Jack Holder, Pearl Harbor survivor who became vocal educator later in life, dies at 101

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - Jack Holder, a Pearl Harbor survivor and Navy flight engineer who first dreamed of taking to the skies while watching his uncle fly crop dusters, has died at 101.

Friend Darlene Tryon said Holder died at Chandler Regional Medical Center in Arizona.

Holder joined was 19 when Japanese planes attacked Pearl Harbor. He recalled that he narrowly survived when he dove into a ditch to avoid gunfire.

“My most vivid remembrance was, ‘God, plead don’t let me die in this ditch,’” he later recalled.

Once the war began, Holder served in key Pacific battles, flying more than 100 missions.

He was also a flight engineer on B-24 missions, flying in the European theatre.

“Like so many other World War II survivors, Jack didn’t talk much about his service after the war, as he worked 25 years on corporate and commercial aircraft,” Tryon said, in a Facebook post.

Incredibly, he was also a professional golfer for three years.

After retirement, he became inspired to help tell the story of Pearl Harbor ― and the sacrifice of so many.

“He became a regular at Pearl Harbor commemorations, museums, schools and multiple other events around the country that I have been honored to accompany him on,” Tryon said. “It is his message that he continued to spread that inspired both young and old alike the meaning of courage and bravery.”

And in December, he was even able to attend the 81st commemoration event at Pearl Harbor.