Raymond Haerry, one of last surviving members of the USS Arizona that was attacked in Pearl Harbor in 1941, leading the United States into World War II, died in late September at age 94 in West Warwick, Rhode Island.
Haerry left the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to join the Navy in 1940 and was assigned to the USS Arizona before the attack, the Arizona Republic reported. An explosion during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor blew him off the ship but he survived, according to the Republic.
Haerry's arrangements were pending, noted the newspaper, but his son, Raymond Haerry Jr., said he wanted his father's remains to be interred in the submerged Arizona at Pearl Harbor. The Republic said that honor is offered to the men who were members of the ship's final crew.
The newspaper said Haerry's death leaves five living USS Arizona survivors: Lauren Bruner, 95, of La Mirada, California; Lou Conter, 95, of Grass Valley, California; Lonnie Cook, 95, of Morris, Oklahoma; Ken Potts, 95, of Provo, Utah; and Donald Stratton, 94, of Colorado Springs, Colorado.
According to The Associated Press, the USS Arizona lost 1,177 men, nearly four-fifths of its crew during the attack on Pearl Harbor. Haerry Jr. told The AP that his father ran to an anti-aircraft gun in an attempt to fight back but the ammunition was in storage.
Haerry Jr. said that his father tried to get ammunition, but a large bomb detonated before he could respond. He ended up swimming to shore and shot at Japanese planes from there, the AP noted.
Haerry worked on the deck crew, cleaning and painting, operating the boats that ferried crew members to shore, the Republic noted. He was on shore Dec. 7 with several other crew members eating breakfast when the Japanese attack started.
Haerry continued to serve during World War II and the Korean War, teaching officer candidates on land in the years after, according to the Republic.
Many shared their condolences for Haerry on social media.