HAMPTON, Va. - Hundreds filled the worship space inside Liberty Baptist Church on Thursday to remember a U.S. Navy sailor who tragically drowned last week.
Mourners included family and friends of Walter Torres, Jr. as well as fellow service members.
Torres, 25, worked on the USS San Francisco for the past year and was on the USS La Jolla before that. He was swimming at College Creek Beach in James City County last Friday when he got caught in the current and never resurfaced.
Those who spoke during the emotional Thursday morning service described Torres as a man of God who loved country music and would go out of his way to help anyone.
"It never crossed my mind he was touching a lot of people. It just blew us away. We just didn't have any idea," his mother Mary Torres said when she and Walter Torres, Sr. spoke with News 3 ahead of the funeral on Wednesday.
During the service, Torres' commanding officer presented his parents with the flag flown on the USS San Francisco to mark his passing.
In addition to being an active member of Liberty Baptist Church, Torres was also heavily involved in the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Virginia Peninsula.
