Oldest known Pearl Harbor survivor dies at 106

At 106 years old, Vaughn Drake Jr.

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.

Vaughn Drake Jr. of Lexington, Ky.Milward Funeral Home“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.”

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/oldest-pearl-harbor-survivor-dies-rcna200986

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