Lou Conter, the final USS Arizona survivor from Pearl Harbor, dies at 102

Lou Conter, the final surviving crewmember of those aboard the USS Arizona during the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, has passed away at 102, according to multiple reports.

Surrounded by family in Grass Valley, California, Conter took his final breath, his daughter told KCRA 3. The veteran had been in hospice for the past four weeks, the Sacramento, California-based TV station reported.

Conter is expected to receive a ceremony with full military honors, according to KCRA 3.

Conter went on to survive being shot down in WWII

Conter was one of the 335 sailors aboard the USS Arizona who survived on Dec. 7, 1941. The Arizona lost 1,177 sailors and Marines during the Japanese attack, according to the National WWII Museum.

Several years later, a 20-year-old Conter, was quartermaster third class when his patrol bomber was shot down seven miles off the coast of New Guinea causing the seaplane's 10-man crew to fall into the Pacific Ocean.

Once in the water, Conter and his crew were not alone.

"We had 10 or 12 sharks around us all the time," Conter recalled. "I told the men, 'If a shark comes close, hit it in the nose with your fist as hard as you can.'"

Conter went on to have a decorated naval career, a vast real estate portfolio

Conter would serve through World War II before going to Korea. He then taught U.S. troops survival, evasion, resistance and escape skills in 1954. His legacy includes helping establish training bases in Florida and California, and in 1965 he came back to Pearl Harbor to author a training manual for troops heading to Vietnam.

Conter ultimately retired from the Navy in 1967, settled in Palm Springs and had a flourishing real estate career in California where he bought land for commercial and residential projects. He was a lieutenant commander at the time of his retirement.

When Conter was 93 years old he said everything he endured throughout his career was a part of his job, a sentiment he shared with every soldier and airman who took his classes.

Conter was also a part of the USS Arizona Reunion Association allowing him to stay in touch with the few remaining survivors.

When the country lost 102-year-old Ken Potts in April 2023, Conter became the last living survivor aboard the USS Arizona.

"They call a lot of us heroes, and I've always said we are not the heroes,” Conter told KCRA 3. “Heroes are the ones right there that day that lost their lives. They gave everything up. We got back to the States. We got married. We had kids and grandkids. We are still here. They were lost forever right then and there."

Contributing: Shaun McKinnon for The Arizona Republic