101-Year-Old N.J. War Vet, Pearl Harbor Survivor Dies In Memorial Day Weekend Car Wreck

A 101-year-old New Jersey war veteran and Pearl Harbor survivor died from injuries he suffered in a Memorial Day weekend car crash, city officials said.

John Walton, a retired Paterson firefighter, died Tuesday from injuries he suffered two days earlier when his car crashed into a Paterson firehouse, city officials said.

Walton was one of 16 people to die in car crashes, shootings and other incidents in New Jersey during a deadly Memorial Day weekend.

Read more: UPDATE: New Jersey Memorial Day Weekend Deaths Rise To 16

Friends described Walton as "a magnet" for kids who were drawn to him because of his kindness and his storytelling.

"While he survived Pearl Harbor and the dangers of being a Paterson firefighter, John Walton unfortunately did not survive a car crash," said Councilman André Sayegh, who asked the public to extend heartfelt condolences to his family.

Walton was in the barracks at Pearl Harbor when the Japanese planes attacked. He provided this account to The Record:

“We heard this plane screaming. What’s going on? This is a Sunday!” Walton said in an interview with The Record five years ago. “And then we started hearing the bombs going off. We went to the window and see this plane flying over our heads, with the red spots on it. It was probably dropping a bomb on the ol’ Utah out there. Somebody had the sense to say, ‘Better get down to the first floor.’ That’s when it all started for us."

Walton told The Record he and others were in the mess hall on the first floor when, suddenly, he saw a number of service members swimming from the battleships to land, full of oil and in shock.

Walton was discharged from the Navy in September 1945 and then became a city firefighter, rising to the rank of captain before he retired in 1980, according to the report.

Walton was recently honored by the Boys Club for his service to the community, and he was the longest living Paterson firefighter at 101 years old, city officials said.

On Memorial Day weekend, Walton helped city officials and firefighters by placing memorial flags at Holy Sepulchre cemetery.

Photo: Councilman André Sayegh (left), John Walton