USS Arizona survivor: Honor those killed at Pearl Harbor
HONOLULU (AP) — USS Arizona sailor Lou Conter lived through the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor even though his battleship exploded and sank after being pierced by aerial bombs.
That makes the now 101-yearold somewhat of a celebrity, especially on the anniversary of the Dec. 7, 1941, assault. Many call him and others in the nation's dwindling pool of Pearl Harbor survivors heroes.
Conter rejects the characterization.
"The 2,403 men that died are the heroes. And we've got to honor them ahead of everybody else. And I've said that every time, and I think it should be stressed," Conter said in a recent interview at his Grass Valley, California, home north of Sacramento.
On Wednesday, the U.S. Navy and the National Park Service will host a remembrance ceremony at Pearl Harbor in honor of those killed.
Last year about 30 survivors and some 100 other veterans of the war made the pilgrimage to the annual event. But the U.S. Navy and the National Park Service anticipate only one or two survivors will likely attend in person this year. Another 20 to 30 veterans of World War II are also expected to be there.
Conter won't be among them. He attended for many years, most recently in 2019. But his doctor has told him the five-hour flight, plus hours of waiting at airports, is too strenuous for him now.
"I'm going on 102 now. It's kind of hard to mess around," Conter said.
Instead he plans to watch a video feed of this year's 81st anniversary observance from home. He's also recorded a message that will be played for those attending.
Conter's autobiography "The Lou Conter Story" recounts how one of the Japanese bombs penetrated five steel decks on the Arizona and ignited over 1 million pounds of gunpowder and thousands of pounds of ammunition.
"The ship was consumed in a giant fireball that looked as if it engulfed everything from the mainmast forward," he wrote.
He joined other survivors in tending to the injured, many of whom were blinded and badly burned. The sailors only abandoned ship when their senior surviving officer was sure they had rescued all those still alive.
The Arizona's 1,177 dead account for nearly half the servicemen killed in the bombing. The battleship today sits where it sank 81 years ago, with more than 900 of its dead still entombed inside.
Conter wasn't injured at Pearl Harbor, during World War II or the Korean War.
This year's remembrance ceremony is the first to be open to the public since the 2019. The pandemic forced the adoption of strict public health measures for the last two years.
David Kilton, the National Park Service's chief of interpretation for Pearl Harbor, said he's not sure how many people will attend but they're anticipating between 2,000 to 3,000 people.
It will be held at the Pearl Harbor National Memorial visitors center which overlooks the water and the white structure built to honor those killed on the Arizona.
Organizers have set a theme of "Everlasting Legacy" for this year's ceremony, highlighting how fewer and fewer survivors remain.