Last living survivor on board of USS Arizona during Pearl Harbor attack dies at ... trends now
The last living survivor of the USS Arizona, a battleship sunk in the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor, has died aged 102.
Lou Conter passed away on Monday at his home in Grass Valley, California, after complications with congestive heart failure, his daughter Louann Daley said.
He was just 18 when he enlisted in the U.S. Navy and was a quartermaster who stood on the main deck of the Arizona when Japanese planes flew over and attacked on December 7, 1941.
'I said, "Ok, I'll sign up", so I signed up for four years, I was going to leave at 5:45 that night,' Conter told KCRA.
The assault, which launched the United States into World War II, destroyed most of the fleet stationed at the Hawaii naval base and resulted in the deaths of more than 2,000 Americans.
Around 20 people who were at the surprise attack remain alive today.
Lou Conter, he last living survivor of the USS Arizona that was attacked in 1941 by Japan, died on Monday at 102 due to complications with congestive heart failure
The assault, which launched the United States into World War II , destroyed most of the fleet stationed at the Hawaii naval base and resulted in the deaths of more than 2,000 Americans
He was just 18 when he enlisted in the U.S. Navy and was a quartermaster who stood on the main deck of the Arizona when Japanese planes flew over on December 7, 1941
Conter recalled the very moment the bomb hit the steel decks and set off more than 1million pounds of gunpowder that was stored below.
'Guys were running out of the fire and trying to jump over the sides,' Conter said. 'Oil all over the sea was burning.'
In December, Conter, who wanted to attend the Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day ceremony in Hawaii, decided not to so he could preserve his health.
At a previous event in 2021, Conter said: 'I was aboard the USS Arizona that morning and witnessed the awful destruction that occurred.'
'I was grateful to have survived and to have had the opportunity to serve throughout World War II.'
'It is a great honor to recognize the men and women who were a part of this history. And especially those who didn't get to see the legacy they would leave behind.'
'Before I finish this I want to say, of the 2,403 servicemen that fell that day, 1,177 of my shipmates aboard the USS Arizona, God bless you. Today remains behind to those men.'
'A lot of people call us heroes, but we're really not heroes. The ones who gave everything, their lives, are the heroes.'
Other survivors who did attend the ceremony returned to the scene of Pearl Harbor together.
The memorial was held on a field across the harbor from the USS Arizona Memorial, a
