106-year-old Pearl Harbor survivor keeps memory alive for new generations

Freeman K. Johnson, 106, the oldest Pearl Harbor survivor, recalls being below deck repairing a boiler aboard the USS St. Louis as the attack began and not seeing the planes topside; he later witnessed Roosevelt’s Tehran Conference aboard the USS Iowa and the surrender ceremonies in Tokyo Bay aboard the Missouri. Now living in Centerville, MA, Johnson has become a local figure and a living link to Pearl Harbor, as only about 11 survivors remain.