Pearl Harbor Survivor Jack Holder Dies-- Part 3: Became a Pilot in Pacific and European Theaters

From where he was on Ford Island, he could see the damage wrought by the attack.  He saw the USS Arizona, USS West Virginia,  USS Tennessee, USS Nevada, USS Oklahoma and USS California, battleships all,  on fire and sinking to the bottom of Pearl Harbor.

He survived World War II in tact and as the war progressed, so did Holder's Navy career.  He went into training to fly aircraft and by June 1942, he was behind the stick of a fighter, meeting the Japanese approach to Midway Island where he got his vengeance for the Pearl Harbor attack.

Missions over Guadalcanal and the Solomon Islands were next.  Then he trained to fly the B-24 Liberator bomber and was transferred to the European Theater.

For his distinguished Navy service, Holder was awarded two  Distinguished Flying Crosses, six Air Medals,  a Presidential Unit Citation and six commendaton medals before being honorably discharged  in 1948.

After the war, he became a commercial and corporate airline pilot and retired to Arizona where he died February 28, 2023.  He will eventually be buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

Quite A Life.  --GreGen