WWII Navy veteran Ira 'Ike' Schab, one of last remaining Pearl Harbor survivors, dies at 105
With his passing, there remain only about a dozen survivors of the surprise attack, which killed just over 2,400 troops and propelled the United States into the war.
Schab was a sailor of just 21 at the time of the attack, and for decades he rarely spoke about the experience.
He joined the Navy at 18, following in the footsteps of his father, he said in a February interview for Pacific Historic Parks.
Schab spent most of the war with the Navy in the Pacific, going to the New Hebrides, now known as Vanuatu, and then the Mariana Islands and Okinawa, Japan.
After the war he studied aerospace engineering and worked on the Apollo spaceflight program as an electrical engineer for General Dynamics, helping send astronauts to the moon.
Schab's son also joined the Navy and is a retired commander.
Speaking at a 2022 ceremony, Schab asked people to honor those who served at Pearl Harbor.
“Remember what they’re here for. Remember and honor those that are left. They did a hell of a job,” he said. “Those who are still here, dead or alive.”