The oldest survivor of the Pearl Harbor attack amid World War II has died at the age of 105.
Warren Upton at a hospital in Los Gatos, California, on Wednesday after battling pneumonia, according to the state chair of the Sons and Daughters of Pearl Harbor Survivors, Kathleen Farley.
‘It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of Pearl Harbor Survivor Warren “Red” Upton, the last living survivor of the USS Utah,’ stated Pacific Historic Parks on Facebook on Thursday.
Upton, who was serving as a radioman aboard the USS Utah battleship in Oahu, was about to shave when a Japanese torpedo struck it early on December 7, 1941.
The vessel shook and no one knew what it was, but it started to capsize after another torpedo struck.
Upton, then 22 years old, swam to Ford Island and hid in a trench to hide from Japanese aircraft overhead.
‘Along the way, he helped another shipmate who couldn’t swim,’ stated Pacific Historic Parks.
A half hour later, he was rescued by a truck.
Many shipmates were not able to escape the vessel as it overturned and 58 died that day.
After the attack, which drew the US into World War II, Upton kept working as a radioman throughout the conflict.
The survivor opened up about the ordeal in 2020, when only three Utah crew members including himself were still alive. Upton said it did not bother him to talk about the devastating day, but that it upset him to lose shipmates as the years passed.
‘Once it was over, he returned home, married, and had a family,’ stated Pacific Historic Parks.
Upton’s wife, a former Navy nurse named Gene, died in 2018.
There were about 87,000 military members in Oahu that day, per historian J Michael Wenger. Only 15 remain alive.
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