Lou Conter was the last living crew member of the USS Arizona battleship. He survived the infamous attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii on December 7, 1941. The ship sank and serves as a final resting place for 900 marines and sailors.
Lou died on April 1, 2024, at his Grass Valley, California, home. He was 102 years old. He had been diagnosed with congestive heart failure. His family plans to bury him next to his wife of 45 years.
Lou was on the main deck of the Arizona at this time of the Japanese attack. He was serving as a quartermaster. "We took a 50-60-hundred-pound bomb alongside the number two turret," Lou recalled to KCRA. "It went through five decks in the forward lower handling room and blew the power up there for the number one and number two turret, and the whole bow came up out of the water." Only 335 officers survived. One thousand one hundred and seventy-seven crew members were killed.
The attack stayed with Lou his whole life. He often visited the site to remember those who died. “The 2,403 men that died are the heroes," He told the Associated Press in 2022. "And we’ve got to honor them ahead of everybody else. And I’ve said that every time, and I think it should be stressed."
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Lou’s service did not end at Pearl Harbor. He went on to see three wars during his 30 years in the Navy. He piloted 200 missions and was shot down twice. He retired in 1967. Only 19 Pearl Harbor survivors are still alive today.
