Last survivor of the Pearl Harbor attack dies

Last survivor of the Pearl Harbor attack dies

Kyiv  •  UNN

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Warren Upton, a survivor of the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, has died at the age of 105 from pneumonia. He was the last surviving crew member of the USS Utah battleship, which sank during the Japanese attack.

Warren Upton, the oldest man to survive the attack on Pearl Harbor in the United States, has died at the age of 105, UNN reports citing Newsweek.

Details

Warren Upton died after a bout of pneumonia in a hospital in Los Gatos, California. This was reported by Kathleen Farley, chairman of the California organization "Sons and Daughters of Pearl Harbor Survivors". 

Attack in Pearl Harbor

On December 7, 1941, Japan launched a surprise attack on the Pearl Harbor naval base on the island of Oahu. More than 2,400 Americans were killed and 1,000 more were injured. Almost 20 American ships and more than 300 aircraft were destroyed or damaged. Upton was the last survivor of the USS Utah battleship, which was docked in Pearl Harbor when Japanese planes began bombing Hawaii.

The result of this attack was that the United States took part in World War II.

The story of Warren Upton in Pearl Harbor

In 2020, Upton spoke to the Associated Press (AP) about the Pearl Harbor attack.

Upton, then 22, was planning to shave when he felt the first torpedo hit the ship. Those on board did not know what caused the ship to rock. When the second torpedo hit, water began to enter the ship, it tilted to one side and capsized.

Upton swam ashore to Ford Island, east of Pearl Harbor, and then jumped into a trench where he stayed for about 30 minutes until a truck arrived and took him to safety.

Recall

John Tinniswood died on at the age of 112, a few months after being recognized as the world's oldest man. Born the year of the Titanic sinking, he survived two world wars and two pandemics.