CENTERVILLE, Mass. — On the time of the Pearl Harbor attack, the country’s oldest surviving subsister of the Japanese bombing was acold beneath platform helping repair 1 of the boilers of the USS St. Louis.
Freeman Johnson, who turned 106 successful March, ne'er witnessed the astonishment attack. He ne'er heard his shipmates firing anti-aircraft guns astatine the attacking planes — shooting down a torpedo plane. By the clip helium was topside, the St. Louis, a airy cruiser, had evaded midget submarines and safely acceptable retired to sea.
“While each the rigamarole was going connected topside, I was wrong a steam drum. Couldn’t spot anything, perfectly nothing,” said Johnson, a Centerville, Massachusetts, nonmigratory whose surviving country is filled with mementos and photos of his Navy service, including photos of the St. Louis and him arsenic a young sailor, on with a postulation of Navy situation coins and ribbons representing the places helium visited. He inactive has his subject recognition tag — popularly known arsenic canine tag.
Even arsenic the St. Louis headed into the Pacific Ocean, Johnson, whose occupation was known arsenic a fireman connected the ship, knew small astir the attack.
“We were mode retired to sea, mode out. You couldn’t spot immoderate onshore astatine all. All you saw was ocean,” helium said. “I was conscionable a sailor, conscionable a swabbie, I was not an officer. They don’t archer you thing if you don’t request to know. And I didn’t request cognize it. So they archer you nothing.”
When helium visited schools, children often asked Johnson whether helium was frightened that day. “You’re not scared. You’re excessively engaged to beryllium scared,” helium said, his gravelly dependable rising. “Besides, you don’t cognize what you’re frightened of. You can’t spot anything. What are you acrophobic of?”
One of lone 11 survivors
Johnson became the oldest subsister aft World War II Navy seasoned Ira “Ike” Schab died successful December. He was 105. With Schab’s passing and the decease of Clarence Lane successful February astatine the property of 100, determination stay lone 11 survivors of the astonishment attack, which killed conscionable implicit 2,400 Americans and propelled the United States into the war. The U.S. mourns the nation’s fallen work members connected Memorial Day, which takes spot Monday.
Every year, determination is simply a remembrance ceremonial astatine the subject base’s waterfront for Pearl Harbor survivors.
About 2,000 survivors attended the 50th day lawsuit successful 1991. A fewer twelve person showed successful caller decades. In 2024, lone 2 made it. That is retired of an estimated 87,000 troops stationed connected Oahu that day. None made the pilgrimage to Hawaii past year.
Growing recognition
For astir of his life, Johnson avoided the spotlight and talked small astir surviving the bombing. After all, helium was 1 of the tens of thousands sailors who were determination connected that tragic day. He recalled his wife, Ruth, “thought that was thing special,” truthful she called the Navy and “the miss laughed astatine her.”
But arsenic the oldest survivor, he’s go a section personage and the reluctant look of 1 of the astir important events successful World War II. Johnson showed up astatine his 106th day enactment successful a limousine and was mugged by tv cameras. He gets letters from each implicit the satellite and is routinely called a leader wherever helium goes out.
Johnson, who is hard of hearing, needs a walker to get astir and suffers from congestive bosom failure, tin callback his wartime acquisition down to the smallest detail. A 19-year-old who was unemployed and surviving astatine location successful Waltham, Johnson said helium feared being drafted truthful helium signed up for the Navy — due to the fact that helium felt it would beryllium little physically taxing than the Army.
“As a kid, I walked. If I wanted to spell somewhere, I walked oregon took my bicycle. But I didn’t privation to locomotion from France to Germany,” helium said, sitting successful a recliner, dressed successful an oversized flannel garment and waving his hands similar an orchestra conductor.
“It’s a agelong mode carrying a knapsack with you. … Water for a day, nutrient for a day, a 9-pound Springfield firearm each connected your backmost and walking done the mud,” helium said. “No thanks. That’s wherefore I joined the Navy.”
Witnessing history
Johnson’s memories person little to bash with battles portion connected the St. Louis, and aboriginal aboard the USS Iowa, than their important roles successful history. He helped committee the Iowa and recalled the battleship’s preparations successful November 1943 up of transporting President Franklin D. Roosevelt to the Tehran Conference with British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Soviet dictator Josef Stalin.
The vessel was equipped with 2 elevators and a bathtub. All the ammunition and overmuch of the lipid was removed to lighten the vessel arsenic it made its mode down the Potomac River to prime up Roosevelt. It was reloaded earlier the vessel headed retired to sea.
“It was a large meeting,” Johnson said, recalling however the unit were photographed with Roosevelt. “I don’t cognize what they talked about, but I didn’t request to know. We picked him backmost up, brought him home.”
Johnson besides witnessed the war’s extremity aboard the Iowa. He was connected the Iowa’s mast watching the surrender ceremonies astir a mile distant successful Tokyo Bay aboard the USS Missouri connected Sept. 2, 1945.
“I could spot the boats coming up with the Marines escorting the Japanese onto vessel and sitting astir a table,” helium said. “It was each over. That was the extremity of the war. A clump of america got unneurotic — the warfare is over. Let’s spell home.”
Telling the communicative of Pearl Harbor
These days, his daughter, Diane Johnson, is often by his side. They unrecorded unneurotic and ever instrumentality a travel connected Dec. 7, often attending Pearl Harbor remembrance events, including the 65th and 80th day successful Hawaii. She often poses questions to get her begetter talking and likes to nag him that helium has “a responsibility” to stock the communicative of Pearl Harbor —- particularly for children who cognize small astir the bombing.
“It’s benignant of overwhelming erstwhile you deliberation of it. Well, the 106 is what gets me,” she said. “When I deliberation astir his history, he’s astatine the beginning, he’s astatine middle, helium is astatine the extremity erstwhile helium witnessed the surrender. It’s something.”
Johnson began getting much attraction erstwhile Diane Johnson heard a section tv study suggesting the past subsister successful the authorities had died. She called to close the grounds and that raised his profile. Johnson besides started making regular appearances successful the Cape Cod St. Patrick’s Parade, often starring from the front.
“I privation much radical were similar him today. He conscionable gets connected and doesn’t kick astir anything,” said Desmond Keogh, the president of the parade who has accompanied Johnson. “It’s what this state was each about. They were conscionable a antithetic generation. They did what was champion for their country.”
For each the attraction to Pearl Harbor, the gruff Johnson, who is known for his cackling laughter and mischievous smile, doesn’t spot it arsenic a defining infinitesimal successful his life.
That would person been getting joined aft the warfare to his precocious woman and having 3 daughters. He besides worked for years successful a machinist shop, past successful a convenience store and, finally, delivering meals to seniors — each jobs helium retired from, the past 1 astatine the property of 90.
“Pearl Harbor conscionable happened. I can’t enactment it immoderate different way,” helium said.
English (US)·