'They could hear the bombs': One of the last survivors of the USS Arizona attack dies at 94

Raymond Haerry ran away from home to join the Navy and landed in the middle of history.

Haerry was barely 18 when he enlisted in early 1940. He had enrolled at MIT after finishing high school in New Jersey, but he didn’t like his classes and finally dropped out. In September 1940, he joined the USS Arizona as its crew prepared the mighty battleship for war.

On Dec. 7, 1941, he was aboard the Arizona when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, launching America's entry into World War II and forever changing the course of modern history.

The explosions blew Haerry off the ship, into the water, but he survived. He made a career in the Navy, sailing the seas during World War II and the Korean War, teaching officer candidates on land in the years after.

Haerry died Sept. 27 in West Warwick, R.I., at the age of 94.

'They could hear the bombs'

Of the 1,512 sailors and Marines assigned to the Arizona when it sank, 1,177 died in the attack.

Of those who survived, Haerry's death leaves five remaining survivors:


•Lauren Bruner, 95, of La Mirada, Calif.
•Lou Conter, 95, of Grass Valley, Calif.
•Lonnie Cook, 95, of Morris, Okla.
•Ken Potts, 95, of Provo, Utah.
•Donald Stratton, 94, of Colorado Springs, Colo.

Haerry’s son, Raymond Haerry Jr., said he wanted his father’s remains to be interred in the submerged Arizona at Pearl Harbor, an honor accorded men who were members of the ship’s final crew. Those arrangements are pending.

Haerry was born Nov. 28, 1921, in Patterson, N.J. He grew up in Patterson and, after finishing high school, enrolled at MIT.
Raymond Haerry ran away from home to join the Navy and landed in the middle of history.

Haerry was barely 18 when he enlisted in early 1940. He had enrolled at MIT after finishing high school in New Jersey, but he didn’t like his classes and finally dropped out. In September 1940, he joined the USS Arizona as its crew prepared the mighty battleship for war.

On Dec. 7, 1941, he was aboard the Arizona when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, launching America's entry into World War II and forever changing the course of modern history.

The explosions blew Haerry off the ship, into the water, but he survived. He made a career in the Navy, sailing the seas during World War II and the Korean War, teaching officer candidates on land in the years after.

Haerry died Sept. 27 in West Warwick, R.I., at the age of 94.

'They could hear the bombs'

Of the 1,512 sailors and Marines assigned to the Arizona when it sank, 1,177 died in the attack.

Of those who survived, Haerry's death leaves five remaining survivors:


•Lauren Bruner, 95, of La Mirada, Calif.
•Lou Conter, 95, of Grass Valley, Calif.
•Lonnie Cook, 95, of Morris, Okla.
•Ken Potts, 95, of Provo, Utah.
•Donald Stratton, 94, of Colorado Springs, Colo.

Haerry’s son, Raymond Haerry Jr., said he wanted his father’s remains to be interred in the submerged Arizona at Pearl Harbor, an honor accorded men who were members of the ship’s final crew. Those arrangements are pending.

Haerry was born Nov. 28, 1921, in Patterson, N.J. He grew up in Patterson and, after finishing high school, enrolled at MIT.