USS Arizona survivor laid to rest inside sunken battleship

KITV Island News ^ | Apr 16, 2017 | Mackenzie Stasko

[tje]

A USS Arizona sailor who survived the attack on Pearl Harbor was laid to rest inside the ship he escaped.

The remains of Retired Master Chief Petty Officer Raymond Haerry, 94, were interred inside the hull of the USS Arizona Saturday afternoon. More than 100 people gathered at the USS Arizona Memorial for the interment ceremony -- a symbolic military funeral only offered to shipmates who survived the attack.

[tje]

Rest In Peace

[knarf]

The spiritual and symbolism is overwhelming.

The last scene of "The Titanic" comes to mind.

Rest In Peace, sailor.

[CGASMIA68]

My Dad was at Pearl,Hickham on Dec 7. Per his request his cremains are in Pearl Harbor.

[exit82]

O God, where do we get such men?

A team of U.S. Navy and National Park Services divers took Haerry to his final resting place. They placed his urn in turret #3, an area of the ship they believe is near the remains of the shipmates who died during the attack on Dec. 7, 1941.

"This was the first time that I was thinking I'm also saying goodbye at the same time," said Haerry's granddaughter, Jessica Marino, who handed the urn to the divers. "It was sad, but it was also a really nice moment too."

Haerry was 19-years-old at the time of the attack. Martinez said the blast threw him from the ship, "The oil that was belching out of the ships ignited because of the explosion and he had to swim through that, got to Ford Island, got some medical care and somehow got a gun and fired back at the enemy and survived that day."

Haerry is now the 42nd USS Arizona survivor to rejoin his shipmates. Out of the 335 who survived that day, five are still alive.

[IncPen]

ping

[Eric in the Ozarks]

And the ‘tears from the Arizona” continue to bubble up from the bunker tanks...

[Alas Babylon!]

That amazed me when saw it first hand in 1986. And to think that oil is STILL coming up today...

[jmacusa]

Rest in peace CPO Haerry.

[Ciaphas Cain]

Legend has it that the oil will continue to rise to the surface until the last of her crew is laid to rest.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

I sold N6 oil and blends to Great Lakes steamships for many years and immediately recognized the smell when we visited the Arizona five years ago. The drips will likely continue for decades if not longer. She went down with about two million gallons of oil, or so I was told.
One of the unspoken issues with the Navy at Pearl is what to do if the wreck destabilizes and falls to pieces on the floor of the harbor. There was talk about building a cement sarcophagus around the BB but no one is command wants to even talk about it, fearing it will begin to collapse on their watch...

[Doogle]

RIP

[IronJack]

A Band of Brothers reunited at last.

[Terry Mross]

One of the things all sailors are taught in boot camp is how to swim through water with oil burning on top. Glad I never had to do it.

[freefdny]

I had a chance not too long ago to visit Pearl Harbor. It was amazing. God bless your dad.

[Afterguard]

Rest in peace, Master Chief.

[Afterguard]

Fair winds and following seas!

[Eric in the Ozarks]

We took the Navy launch out to the memorial with a dozen young Japanese tourists. I asked one young lady why they wanted to see the remains of the Arizona.

She said she and her friends wanted to see what their fathers and grandfathers had done. They couldn’t believe it.

Not much about the attack is taught in japan.

[luv2ndamend]

Thanks for your service Chief!

#Nosnowflakehere

[Rusty0604]

Rest in peace.

[Cen-Tejas]

Great story!

Thanks for posting!