SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Sidney Walton, age 100, one of America’s oldest WWII veterans and just back from on-stage in Normandy, met with Gov. Gavin Newsom July 29, 4:30 to 5 p.m. in the Governor’s office.
The meeting was arranged by state Senator Brian Jones from San Diego County.
Although the meeting was closed to the press, videos and photos are now available on Sidney’s website at: http://www.gosidney.com/.
“This meeting with the governor of my home state was very special to me,” said Sidney.
Added his son Paul: “We were honored that he still made time to meet with Dad, a WWII veteran, upon returning to the Capitol from the tragic event in Gilroy.”
Sidney is on a first-ever, nationwide No Regrets Tour (http://www.nationalnoregretstour.com/) raising awareness of the diminishing number of WWII veterans and the sacrifices they made. He is meeting all 50 governors in all 50 states, and met with the President in the Oval Office on April 11. On June 6, Sidney was on-stage with Presidents Trump and Macron at the 75th anniversary of D-Day in Normandy.
As he travels constantly throughout the U.S., at every stop along the way his most frequent expression is, “I love this country!” His continued love and patriotism for America is the driving force behind his unique mission.
Born February 11, 1919 in New York City, Sidney joined the Army in March 1941 – nine months before Pearl Harbor – and served for the entire war. As a survivor of the Asian conflict in WWII, Sidney is reminding Americans of the sacrifices these brave men and women made for our freedom today. In a few short years, there will be no WWII veterans left.
Sidney’s biggest regret in life is missing a historic moment to meet some of the last Civil War veterans. Now, to make up for it, the No Regrets Tour is giving American citizens a rare opportunity to meet one of the last surviving WWII veterans.
“In these times when the country has become so divisive, my father represents a vanishing breed that unites both Democrats and Republicans alike. Everyone thanks him for his service in helping to save this beautiful country,” said his son Paul Walton. “It brings tears to my eyes to see him treated like a national treasure.”
A position with the federal government brought Sidney and his wife Rena to San Diego in 1960, where they raised three children, Paul, Judy and Ellie. Sidney has remained a widower since Rena’s death from cancer in 1982. At age 99, he reminded Paul of his lifetime regret not meeting Civil War veterans. That initiated the National No Regrets Tour. The two-year tour is almost half-way completed.
A GoFundMe link has been set up on Sidney’s webpage, http://www.gosidney.com/.
Gov. Newsom was the 23rd governor to greet Sidney:
1. Gov. Gina Raimondo, RI – 4/24/18
2. Gov. Charlie Baker, MA – 4/30/18
3. Gov. Paul LePage, ME – 5/4/18
4. Gov. Dannel Malloy, CT – 5/10/18
5. Gov. Andrew Cuomo, NY – 5/18/18
6. Gov. Phil Murphy, NJ – 5/24/18
7. Gov. Eric Holcomb, IN – 5/28/18
8. Gov. Pete Ricketts, NE – 6/11/18
9. Gov. Bill Haslam, TN – 6/19/18
10. Gov. Matt Bevin, KY – 6/26/18
11. Gov. Bruce Rauner, IL – 7/3/18
12. Gov. Rick Scott, FL – 7/11/18
13. Gov. Bill Walker, AK – 9/25/18
14. Gov. David Ige, HI – 10/5/18
15. Gov. Jay Inslee, WA – 10/17/18
16. Gov. Kate Brown, OR – 10/22/18
17. Gov. John Edwards, LA – 12/11/18
18. Gov. Phil Bryant, MS – 12/17/18
19. Gov. Greg Abbott, TX – 12/18/18
20. Gov. Henry McMaster, SC – 4/26/19
21. Gov. Mike Parson, MO – 5/2/19
22. Gov. Roy Cooper, NC – 6/24/19
23. Gov. Gavin Newsom, CA – 7/29/19
24. Looking for sponsor.
*VIDEO (YouTube):
https://youtu.be/ITBcwgVAKaI
*SIDNEY’S YOUTUBE CHANNEL: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLh3_98Qmpqq0VUcS2a9F1A
*PHOTO link for media: https://www.Send2Press.com/300dpi/19-0729s2p-sidney-newsom-300dpi.jpg
*Photo caption: Sidney and California Gov. Gavin Newsom – 7/29/19, Sacramento.
Related link: https://gosidneygo.com
This news story was published by the Neotrope® News Network – all rights reserved.