One of the Last Pearl Harbor Survivors Dies
Ira Schab, right, who survived the attack on Pearl Harbor as a sailor on the USS Dobbin, talks with reporters while sitting next to his son, retired Navy Cmdr. Karl Schab, on Dec. 7, 2022, in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Audrey McAvoy, File)
Pearl Harbor Survivor Ira “Ike” Schab Dies at 105
Ira “Ike” Schab, a World War II Navy veteran and one of the few remaining survivors of the 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, has died at the age of 105. His daughter, Kimberlee Heinrichs, told the AP that Schab passed away peacefully at home in Oregon early Saturday.
“He passed peacefully while listening to swing music, with his family by his side,” Pacific Historic Parks shared in an Instagram post. With his passing, only about a dozen survivors of the attack remain. The assault on Pearl Harbor claimed over 2,400 lives and propelled the United States into World War II. Another survivor, 102-year-old Ivan Atkins, died last month.
Schab was just 21 when the attack occurred, and for many years he seldom spoke about the experience. In recent years, recognizing that the number of survivors was dwindling, he made a point of traveling from his home in Beaverton, Oregon, to participate in the annual Pearl Harbor observance at the Hawaii military base. “To pay honor to the guys that didn’t make it,” he said in 2023.
For last year’s ceremony, Schab spent weeks preparing to stand and salute. This year, he was too unwell to attend in person and watched the ceremony via livestream. Less than three weeks later, he died. “The idea of not having a survivor there for the first time—I just, I don’t know—it hurt my heart in a way I can’t describe,” his daughter told the AP.
Born on July 4, 1920, in Chicago, Schab was the eldest of three brothers. He joined the Navy at 18, following in his father’s footsteps.
On the morning of Dec. 7, 1941, what began as a peaceful Sunday turned chaotic. Schab, who played the tuba in the USS Dobbin’s band, was preparing for a visit from his brother, a fellow service member, when a call for fire rescue drew him topside. He saw the USS Utah capsizing as Japanese planes roared overhead. “We were pretty startled. Startled and scared to death,” Schab recalled in 2023. He joined a line of sailors supplying ammunition to an anti-aircraft gun on deck. Three of his shipmates died during the attack—one killed in action, and two later from injuries.
Schab served across the Pacific for the remainder of the war, including stints in the New Hebrides (now Vanuatu), the Mariana Islands, and Okinawa, Japan. Afterward, he studied aerospace engineering and contributed as an electrical engineer to the Apollo spaceflight program with General Dynamics, helping send astronauts to the moon. His son also served in the Navy and is a retired commander.
At a 2022 ceremony, Schab urged 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.”
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