Oldest Pearl Harbor survivor, 106, never saw attack

CENTERVILLE, Mass. The oldest living survivor of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Freeman Johnson, was far below deck repairing a boiler on the USS St. Louis on Dec. 7, 1941, and never witnessed the surprise assault that killed more than 2,400 U.S. service members and propelled the nation into World War II. Now 106 years old, Johnson has become the reluctant face of one of the most pivotal events in American history as the number of living survivors dwindles to just 11.

Johnson, who turned 106 in March, was a 19 year old fireman on the light cruiser when the attack began. As his shipmates fired antiaircraft guns and the St. Louis evaded midget submarines to get safely out to sea, Johnson remained inside a steam drum. “Couldn’t see anything, absolutely nothing,” he said. By the time he reached the deck, the ship was already heading into the Pacific Ocean. He learned little about the attack. “I was just a sailor, just a swabbie, I was not an officer,” Johnson said. “They don’t tell you anything if you don’t need to know. And I didn’t need know it.”

Johnson later helped commission the battleship USS Iowa and recalled its preparations in November 1943 to transport President...