Harry Chandler, a Navy medic who helped pull injured sailors from the oily waters after the 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, has died. He was 103.
Chandler died Monday at a senior living center in Tequesta, Fla., according to Ron Mahaffee, the husband of his granddaughter Kelli Fahey. Chandler had congestive heart failure, but Mahaffee said doctors and nurses noted his advanced age when giving a cause of death.
Chandler is the third Pearl Harbor survivor to die this month. Bob Fernandez, who served on the USS Curtiss, died at age 100, and Warren Upton, who served on the USS Utah, died at 105.
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Chandler was a hospital corpsman 3rd class on Dec. 7, 1941, when waves of Japanese fighter planes dropped bombs and fired machine guns on battleships in the harbor, plunging the U.S. into World War II.
He told the Associated Press in 2023 that he saw the planes approach as he was raising the flag that morning at a mobile hospital in Aiea Heights, which is in the hills overlooking the base.
“I thought they were planes coming in from the states until I saw the bombs dropping,” Chandler said. His first instinct was to take cover and ”get the hell out of here.”
Pictures from Pearl Harbor survivor and Navy Corpsman Harry Chandler's 103rd birthday yesterday! #Rememberhonorunderstand #greatestgeneration #PearlHarborAttack #PearlHarbor #wwii #worldwarii #happybirthday #centenarian pic.twitter.com/3OnKCcjCOd
— Pacific Historic Parks (@pacificparks) March 7, 2024His unit rode in trucks to attend the injured. He said in a Pacific Historic Parks oral history interview that he boarded a boat to help pluck wounded sailors from the water.
The harbor was covered in oil from exploding ships, so Chandler washed the sailors off after lifting them out. He said he was too focused on his work to be afraid.
“It got so busy you weren’t scared. Weren’t scared at all. We were busy. It was after you got scared,” Chandler said.
The attack killed more than 2,300 U.S. servicemen. Nearly half, or 1,177, were sailors and Marines on board the USS Arizona, which sank nine minutes after it was bombed.
Chandler’s memories came flowing back when he visited Pearl Harbor for a 2023 ceremony commemorating the 82nd anniversary of the bombing.
“I look out there, and I can still see what’s going on. I can still see what was happening,” Chandler told the Associated Press.
Asked what he wanted Americans to know about Pearl Harbor, he said: “Be prepared.”
“We should have known that was going to happen. The intelligence has to be better,” he said.
After the war Chandler worked as a painter and wallpaper hanger and bought an upholstery business with his brother. He also joined the Navy reserves, retiring as a senior chief in 1981.
Chandler was born in Holyoke, Mass., in 1921 – he celebrated his 103rd birthday in March – and lived for most of his adult life in nearby South Hadley, Mahaffee said. In recent decades he split his time between Massachusetts and Florida.
An avid golfer, he shot five hole-in-ones during his lifetime, his grandson-in-law added.
Chandler had one biological daughter and adopted two daughters from his second marriage to Anna Chandler, who died in 2004. He is survived by one daughter, nine grandchildren, 17 great-grandchildren and five great-great-grandchildren.
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