Fewer and Fewer remain every day. Glad the sailor was able to make the journey back to Pearl.

My Dad enlisted in the Army shortly after Pearl. Fearing an invasion, he was stationed in the Pacific in a Patrol Torpedo Boat. He has a letter from his commanding officer stating he is medical disqualified from combat duty due to his height of 6' 7"


HONOLULU (AP) — When Japanese bombs began falling on Pearl Harbor, U.S. Navy Seaman 1st Class David Russell first sought refuge below deck on the USS Oklahoma.

But a split-second decision on that December morning 80 years ago changed his mind, and likely saved his life.

“They started closing that hatch. And I decided to get out of there,” Russell, now 101, said in a recent interview.

Within 12 minutes his battleship would capsize under a barrage of torpedoes. Altogether 429 sailors and Marines from the Oklahoma would perish — the greatest death toll from any ship that day other than the USS Arizona, which lost 1,177.

Russell plans to return to Pearl Harbor on Tuesday for a ceremony in remembrance of the more than 2,300 American troops killed in the Dec. 7, 1941, attack that launched the U.S. into World War II.

About 30 survivors and 100 other veterans from the war are expected to observe a moment of silence at 7:55 a.m., the minute the attack began.



more:
https://apnews.com/article/pearl-ha...-hawaii-d3db8d688fb1c8fcc2045c00266f3aff

Wishing him a safe trip, along with the other survivors of that terrible day. Also, he looks great for being 101 years old.

He sure does. Good for him.

I was five years old and remember it well.