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TUCSON, Ariz.>> A 91-year-old Tucson veteran will be getting a special medal from Arizona Congressman Ron Barber on Monday.
Barber’s office says Pearl Harbor survivor Clarence W. Ellquist will receive the Navy’s last Pearl Harbor Commemorative Medal. He also will be presented with eight other medals to which he was entitled but never received.
In 1941, Ellquist was a 19-year-old Gunner’s Mate 3rd Class assigned to the USS Preble. He volunteered to help fight fires on ships that had been attacked in the harbor and to reload weapons on ships that weren’t damaged.
After Pearl Harbor, he served in the Pacific throughout the war.
A limited number of the commemorative medals were produced for those who were certified as eligible by their branch of service. The Navy says the one Ellquist will receive is the last medal it has to distribute.
