ATLANTA — Gov. Brian Kemp has ordered that all flags on state buildings and grounds be lowered to half-staff to honor a Georgia man killed in an attack at Naval Air Station Pensacola in Florida
Cameron Walters, the 21-year-old airman apprentice from Richmond Hill, had been killed along with two other sailors by a gunman authorities later identified as a military aviation student from Saudi Arabia.
The flags will be lowered in Georgia on Monday, Dec. 16, the day he is going to be laid to rest.
“It is fitting and proper to recognize the sacrifices made by Airman Apprentice Cameron Scott Walters,” the order from the governor read.
His father Shane Walters told The Associated Press that his son died standing watch at the classroom building where the shooter opened fire.
“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.”
Cameron also hoped to become a pilot, his father told NBC.
“When Cameron graduated bootcamp, the grin on his face said it all,” Walters said in a statement. “’Look at me, Dad, I’m going to be just like you…’ To have the opportunity to earn his wings as a Navy Airman made him proud. And we, too, were so incredibly proud.”
Cameron Walters had six siblings and was the “ultimate motivator,” his father said. Shane Walters recalled his son's social media pages, which he described as a venue where he liked to “reinforce the fact that he was doing what he said he would do — protecting our great country.
The attack also killed 23-year-old Joshua Watson, a recent graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy from Enterprise, Alabama, and 19-year-old Airman Mohammed Sameh Haitham of St. Petersburg, Florida. Eight others were wounded.
The Associated Press and NBC contributed to this report.
MORE HEADLINES: