86-year-old Army veteran loses Altadena home in Eaton Fire

PASADENA, Calif. (KABC) -- Fighting tears, 86-year-old Army veteran Roosevelt Pullem recounted the last time he saw his Altadena home standing.

"I just cried. I couldn't help it. I kept thinking to myself: you have the memories," he said. "What my daughter always tells me: it is what it is."

The Army veteran was staying at the evacuation center at the Pasadena Convention Center after his home on Highview Avenue in Altadena was reduced to rubble in the Eaton Fire. Everything is gone except for his 1963 Volkswagen Beetle.

Pullem says the flames came up so fast all he could do was grab his car keys and flee with the clothes on his back.

About to celebrate his 87th birthday next month, the spry senior says he has seen what is left of his home and says he's too old to start over again.

"I've experienced the good and the bad and the ugly, but in my lifetime, the good has outweighed the ugly way (more) than I ever dreamed," he said.

A GoFundMe page has been established to help Pullem.