Jessie Mahaffey, Survivor of Pearl Harbor Attack, Dies at 102

Jessie Mahaffey, who was scrubbing the deck of the U.S.S.Oklahoma when it was hit by Japanese torpedoes at Pearl Harbor on Dec.

7, 1941, and who was among the last living service members who survived the surprise attack, died on March 1 in Alexandria, La.He was 102.His death, in a nursing center near his longtime home in Many, La., was confirmed by his grandson John Mahaffey.Mr.

Mahaffey later survived the sinking of another Navy ship that was torpedoed by the Japanese in the Pacific.In an interview on Sunday, John Mahaffey, his grandson, said that Mr.

Mahaffey would talk about his time in the Navy only when his relatives would ask him about it, which they did often.A month or less before one of the ships was attacked — John Mahaffey is fairly sure it was the Oklahoma — Mr.Mahaffey was given a new assignment and was moved from a room where powder was stored.“He went from being in the hull to on the deck, and that saved his life,” his grandson said.In December, Mr.

Mahaffey told KTBS-TV of Shreveport, La., that Dec.7, 1941, had started as a quiet Sunday.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.

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