USS Arizona survivor, Donald Stratton, died peacefully in his sleep on Saturday, at the age of 97. Mr. Stratton passed away in his Colorado Springs, Colorado, home surrounded by his wife of nearly seven decades, Velma, and his son, Randy, according to a Facebook post.
“One of Donald’s final wishes was that people remember Pearl Harbor and the men aboard the USS Arizona. Share their story and never forget those who gave all for our great country,” read the Facebook post.
Mr. Stratton wrote of his experience in All the Gallant Men.
He was born in 1922, in Red Cloud, Nebraska. According to Harper Collins, the publisher of Mr. Stratton’s book, he enlisted in the United States Navy when he graduated from high school in 1940, and “reported for duty on the battleship USS Arizona. After more than a year of recuperation following the Pearl Harbor attacks, Stratton reenlisted in the Navy and was commissioned to the destroyer USS Stack. From 1944-45, he served in the Pacific at the naval campaigns for New Guinea, the Philippines, and Okinawa.”
A photo of USS Arizona survivor Donald Stratton in the Shrine Room at the USS Arizona Memorial that was taken by his granddaughter Nikki Stratton. A powerful image of respect for one’s shipmates that perished on December 7th. pic.twitter.com/0639pWNmek
— USSArizona (@USSArizona) December 9, 2017
A photo of USS Arizona survivor Donald Stratton in the Shrine Room at the USS Arizona Memorial that was taken by his granddaughter Nikki Stratton. A powerful image of respect for one’s shipmates that perished on December 7th. pic.twitter.com/0639pWNmek
— USSArizona (@USSArizona) December 9, 2017
One of Donald Stratton’s final wishes were that people remember Pearl Harbor and the men aboard the USS Arizona. Share their story and never forget those who gave their all for our great country.
We will Donald. We will. #DonaldStratton #RememberPearlHarbor #RememberUSSArizona pic.twitter.com/aVbYBJGGjf
— USSArizona (@USSArizona) February 16, 2020
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