World War II veteran stayed in trailer during Hurricane Ian

FORT MYERS, Fla. (WSVN) — A new story of survival for a World War II veteran. The 96-year-old rode out Hurricane Ian as the storm battered his Naples home and flooded the inside.

Walter stayed inside of his trailer on a blue recliner while most of the others in the area evacuated.

But that’s not what he told Marcy Haskins, his grandaughter.

“He told me he was at a shelter,” said Haskins while covering her face.

“I was off the ground, about 5 feet. I had a foot of water near where I was staying.”

Haskins found him after the storm sitting in the same chair, and she brought him to their house.

Walter said he was in shock as the water started rising inside his home.

“I didn’t know what to think at that point,” he said. “I just had to endure it. That’s all. The wind was howling, you know, and a big palm tree fell down and missed me by a foot or so.”

Knowing that most people lost everything, he is grateful that he and his family survived the storm.

“Well, that’s why I’m going on 97,” Walter said. “I’ve been in survival mode for a long time.”

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