Then there were fourteen.
Vaughn P. Drake, Jr. was 23 years old and an Army engineer when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. He died on April 7, 2025 at the age of 106. He was the oldest known Pearl Harbor survivor.
Vaughn Drake Jr. was a 23-year-old Army engineer working in Oahu when Japanese forces attacked the American base at Pearl Harbor.
— Task & Purpose (@TaskandPurpose) April 14, 2025
He died at 106 years old. https://t.co/5hEa2CzY54
The oldest known survivor of the attack on Pearl Harbor died this week. Vaughn P. Drake, Jr. was 106.
Drake passed away on April 7, in his home in Kentucky. He was born Nov. 6, 1918 in Winchester, KY, only days before the end of World War I. He would be present at the start of the U.S. entry into World War II. 84 years ago, he was an Army engineer, working in Oahu. He and other engineers were working at a temporary power plant, set up to help with construction at Kaneohe Naval Air Station, according to details shared in his obituary.
In a 2016 interview with a local newspaper, Drake said that initially he and his fellow soldiers didn’t believe they were under attack. He was on his way to breakfast when he started seeing planes fly by. Even when he saw red dots on their tails — the emblem of the Imperial Japanese military — the soldiers thought it must have been the Army Air Corps carrying out maneuvers.
'There’s no way Japan could get planes over Pearl Harbor! We didn’t think it could possibly happen,' he told the Lexington Herald-Leader in a 2016 interview.
It seems a lot of people were caught off guard by the Japanese attack, sadly.
#RIP Vaughn Drake who was the oldest known survivor of the attack on Pearl Harbor until passing away on April 7 at the age of 106. Drake was helping build barracks at Kaneohe Naval Air Station while serving with the Army Corps of Engineers when the Japanese attacked in 1941. pic.twitter.com/Rf3toHMaz1
— U.S. Naval Institute (@NavalInstitute) April 14, 2025
After Pearl Harbor, Drake went on to serve in the Pacific theater and was awarded the World War II Victory Medal, the Army Good Conduct Medal, the American Defense Medal with Foreign Service bar and the Asiatic-Pacific Medal with two battle stars. He retired from the military and married Lina Wilson Drake. The couple were married for 65 years and Lina passed away in 2011.
Drake worked as an engineer for the General Telephone Company and retired in 1981.
Calm seas for eternity, sir.
— Estweebon (@lifegripper) April 14, 2025
Amen.
R.I.P. thank you for your brave service to America!
— NYNanc🇺🇸 (@ny32007) April 14, 2025
The nation owes him a debt of gratitude.
RIP Brother! Thank you for your service to this great nation! The “Greatest Generation” were truly the best of us!
— Stolen Valor (@StolenValor1) April 14, 2025
“Oldest Pearl Harbor survivor dies at 106
Vaughn Drake Jr. was a 23-year-old Army engineer working in Oahu when Japanese forces attacked the American base.” https://t.co/irDwvxby6m pic.twitter.com/1LbZw5XHRi
They were the best of us.
So few left of that horrible day that truly changed the world and brought out the best in the people of America to come together as a nation. Sadly we have forgotten how to do that in this era of division. RIP 🙏🏻🇺🇸🚀 https://t.co/iUm8SLI8g0
— Judy A. Jones (@EastGlacierMT) April 14, 2025
It was a time of immense national sacrifice and unity in the midst of World War II.
Drake is survived by his son, Sam Drake, two grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.
Our sympathies to his family, friends, and loved ones.
Fair winds and following seas, Sailor.
Editor's Note: Thanks to President Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's leadership, the warrior ethos is coming back to America's military.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member