Courtesy Donald StrattonDonald Stratton, a new recruit in 1940. He was assigned to the U.S.S. Arizona.
December 7 is Pearl Harbor Day, marking the surprise attack 80 years ago that propelled the U.S. into World War II. More than 2400 Americans were killed, nearly half of them crew members of the U.S.S. Arizona. Donald Stratton, of Colorado Springs, was on the ship that day and survived. Stratton died last year at the age of 97. He shared his experience at Pearl Harbor in the memoir, "All the Gallant Men." Nathan spoke with Stratton's co-author, Ken Gire, in 2016.
Courtesy National Park Service/U.S.S. Arizona Memorial Photo CollectionThe U.S.S. Arizona after the fatal explosion. Don Stratton's battle station is circled.
Courtesy National Park Service/U.S.S. Arizona Memorial Photo CollectionThe U.S.S. Arizona burning. Don Stratton's battle station is circled.
AP Photo/Eugene TannerIn this Dec. 7, 2016, file photo, Donald Stratton, center, a U.S.S. Arizona survivor, acknowledges a friend at Kilo Pier next to the World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Honolulu. Stratton passed away in his sleep at his Colorado Springs home Saturday, Feb. 16, 2020 with his family in attendance. Stratton was one of the survivors of the Dec. 7, 1941, Japanese aerial attack on the U.S. Navy base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii that killed 1,100 Arizona crew members.
