Johnson Becomes Oldest Pearl Harbor Survivor at 106 as Only 11 Attack Survivors Remain
Updated
Updated · POLITICO · May 24
Johnson Becomes Oldest Pearl Harbor Survivor at 106 as Only 11 Attack Survivors Remain
12 articles · Updated · POLITICO · May 24
Johnson, 106, became the oldest known Pearl Harbor survivor after Ira “Ike” Schab died in December at 105, pushing the former Navy fireman into a more public role.
Only 11 survivors of the Dec. 7, 1941 attack are still alive, a dwindling group from the roughly 87,000 troops on Oahu when the bombing killed just over 2,400 service members.
Johnson says he was too busy to feel fear that day aboard the St. Louis and still recalls wartime details vividly, including helping commission the USS Iowa and watching Japan’s surrender from Tokyo Bay.
His daughter Diane has urged him to keep telling the story at schools and remembrance events, as annual Pearl Harbor commemorations draw ever fewer surviving veterans.
Memorial Day on Monday gives added weight to Johnson’s role as one of the last living witnesses to the attack that propelled the United States into World War II.
As living history fades, what untold stories of Pearl Harbor now risk being lost forever?
How will the memory of Pearl Harbor be preserved for generations to come when the last witnesses are gone?
Why does the oldest Pearl Harbor survivor say the attack wasn't the most important day of his life?