Lou Conter, the last survivor of the USS Arizona, a boat that sank after the Japanese attack on the Pearl Harbor base in the United States, died at the age of 102 this Monday (1st), according to the charity that honors the victims of the bombing.
++ Germany legalizes recreational marijuana use starting this Monday (1st)
Conter was a 20-year-old officer when he helped rescue his fellow Marines on Dec. 7, 1941, after the U.S. Pacific Fleet was targeted in the surprise attack. About 2,000 Americans died, and the Hawaiian naval base was destroyed.
More than 1,100 people aboard the USS Arizona have died. Many of the bodies are still inside the sunken vessel.
The bombing pushed the US into World War II.
++ More than 1 billion meals end up in the trash every day around the world
Conter became a pilot in World War II and was shot down twice, including off the coast of New Guinea, where he and his crew came ashore in waters full of sharks.
As an intelligence officer, he flew combat missions in Korea and created the Navy’s first SERE (Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Extraction) program, which teaches how to survive and “return with honor” in survival scenarios.
In addition, he was a military advisor to three presidents: Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson.
