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Pearl Harbor Survivor Dies at 105
21 Dec
Summary
- Navy veteran Ira Schab, a Pearl Harbor survivor, passed away at 105.
- Schab rarely spoke of the attack for decades, then honored fallen comrades.
- He also contributed to the Apollo space program as an electrical engineer.
World War II Navy veteran Ira "Ike" Schab, who survived the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, died on Saturday at his home in Beaverton, Oregon. He was 105 years old. Schab was just 21 when Japanese planes attacked the naval base, an event that propelled the United States into World War II.
Schab served as a sailor aboard the USS Dobbin, where he was part of the ship's band and later helped to load ammunition during the surprise attack. Though he rarely spoke of the experience for many years, he began attending Pearl Harbor observances in recent years to honor his fallen comrades. He passed away less than three weeks after he was unable to attend this year's commemoration due to ill health.
Following his naval service, Schab pursued a career in aerospace engineering, working as an electrical engineer for General Dynamics on the Apollo spaceflight program. He contributed to the effort that sent astronauts to the moon. His passing reduces the number of living Pearl Harbor survivors to approximately a dozen.
