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Ira ‘Ike’ Schab, One of the Last Pearl Harbor Survivors, Dies at 105

His passing narrows the group of living eyewitnesses to roughly a dozen, signaling a shift in Pearl Harbor remembrance toward families, museums, and archives.

FILE - An attendee asks Pearl Harbor survivor Ira "Ike" Schab, 103, to sign an U.S. flag during the 82nd Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day ceremony on Thursday, Dec. 7, 2023, at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Mengshin Lin, File)
FILE - Ira Schab, right, who survived the attack on Pearl Harbor as a sailor on the USS Dobbin, talks with reporters while sitting next to his son, retired Navy Cmdr. Karl Schab, on Dec. 7, 2022, in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Audrey McAvoy, File)
FILE - Pearl Harbor survivor Ira Schab, right, is saluted by various members of the armed forces as he leaves the 75th Anniversary National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day Commemoration on Kilo Pier at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2016, in Honolulu. (AP Photo/Eugene Tanner, File)
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Overview

  • Schab died Dec. 20 at his home in Beaverton, Oregon, a death confirmed by the USS Arizona Memorial and his daughter.
  • He “passed peacefully while listening to swing music, with his family by his side,” according to the memorial’s statement.
  • At 21, the Navy musician served aboard the USS Dobbin on Dec. 7, 1941, helping supply ammunition to anti-aircraft gunners as three sailors from his ship were killed, per Navy records.
  • After World War II, he studied aerospace engineering and worked as an electrical engineer for General Dynamics on the Apollo program.
  • He regularly traveled to Pearl Harbor commemorations, attending in 2024 and watching the most recent ceremony by livestream due to health issues.