And now there is only one left.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/u...s-dies-102-rcna81011

HONOLULU — Ken Potts, one of the last two remaining survivors of the USS Arizona battleship, which sank during the 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, has died. He was 102.

Howard Kenton Potts died Friday at the home in Provo, Utah, that he shared with his wife of 66 years, according to Randy Stratton, whose late father, Donald Stratton, was Potts’ Arizona shipmate and close friend.

Stratton said Potts' mind sound but lately he was having a hard time getting out of bed. When Stratton spoke to Potts on his birthday, April 15, he was happy to have made it to 102.

“But he knew that his body was kind of shutting down on him, and he was just hoping that he could get better but (it) turned out not,” Stratton said.

Potts was born and raised in Honey Bend, Illinois, and enlisted in the Navy in 1939.

He was working as a crane operator shuttling supplies to the Arizona the morning of Dec. 7, 1941, when Pearl Harbor was attacked, according to a 2021 article by the Utah National Guard.

In a 2020 oral history interview with the American Veterans Center, Potts said a loudspeaker ordered sailors back to their ships so he got on a boat.

“When I got back to Pearl Harbor, the whole harbor was afire,” He said in the interview. “The oil had leaked out and caught on fire and was burning.”

Dozens of ships sank, capsized or were damaged in the bombing of the Hawaii naval base, which catapulted the U.S. into World War II.

Sailors were tossed or forced to jump into the oily muck below, and Potts and his fellow sailors pulled some to safety in their boat.

The Arizona sank just nine minutes after being bombed, and its 1,177 dead account for nearly half the servicemen killed in the attack. Today the battleship still sits where it sank eight decades ago, with more than 900 dead entombed inside.

Potts recalled decades later that some people were still giving orders in the midst of the attack but there was also a lot of chaos. He carried his memories of the attack over the course of his long life.

“Even after I got out of the Navy, out in the open, and heard a siren, I’d shake,” he said.

Stratton noted that the only remaining survivor from the Arizona is now Lou Conter, who is 101 and living in California.

“This is history. It’s going away,” Stratton said, adding: “And once (Conter is) gone, who tells all their stories?”

Several dozen Arizona survivors have had their ashes interred on the sunken battleship so they could join their shipmates, but Potts didn’t want that, according to Stratton.

“He said he got off once, he’s not going to go back on board again,” he said.

Stratton said many Arizona survivors shared a similar dry sense of humor. That included his own father, who was severely burned in the attack and also did not want to return to the ship as ashes in an urn.

Potts is survived by his wife, Doris. Information on other survivors was not immediately available.

I was lucky enough to meet 4 survivors in 2016, iirc they were the last 4. The 5th had just passed and would be interred the next day.

Later met a Vietnam War Medal of Honor recipient in the same day.

Was quite the fantastic day.

Oh hear us when we cry to thee,
for those in peril on the sea.
102. Quite a life! The Doolittle Raiders are now all gone and only one Arizona vet remains.

quote:

Originally posted by OttoSig:
I was lucky enough to meet 4 survivors in 2016, iirc they were the last 4. The 5th had just passed and would be interred the next day.

So then you met the gentleman that is the subject of this thread ?

quote:

Originally posted by selogic:

quote:

Originally posted by OttoSig:
I was lucky enough to meet 4 survivors in 2016, iirc they were the last 4. The 5th had just passed and would be interred the next day.

So then you met the gentleman that is the subject of this thread ?

I cannot confirm as I don't remember the names. And I can't 100% say that all surviving members were present, but I'm about 94% sure that that was the case and the name actually sounds familiar. So yes, I believe I met this gentleman in 2016, along with the lone remaining survivor.

The reason I can't be 100% is because I recall them speaking about someone who was ill at the time and couldn't make it. So I'm a little fuzzy on the details as you can see.

ETA: Funny part was, we were all in dress whites, and the survivors thought the group of about 12 of us looked so good, and they were commenting how nice we looked, and thank you for your service and invited us to a private'ish talk. We were interviewed by the local news...and all the while we are thinking how incredible these men were. How they were sitting there, not concerned with the events that took place, or their age, or their family and friends. Their main concern was to finally some day be placed with their "brothers" when that day came. We were in awe and they had our complete respect and all they could focus on was our uniforms. It was quite humbling to say the least.

quote:

Originally posted by YooperSigs:
Oh hear us when we cry to thee,
for those in peril on the sea.
102. Quite a life! The Doolittle Raiders are now all gone and only one Arizona vet remains.

I believe there is only 1 survivor left from the Indianapolis.

Some 20/25 yrs ago at a buffet resturant saw 3 elderly couples (3men/3women) at a table and one of the men was wearing a cap with a ships name on it.. While approaching the table I saw the ships name --"USS Arizona"....... After excusing myself the cap wearer said that it was his ship but was on shore at the time of the attack Dec. 7th, 1941 and the two other men were there at Pearl Harbor on shore during the attack..... I graciously thanked the men for their service.... Almost could not believe that I had found 3 Pearl Harbor survivors in one location at the same time......... ................. drill sgt.

RIP seaman Potts. You had a good run.

I presume he will be interred in the Arizona along with his shipmates?

flashguy

Nope...

“He said he got off once, he’s not going to go back on board again,”

Closest I've ever come to The Arizona is flying over it back in the 90's ... and she still bleeds oil. Quite a humbling thing to realize that 900 sailers are still down there.

I'm not being funny, just the thought came to me being from the Navy.

Those guys being part of the list and being at the end of it at that feels like being in the end of a backed up chow line. And you can see you're close to being served but they're serving SOS.

I don't know how I'd feel if I were them - having the right to be buried with their shipmates - whether it's an honor or an impending eventuality.

Rest In Peace.

I like SOS. I had the pleasure of having taken the Arizona ferry escorted by several Pearl Harbor survivors in 1996. I felt privileged to have met them, and do more so today. Having served in the USNR, the Arizona is hallowed ground. RIP Seaman Potts, we have the watch

Only one left. I have no words to describe how I feel about that. RIP Sir.

I bought an Arizona hat when we were there 3 years ago. I lost it and just found it a couple of days ago and have been wearing it. I will keep doing so now.

Last December 7, my son ( a Navy junior grade Lt) was part of a detail raising flags over the memorial to be sold at the gift shop.

As part of the ceremonies, he was fortunate enough to meet and have his picture taken with Jack Holder, a Pearl Harbor survivor who was on Ford Island the day of the attack. Mr Holder went on to see combat at Midway, Guadalcanal, the Solomon Islands, and the European Theater.

After reading this thread, I Googled Mr Holder and discovered he passed away in February at the age of 101.