA, my Dad deployed as an instructor on the USS Fraser. His first stateside post was to Pensacola NAS, where he trained as a Navy pilot. It was at Pensacola NAS that my grandfather, a Marine Corps pilot in World War I, pinned his wings on my Dad’s uniform. It was at the Chapel at Pensacola NAS that my parents were married. That Pensacola was the site of these senseless deaths of these courageous young men — these heroes — is heartbreaking.
“The sorrow from the tragic event on NAS Pensacola will have a lasting impact on our installation and community,” said Capt. Tim Kinsella, commanding officer of NAS Pensacola in a prepared statement emailed to Navy Times. “We feel the loss profoundly and grieve with the family and friends of the deceased. The sailors that lost their lives in the line of duty and showed exceptional heroism and bravery in the face of evil.”
Navy Times
From the United States Naval Academy:
Our hearts are heavy and with the families and friends of Ensign Watson, Airman Haitham, and Airman Apprentice Walters, who gave the ultimate sacrifice at the onset of their Naval service.
Rest in peace, Shipmates — we have the watch.
“I Got the News Today" is a series intended to honor, respect, and remind us of the sacrifices made by our US troops. Click here to see the series, which was begun by i dunno in 2004 and now is maintained by Sandy on Signal, i dunno, blue jersey mom, Chacounne, twilight falling, SisTwo, SpamNunn, TrueBlueMajority, CalNM, Wide Awake in Kentucky, maggiejean, Ekaterin, Joy of Fishes, SARBill, JaxDem, and me. These diaries are heartbreaking to write but are an important service to those who have died; they allow our community to show respect for the fallen and express condolences to those who mourn them. These posts usually appear two days after their names are officially released, which allows time for the IGTNT team to find and tell their stories.
Please bear in mind that these diaries are read by friends and family of the service member(s) mentioned here. May all of our remembrances be full of compassion rather than politics.