Pearl Harbor survivor: ‘I don’t talk about Dec. 7th a lot’

Seventy-four years ago, more than 2,400 Americans were killed in the attacks on Pearl Harbor.

Almost half of the brave souls who lost their lives were aboard the USS Arizona.

On Pearl Harbor’s 74 th anniversary, KRDO had the honor of speaking with one of those surviving crewmen; 93-year-old Donald Stratton.

“We were engulfed in a ball of flame. We had to crawl across the line to another ship. I burned over 65 percent of my body,” said Stratton.

Stratton, of Colorado Springs, is one of seven living survivors who made it off the battleship.

A sailor from an adjoining ship saved Stratton’s life by tossing him a rope.

Stratton used the line to cross over the burning, fuel-coated water beneath him.

“I found out I didn’t have any fingerprints. They were all gone. That’s how bad my hands were burnt when we went across that line,” said Stratton.

He spent the next 10 months in military hospitals. When he was finally released, he weighed 89 pounds.

Stratton was awarded the Purple Heart when he was just 19 years old.

“I don’t talk about December 7th a lot” Stratton said.

But he said there’s a reason he’s talking about the attack.

“It’s happening right now to us like 9/11 and the shooting in San Bernardino. People are still threatening our country. We need to be very careful and take notice, before it happens again,” Stratton said.

Stratton will also attend an event Tuesday, at the Pikes Peak Harley-Davidson on Nevada Avenue in Colorado Springs from 4 to 6 p.m.