Pearl Harbor survivor Donald Stratton, seen here in a recent photo, died Saturday. Stratton said he and others trapped aboard the sinking Arizona had struggled mightily to escape the carnage, which killed 1,177 of his shipmates, after Japanese planes struck the Arizona several times on Dec. 7, 1941. “We got hit with the big bomb and that exploded like a million pounds of ammunition. The fireball went about 60, 70 feet in the air.”
He said George threw them a lifeline from his own ship, which was moored next to the Arizona.
“We proceeded to go hand over hand across the line about 70 feet” off the burning warship, Stratton said, adding that the toughest part was reaching the middle of the sagging line stretched across two ships, and climbing up to the other ship.
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from MetNews https://metnews.pw/donald-stratton-pearl-harbor-survivor-who-fought-for-recognition-of-hero-sailor-dead-at-97/
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