Posted on 04/14/2025 8:07:20 AM PDT by DFG
At 106 years old, Vaughn Drake Jr. was the oldest known survivor of the attack on Pearl Harbor until his death on April 7, according to his obituary.
Born Nov. 6, 1918, in Winchester, Kentucky, Drake served in the Army Corps of Engineers during World War II. He saw the battles of Pearl Harbor and Saipan in the Marianas, collecting an array of honors including the special congressional medal for Pearl Harbor veterans and the World War II Victory Medal.
In 2016, the Lexington Herald-Leader sat down with Drake to record some of his memories of the fateful attack on Dec. 7, 1941. He was only 23 at the time, according to Pacific Historic Parks.
Drake recalled in his interview that he was in charge of a temporary power plant, ensuring carpenters had electricity for saws and other equipment. The crew was building new barracks at Kaneohe Naval Air Station, which is now a Marine Corps installation east of Pearl Harbor.
“We were getting ready to go to breakfast, and we heard all these planes flying over and making a lot of noise,” Drake told the newspaper. “We just figured it was the Army Air Corps carrying out maneuvers for practice, like they did a lot. We didn’t pay much attention to it.”
Drake said they went to the chow line for breakfast and saw planes over the naval air station, diving about.
“We thought, ‘Boy, they’re really putting on a good show,’” he said.
They saw the red dots on the wings, marking them as Japanese, but Drake said they still couldn’t believe what they were seeing.
One of the officers was in contact with headquarters at Schofield Barracks in Oahu, calling out, “This is an attack! The Japanese are attacking the whole island!” Drake said.
(Excerpt) Read more at nbcnews.com ...
I knew a Peral Harbor survivor 45 years ago. He was Navy, can’t remember his rank. Robert McClintock. He would get interviewed every year or two by the local Orlando media.
Remembering Pearl Harbor: The 50th Anniversary - 1991
Hosted by Edward Woodward
https://youtu.be/zdjWOZdcf1o
It’s always a jolt when recent history becomes ancient history.
My Dad was in Pearl Harbor getting breakfast in Schofield Barracks. That’s all he would say about it. He died in 2005 at 85. Served in WWll, Korea, 2 tours in Vietnam. Every decade there was a new hell to deal with. He retired Army after 27 years and got his barbers license. He was a very quite man. In Arl Natl.
I truly hope he had a good life. That was a horrible trauma for a young person.
Rest In Peace, Vaughn Drake Jr and thank you very much for your service.
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God Bless this man, RIP.
It’s always a jolt when recent history becomes ancient history.
Ain’t that the truth.
They built ‘em to last, in Kentucky.
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