Pearl Harbour Survivors Aged 104 and 102 Return to Hawaii to Honour Victims of 1941 Attack

AP Ira "Ike" Schab, a 104-year-old survivor of the Pearl Harbour attack, recently participated in a remembrance ceremony. He underwent six weeks of physical therapy to gain the strength needed to stand and salute during the event. This ceremony commemorates those who lost their lives in the Japanese bombing that led the US into World War II 83 years ago.

During the ceremony, Schab stood from his wheelchair and saluted sailors on a passing destroyer and submarine. "He's been working hard because this is his goal," said his daughter, Kimberlee Heinrichs. She travelled with Schab from Beaverton, Oregon, to Hawaii for the ceremony. "He wanted to be able to stand for that."

Survivors Honour Fallen Comrades

Schab was one of only two servicemen who survived the attack and attended the annual remembrance event hosted by the US Navy and National Park Service. A third survivor had planned to attend but had to cancel due to health issues. The December 7, 1941, bombing claimed over 2,300 US servicemen's lives, with nearly half being sailors and Marines aboard the USS Arizona.

The remains of more than 900 crew members are still entombed in the sunken USS Arizona. In past years, dozens of survivors attended these ceremonies, but their numbers have dwindled as they age. Currently, only 16 survivors are still alive, according to Kathleen Farley, California state chair of the Sons and Daughters of Pearl Harbour Survivors.

Memories of a Historic Day

Military historian J. Michael Wenger estimates that around 87,000 military personnel were stationed on Oahu during the attack. Schab agreed earlier this year to salute on behalf of all survivors and World War II veterans when asked by ceremony organisers. "I was honoured to do it. I'm glad I was capable of standing up. I'm getting old, you know," he said.

Schab served as a sailor on the USS Dobbin during the attack and played tuba in the ship's band. He had just showered and changed into a clean uniform when he heard a call for a fire rescue party. Rushing topside, he saw Japanese planes overhead and witnessed the USS Utah capsizing before joining other sailors in passing shells to an anti-aircraft gun.

Recollections from Fellow Survivors

Ken Stevens, aged 102, who served on the USS Whitney, joined Schab at the ceremony. Bob Fernandez, a sailor from USS Curtiss aged 100, had planned to attend but cancelled due to health issues. Attendees observed a moment of silence at 7:54 a.m., marking the time when the attack began eight decades ago. F-22 jets flew overhead in missing man formation shortly after.

Before the ceremony, Fernandez recalled feeling shocked as the attack began: "When those things go off like that, we didn't know what's what," he said. "We didn't even know we were in a war." As a mess cook on Curtiss, Fernandez's job was serving coffee and food during breakfast when an alarm sounded.

A Day Marked by Courage

Fernandez saw a plane with Japan's red ball insignia through a porthole before rushing down three decks to a magazine room with other sailors. They waited for someone to unlock a door storing shells so they could pass them to the ship's guns. Over time, Fernandez has shared that some sailors prayed and cried as gunfire echoed above.

"I felt kind of scared because I didn't know what the hell was going on," Fernandez said. The Curtiss's guns hit a Japanese plane that crashed into one of its cranes and later struck a dive bomber that exploded below deck. This set fire to both hangar and main decks according to Navy History and Heritage Command records.

The Curtiss lost 21 men with nearly 60 sailors injured during this attack. While many view Pearl Harbour survivors as heroes, Fernandez does not see himself that way: "I'm not a hero," he told The Associated Press from California where he now resides with his nephew in Lodi. "I'm just nothing but an ammunition passer."