Veteran on a mission

101-year-old visits state to meet governor as part of no-regrets tour.

LITTLE ROCK — At 20 years old, Sidney Walton said he skipped his chance to have a brush with history — to meet face-to-face with some of the last living Civil War veterans.

At age 99, still living with regret over that decision nearly 80 years earlier, the World War II veteran decided to flip the script on his missed opportunity.

Now 101, Walton is on the backstretch of a cross-country tour to meet the governors of all 50 states while inviting people along the way to meet him, a living part of history.

On Thursday, two days before the 75th anniversary of victory over Japan Day, Walton visited the Arkansas Capitol and met Gov. Asa Hutchinson and Lt. Gov. Tim Griffin.

Hutchinson is the 33rd governor Walton has met during his “No Regrets Tour,” which began more than two years ago in New Hampshire.

Hutchinson said he was “eternally grateful” to meet Walton. He introduced him

to a room full of military veterans and posed for photographs with him. Hutchinson also called over his young grandson to stand behind Walton for a photo.

Griffin, a member of the Army Reserve, said Walton’s visit was a reminder showing respect for veterans is “something to make time for.”

Walton was born in Manhattan, a borough of New York City, and joined the Army in the spring 1941 at age 21. He volunteered about nine months before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, according to his family.

Walton was compelled to join the Army because of what he was hearing and reading about the war in Europe. He thought the United States’ involvement was imminent.

He said he joined the Army “to fight Hitler.”

Because of the covid-19 pandemic, Walton won’t board a plane. He is doing the rest of his tour by car, and he hopes to meet the remaining 17 governors before the end of the year.

He’s being accompanied by his son, Paul, 64, and daughter, Judy, 62.

On Wednesday, he spent his day in Northwest Arkansas and visited the Walmart Museum in Bentonville.

Kevin Caldwell, the northeast area vice commander of the American Legion Department of Arkansas, stood on the front steps of the Capitol building and watched as Walton was photographed next to Griffin.

“I think it’s a much-needed statement right now,” Caldwell said of Walton’s visit. “The world is unraveling before our eyes. People like him might be the glue that holds us all together.”

After enlisting in the Army, Walton received a bachelor of science degree in chemical engineering at Virginia Tech.

“They were training him in chemical warfare,” his son said.

After he finished college, he went to Alabama for training. He was about to go to Europe to fight in the Battle of the Bulge but broke an ankle one day before he was scheduled to ship out, his son said.

He referred to his father’s ankle injury as “a lucky break,” pointing out that he could have been “one ricochet away” from being maimed or killed.

After his recovery, Sidney Walton eventually joined the China Burma India Theater.

Memories of his war experience have faded, but Walton was never one to talk about it often, even when he could fully recall it, his son said.

“Do you think of yourself as a hero, Dad?” Paul Walton asked his father Wednesday night.

“No,” the older man told him.

The younger Walton said his father is like many World War II veterans. After he came home, he wanted to carry on with his life, raise a family and try to forget about the horrors he saw. Walton went on to become a professor of geology at Duke University and earned an advanced degree at Yale University.

Eventually the family settled in San Diego, where Sidney Walton worked as a chemical engineer.

The decision a few years ago to tour the United States came about after Walton told his children about his chance to meet some of the last surviving Civil War veterans. He wasn’t certain about the time or place, but thought it could have been at the 1939 World’s Fair in Queens, N.Y.

Walton was 20 years old at the time. He thought about going, but didn’t.

“You had one regret your whole life, right Dad?” his son asked him. “You regret not meeting Civil War veterans.”

“Oh yes,” his father said, raising his voice from his normal whisper. “I always wanted to meet Civil War veterans and that was my opportunity. “I was just a kid.” Paul Walton said his father’s No Regrets Tour has been bittersweet. Walton requires a lot of rest, and his energy level is often up and down, as is his capacity to remember details.

He still recognizes adoration from the people who approach him and talk to him. He will smile, lift his arm and wave.

He hears, “thank you for your service” multiple times per day. He always conveys his appreciation, by his words or by his expression.

Sidney Walton has always been a traveler. It’s what he prefers. That hasn’t changed, even at age 101.

“So you’d rather be traveling than sitting at an old-age home?” his son asked him.

“Yes,” he said. “Absolutely.”