Above the remains of the sunken USS Utah battleship on Ford Island, a lone survivor — 100-year-old Warren Upton — heard the names of his fallen shipmates read aloud Friday as the sun set over the waters of Pearl Harbor.
Only three Utah survivors remain from the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor 78 years ago today. But Upton was the only one to attend Friday’s commemoration for what’s been called the “forgotten ship”: the USS Utah, which sank after multiple torpedoes hit it.
The attack killed 58 sailors aboard the Utah. Only four of those killed were recovered, so the memorial serves as a burial for the other 54.
>> Click here to see photos of the USS Utah Memorial Sunset Ceremony.
Upton, who served as a radioman 3rd class petty officer, turned 100 in October.
Upton, the last of the World War II veterans who arrived at Friday’s ceremony, received a standing ovation — like the others — when he got out of his car and walked slowly down the driveway to a raised area reserved for veterans and their families.
“To begin, I would like to say a warm ‘aloha’ to the USS Utah survivor, Mr. Warren Upton,” said Greg Vidaurri, command master chief, Navy Region Hawaii, who led the introductions for the ceremony.
Upton, who lives in San Jose, Calif., had come to Hawaii earlier in the week with his son, daughter and two granddaughters.
The ceremony itself was short, lasting just about 20 minutes. The highlight was the reading of the names of those who died on the battleship, which was followed by a lone bugler blowing taps.
Attendants were invited to walk onto the memorial platform after the ceremony, but most gathered around Upton to thank him, ask for his autograph and take photos with him.
Upton wore a Pearl Harbor survivors cap, an aloha shirt under a jacket and a kukui nut lei, and smiled and shook hands with anyone who wanted to talk to him.
His daughter, Mary Diangson, said he hadn’t been to the USS Utah memorial since 2001. Although he’s comfortable talking about his experience and is a member of the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association, she said he has remained humble.
She and Upton’s granddaughters all admire him and said he’s active and continues to exercise.
Diangson, who was visiting the memorial while a crowd surrounded her father, said, “It’s crazy because he’s my dad.”
Upton was able to talk to a few of the other veterans who attended as well. That included Dean Solt, 99, who served on the USS Pennsylvania when it was attacked by Japanese forces off Okinawa on Aug. 12, 1945; and Burke Waldron, 96, who participated in the Makin island and Saipan invasions.
The daughter of one of the USS Utah’s survivors, Mary Kreigh, 82, was also in attendance. Kreigh’s twin sister died soon after birth, and her father, Chief Yeoman Albert Wagner, was set to release the ashes on the day of the attack on Pearl Harbor. Her sister’s ashes went down with the Utah.
Diangson said that on the day of the attack, Upton woke up and started his day as usual but soon after found himself sliding down the side of the USS Utah as it sank and helped another person swim to shore.
The difficult thing for Upton, his daughter said, is watching the survivors of the attack die as the years go by.
They had not planned on attending this year’s USS Utah ceremony, but Diangson said they had received enough invitations to go that they were convinced to do so.
Upton did not make it to the actual memorial for the USS Utah and left after talking with others for over a half-hour following the ceremony.
When asked how he felt about returning to the USS Utah after nearly 20 years, his response via a text message from his daughter said, “It felt great and I was honored to be there.”
