Donald Stratton, Pearl Harbor Attack Survivor Aboard USS Arizona, Dies at 97

Donald Stratton, a USS Arizona survivor, acknowledges a friend at Kilo Pier next to the World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Honolulu, on Dec. 7, 2016. (AP Photo/Eugene Tanner, File)

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado—One of the three remaining USS Arizona crew members who survived the attack on Pearl Harbor has died.

Donald Stratton died at his Colorado Springs, Colorado, home in his sleep Feb. 15, with his family in attendance. The 97-year-old veteran had been in poor health since contracting pneumonia in October.

“He was a very humble, very quiet hero,” said his son, Randy Stratton. “He didn’t want or seek the attention he received.”

Stratton was one of the survivors of the Dec. 7, 1941, Japanese attack on the U.S. Navy base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. More than 1,100 of the battleship’s crew members were killed.

Nearly 2,500 Americans died as a result of the attack, which prompted America’s entry into World War II.

“One of Donald’s final wishes was that people remember Pearl Harbor and the men aboard the USS Arizona. Share their story and never forget those who gave all for our great country,” a post on Stratton’s Facebook page said.

Following Stratton’s death, Lou Conter and Ken Potts remain the last living members of the Arizona’s crew.

Stratton attended many annual Pearl Harbor remembrance ceremonies and was the author of the bestselling book “All the Gallant Men.”