Warren Upton, the oldest living survivor of the 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and the last remaining survivor of the USS Utah, has died at the age of 105. Upton passed away on Wednesday at a hospital in Los Gatos, California, after suffering from pneumonia.
The USS Utah was moored at Pearl Harbor when Japanese planes began bombing the Hawaii naval base in the early hours of December 7, 1941, an attack that drew the United States into World War II. Upton, then 22 years old, was getting ready to shave when the first torpedo hit the ship, causing it to list and capsize. He swam ashore to Ford Island, where he took shelter in a trench to avoid Japanese planes strafing the area. He was later taken to safety in a truck.
The selfless Upton did not show any mercy in sharing his ordeal, but instead was saddened by the loss of his shipmates over the years. By 2020, only three crew members of the Utah were still alive, including Upton. There were an estimated 87,000 military personnel on Oahu on the day of the attack, but after Upton’s death, only 15 still remain.