Last month marked 84 years since the Empire of Japan launched a devastating attack against the United States at Pearl Harbor.

One man who survived the incident was Navy medic Harry Chandler, who helped to pull fellow sailors from the water. His family was left in mourning this week when he died at 102.

Chandler served as a hospital corpsman

According to CBS News, Chandler passed away on Monday at the senior living center he was living at in Tequesta, Florida.

Ron Mahaffee is the husband of Chandler's granddaughter, Kelli Fahey, and he told the network that the elderly man's cause of death was listed as old age despite his having suffered from congestive heart failure.

Harry Chandler, Navy medic who helped rescue sailors injured in Pearl Harbor attack, dies at 103. https://t.co/DUqAci2iPG

— CBS News (@CBSNews) January 1, 2025

CBS News pointed to an interview Chandler gave to the Associated Press last year in which he recounted his experiences on December 7, 1941.

Chandler stated that he was serving as a hospital corpsman 3rd class on Aiea Heights, which is a hill overlooking Naval Station Pearl Harbor.

"It got so busy you weren't scared"

"I thought they were planes coming in from the states until I saw the bombs dropping," Chandler said of the attacking Japanese aircraft, stressing that his initial instinct was to "get the hell out of here."

"I was afraid that they'd start strafing," he said before explaining that the volume of his workload eventually overrode feelings of fear.

"It got so busy you weren't scared," the Second World War veteran recalled. "Weren't scared at all. We were busy. It was after you got scared."

Although Chandler was aware that he could die, he reiterated that "you didn't think about that while you were busy taking care of people."

Only 15 Pearl Harbor survivors remain alive

Chandler noted how a subsequent visit to Pearl Harbor for an event commemorating the attack quickly brought back memories, stating, "I look out there, and I can still see what's going on. I can still see what was happening."

CBS News pointed out that Chandler is the third Pearl Harbor survivor to pass away in recent weeks, with the others being Bob Fernandez, who served on the USS Curtiss, and Warren Upton, 105, who served on the USS Utah.

According to Sons and Daughters of Pearl Harbor Survivors California state chair Kathleen Farley, just fifteen such individuals are still alive.