Bob Fernandez, 100-Year-Old Pearl Harbor Survivor, Passes Away at Home 83 Years After the Attack

HONOLULU—Bob Fernandez, a centenarian and survivor of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, passed away soon after health issues prevented him from attending the recent commemoration of the 83rd anniversary of the assault in Hawaii.

Fernandez died peacefully on Wednesday at the home of his nephew, Joe Guthrie, in Lodi, California. His niece, Halie Torrrell, held his hand as he took his final breath. A stroke a month prior had slowed him down, but Guthrie noted that doctors considered his deteriorating condition to be due to old age.

“It was his time,” Guthrie remarked.

At the time of the attack on December 7, 1941, Fernandez was just 17 years old and serving as a sailor aboard the USS Curtiss. As a mess cook, he was busy serving meals and coffee to his fellow sailors when the alarm rang out. Through a porthole, he spotted a plane with the red ball insignia commonly associated with Japanese aircraft.

He hurried down several decks to the ammunition magazine, where he and other sailors anxiously awaited someone to unlock the door to retrieve shells for the ship’s guns. Over the years, Fernandez recounted how some of his comrades prayed and wept amid the sounds of gunfire above.

“I felt kind of scared because I didn’t know what the hell was going on,” Fernandez told The Associated Press in an interview conducted just weeks before his passing.

During the bombing, the Curtiss lost 21 crew members and nearly 60 others were injured. The overall attack claimed the lives of more than 2,300 U.S. servicemen, with nearly half, or 1,177, being sailors and Marines on the USS Arizona which sank during the assault.

“We lost a lot of good people, you know. They didn’t do nothing,” Fernandez lamented. “But we never know what’s going to happen in a war.”

Fernandez had intended to return to Pearl Harbor last week for the annual commemoration organized by the Navy and the National Park Service but was unable to travel due to his declining health, according to Guthrie.

He was “so proud” of his six years of service in the Navy, all of which were spent aboard the USS Curtiss, Guthrie shared. Most of his casual wear, including hats and shirts, reflected his military service.

“It was just completely ingrained in him,” his nephew noted.

After the war, Fernandez worked as a forklift operator at a cannery in San Leandro, California. His wife of 65 years, Mary, passed away in 2014.

He loved music and dancing and until recently attended weekly performances at local parks and restaurants. He continued to help neighbors with yard work until moving in with Guthrie last year.

“I’d do yard work and split firewood, and he’d help swing the axe a little bit,” Guthrie said. “We’d call it his physical therapy.”

Fernandez believed that a long life is achieved by stopping eating once satisfied and by using stairs. He felt it was acceptable to take naps, but advised completing chores like laundry or dishwashing before bedtime. Spreading kindness was also key, he said.

Guthrie mentioned that he thinks Fernandez would prefer to be remembered for spreading joy to others.

“He would rake people’s yards if they couldn’t manage it. He would paint fences or help someone in need,” Guthrie stated. “He was so generous and such a kind person. He made friends wherever he went.”

Survived by his oldest son, Robert J. Fernandez, a granddaughter, and several great-grandchildren, Fernandez leaves behind a legacy of goodwill.

There are currently 16 known survivors of Pearl Harbor on record, maintained by Kathleen Farley, the California state chair of the Sons and Daughters of Pearl Harbor Survivors, all of whom are aged at least 100.

While Fernandez’s passing would have reduced this number to 15, Farley recently discovered an additional survivor.

By Audrey McAvoy