A military veteran believed to be the oldest survivor from the attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on Dec. 7, 1941, has died.
Vaughn P. Drake, Jr., was 106 when he passed away on April 7, according to reports. Drake served as an Army engineer stationed at Kaneohe Naval Air Station in Oahu, Hawaii, during the attack. He was 23 years old when the Japanese launched the surprise attack on the U.S. Pacific fleet that led the U.S. to enter World War II.
In addition to Pearl Harbor, Drake served in the Battle of Saipan from June 15 to July 9, 1944, as part of Operation Forager. It was a strategic victory for the U.S. military, allowing them to gain control of the Marianas Islands, which was used as a base to launch bombing campaigns in close proximity to Tokyo, Japan. Historians compared the significance of this battle to the Allied “breakthrough” at Normandy, France, on D-Day. It was a bloody conflict and both sides sustained heavy casualties, including 5,000 Americans killed during the battle.
Drake received much recognition for his service and was awarded the Army Good Conduct Medal, the Asiatic-Pacific Medal with two battle stars, the American Defense Medal with Foreign Service bar, and the World War II Victory Medal, according to his obituary. He also received the Congressional Medal for the Veterans of Pearl Harbor.
Additionally, Drake was a member of the Society of American Military Engineers and Veterans of Foreign Wars.
Kentucky’s Lexington Herald-Leader interviewed Drake about his experience at Pearl Harbor in Dec. 2016. He explained that he was surprised the Japanese were able to pull off the attack and said that the soldiers he served with did not think they were capable of pulling off such a military feat.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION CLAIMS IT HAS NO DUTY TO RETURN DEPORTED MIGRANT FROM EL SALVADOR
“We couldn’t believe it,” Drake said in the interview. “We were still in the barracks when they first hit. We thought it was Army maneuvers, Army Air Force maneuvers. We went out, and … we thought it was maneuvers still, even though some of the planes had red spots on them. There’s no way Japan could get planes over Pearl Harbor! We didn’t think it could possibly happen.”
“Until we saw a bomb hit one of the buildings at Kaneohe Naval Air Station, and smoke rose up,” Drake said. “We knew by then it was more than just a maneuver. It had to be a real attack. It just didn’t seem possible. No one could possibly believe that such a thing could happen. Even while it was happening, we didn’t believe it.”
