Ken Hartle, who as a Navy diver during World War II had the grim task of retrieving bodies from ships sunk by the Japanese at Pearl Harbor, has died. He was 103.
(FOX)- Hartle died Tuesday afternoon at an Escondido, California, center for people with Alzheimer’s disease or dementia, the San Diego Union-Tribune (http://bit.ly/2jnUNzC) reported Friday. A reporter was at his bedside with Hartle’s son and daughter three hours before his death.
Hartle may have been the oldest surviving Pearl Harbor salvage diver, said David Ball of San Diego, an officer with the Navy Divers Association.
Hartle and his fellow Seabees worked in the days before scuba diving equipment was commonplace. His heavy canvas diving suit and brass helmet weighed more than 200 pounds.
Japan’s Dec. 7, 1941 surprise attack on Pearl Harbor sank or beached 18 ships. Among them was the battleship Arizona, which went down with 1,177 crew members.
(Photo Credit: Courtesy Hartle Family via AP) (Hartle Family)