Current:Home > ScamsLou Conter, the final USS Arizona survivor from Pearl Harbor, dies at 102 -TradeWisdom
Lou Conter, the final USS Arizona survivor from Pearl Harbor, dies at 102
View
Date:2025-04-18 02:05:59
Lou Conter, the final surviving crewmember of those aboard the USS Arizona during the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, has passed away at 102, according to multiple reports.
Surrounded by family in Grass Valley, California, Conter took his final breath, his daughter told KCRA 3. The veteran had been in hospice for the past four weeks, the Sacramento, California-based TV station reported.
Conter is expected to receive a ceremony with full military honors, according to KCRA 3.
Conter went on to survive being shot down in WWII
Conter was one of the 335 sailors aboard the USS Arizona who survived on Dec. 7, 1941. The Arizona lost 1,177 sailors and Marines during the Japanese attack, according to the National WWII Museum.
Several years later, a 20-year-old Conter, was quartermaster third class when his patrol bomber was shot down seven miles off the coast of New Guinea causing the seaplane's 10-man crew to fall into the Pacific Ocean.
Once in the water, Conter and his crew were not alone.
"We had 10 or 12 sharks around us all the time," Conter recalled. "I told the men, 'If a shark comes close, hit it in the nose with your fist as hard as you can.'"
Conter went on to have a decorated naval career, a vast real estate portfolio
Conter would serve through World War II before going to Korea. He then taught U.S. troops survival, evasion, resistance and escape skills in 1954. His legacy includes helping establish training bases in Florida and California, and in 1965 he came back to Pearl Harbor to author a training manual for troops heading to Vietnam.
Conter ultimately retired from the Navy in 1967, settled in Palm Springs and had a flourishing real estate career in California where he bought land for commercial and residential projects. He was a lieutenant commander at the time of his retirement.
When Conter was 93 years old he said everything he endured throughout his career was a part of his job, a sentiment he shared with every soldier and airman who took his classes.
Conter was also a part of the USS Arizona Reunion Association allowing him to stay in touch with the few remaining survivors.
When the country lost 102-year-old Ken Potts in April 2023, Conter became the last living survivor aboard the USS Arizona.
"They call a lot of us heroes, and I've always said we are not the heroes,” Conter told KCRA 3. “Heroes are the ones right there that day that lost their lives. They gave everything up. We got back to the States. We got married. We had kids and grandkids. We are still here. They were lost forever right then and there."
Contributing: Shaun McKinnon for The Arizona Republic
veryGood! (754)
Related
- The city of Chicago is ordered to pay nearly $80M for a police chase that killed a 10
- Daisaku Ikeda, head of global Japanese Buddhist organization Soka Gakkai, dies at 95
- Oregon’s first-in-the-nation drug decriminalization law faces growing pushback amid fentanyl crisis
- A toddler accidentally fires his mother’s gun in Walmart, police say. She now faces charges
- Behind on your annual reading goal? Books under 200 pages to read before 2024 ends
- Investigators identify ‘person of interest’ in Los Angeles freeway arson fire
- Ukraine’s troops work to advance on Russian-held side of key river after gaining footholds
- Joan Tarshis, one of Bill Cosby's 1st accusers, sues actor for alleged sexual assault
- Elon Musk's skyrocketing net worth: He's the first person with over $400 billion
- American arrested in Venezuela just days after Biden administration eases oil sanctions
Ranking
- Grammy nominee Teddy Swims on love, growth and embracing change
- Horoscopes Today, November 17, 2023
- Albania’s former health minister accused by prosecutors of corruption in government project
- Rare dreamer anglerfish with ultra-black 'invisibility cloak' spotted in California waters
- This was the average Social Security benefit in 2004, and here's what it is now
- Residents of Iceland town evacuated over volcano told it will be months before they can go home
- Rare dreamer anglerfish with ultra-black 'invisibility cloak' spotted in California waters
- K-12 schools improve protection against online attacks, but many are vulnerable to ransomware gangs
Recommendation
DoorDash steps up driver ID checks after traffic safety complaints
Israel shows photos of weapons and a tunnel shaft at Gaza's Al-Shifa hospital as search for Hamas command center continues
Charissa Thompson missed the mark, chose wrong time to clean up her spectacular mess
Man fatally shot while hunting in western New York state
How to watch the 'Blue Bloods' Season 14 finale: Final episode premiere date, cast
Cassie Settles Lawsuit Accusing Sean Diddy Combs of Rape and Abuse
Texas pushes some textbook publishers to remove material on fossil fuels
Cassie Settles Lawsuit Accusing Sean Diddy Combs of Rape and Abuse