Harry Chandler, Navy medic who survived Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor, dies at 103

HONOLULU —

Harry Chandler, a Navy medic who helped pull injured sailors from the oily waters of Pearl Harbor after the 1941 Japanese attack on the naval base, has died. He was 103 years old.

Chandler died Monday at a senior center in Tequesta, Florida, 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 the cause of death.

The third Pearl Harbor survivor to die in the past few weeks, Chandler was a hospital orderly 3rd class on Dec. 7, 1941, when waves of Japanese fighter planes dropped bombs and machine-gunned the battleships in the harbor and plunged the U.S. into World War II. .

He told The Associated Press in 2023 that he saw the planes approaching as he was raising the flag that morning at the mobile hospital in Aiea Heights, which is in the hills overlooking the base.

“I thought it was planes coming from the US until I saw the bombs falling,” Chandler said. His first instinct was to take cover and “get out of here”.

“I was afraid he would start attacking,” he said.

His unit descended in trucks to help the injured. He said in an oral history interview with Pacific Historic Parks that he boarded the boat to help pull the wounded sailors out of the water.

The harbor was covered in oil from the exploding ships, so Chandler washed the sailors off after pulling them out. He said he was too focused on his work to be afraid.

“It was so busy that you weren’t scared. They were not afraid at all. We were busy. It was after you got scared,” Chandler said.

He later realized that he could have been killed, “But you didn’t think about that when you were busy taking care of people.”

More than 2,300 American soldiers were killed in the attack. Almost half, or 1,177, were sailors and marines on board USS Arizonawhich sank nine minutes after being bombed.

Chandler’s memories came flooding back when he visited Pearl Harbor for a ceremony commemorating the 82nd anniversary of the bombing in 2023.

“I look outside and I can still see what’s going on. I can still see what’s going on,” Chandler told The Associated Press.

Asked what he wanted Americans to know about Pearl Harbor, he said, “Be prepared.”

“We should have known this was going to happen. Intelligence has to be better,” he said.

After the war, Chandler worked as a painter and wallpaperer and bought an upholstery company with his brother. He also joined the Navy Reserve, retiring as a senior commander in 1981.

Chandler was born in Holyoke, Mass., and lived most of his adult life in nearby South Hadley, Mahaffee said. In recent decades, he has spent his time between Massachusetts and Florida.

An avid golfer, he shot five hole-in-ones in his lifetime, his grandson 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 two daughters, nine grandchildren, 17 great-grandchildren and five great-great-grandchildren.

Military historian J. Michael Wenger estimated that there were about 87,000 military personnel on the island of Oahu on the day of the attack. After Chandler’s death, only 15 survived, according to Kathleen Farley, president of the Sons and Daughters of Pearl Harbor Survivors.

Bob Fernandez, who served on USS Curtissalso died this month, aged 100, and Warren Upton, 105, who served on USS Utahh, died last week.