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Probably asking yourself “Who is Vaughn Drake”? I was…and then found he was believed to be the oldest Pearl Harbor survivor extant. Not a huge surprise at 106; that age stands out in almost any crowd.<\/p>\n
Vaughn Drake Jr., an esteemed Central Kentuckian believed to be the oldest survivor of the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, died last week.<\/p>\n
Drake died April 7 at the age of 106, according to a news release from the nonprofit Affinity Media and Public Relations announcing his death. His visitation is Thursday at the Milward Funeral Home on Southland drive in Lexington, according to his obituary, and a military-style burial will follow at Winchester Cemetery at West Lexington Avenue.<\/p>\n
Drake was born in Winchester in 1918 and was stationed at Kaneohe Naval Air Station on Oahu during the Dec. 7, 1941, Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.<\/p>\n
Drake was 23, serving in the Army Corps of Engineers, at the time, according to the news release. He said in a previous interview with the Herald-Leader he was in charge of running a temporary power plant so carpenters building new barracks at Kaneohe had electricity for saws and other equipment.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe left to go to the chow line to get our breakfast, and we noticed these planes flying over the naval air station, diving and everything. And we thought, \u2018Boy, they\u2019re really putting on a good show,\u2019\u201d Drake said in the interview. \u201cEven though we saw the red spots on the wing \u2014 which was the Japanese symbol \u2014 we still couldn\u2019t believe it. …<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout that time, one of the officers had been in contact with headquarters at Schofield Barracks, and they said, \u2018This is an attack! The Japanese are attacking the whole island!\u2019\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Drake also fought at Saipan later in the war.<\/p>\n
Drake received numerous honors for his military service, including the special Congressional Medal for the Veterans of Pearl Harbor, the Army Good Conduct Medal, the American Defense Medal with Foreign Service bar, the Asiatic-Pacific Medal with two battle stars and the World War II Victory Medal, according to his obituary.<\/p>\n
After World War II, Drake started a career in engineering back home in Kentucky, according to the news release. His obituary says he attended the University of Kentucky College of Engineering and was a registered professional engineer for more than 50 years.<\/p>\n
Drake worked with the General Telephone Company for thirty-six years and retired in 1981 as a valuation engineering manager. His obituary says he designed and supervised construction of all the underground telephone conduits placed in Lexington, Morehead and Ashland in the 1940s and 1950s.\u00a0 Military.com<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
He aid he did not want to be defined just\u00a0 by that one morning – looks to me like he made good on that.<\/p>\n
From a CNN article in December on Chuck Kohler, age 100, another survivor:<\/p>\n
Now 100 years old, the veteran is believed to be one of only 16 Pearl Harbor survivors who are still alive, Kathleen Farley, the California state chair of the Sons and Daughters of Pearl Harbor Survivors, confirmed to CNN.\u00a0 CNN<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
That number is getting smaller all the time. Respect, gentlemen!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"