Every December 7^th, Americans pay their respects to those who were lost in the traumatic events taken place at Pearl Harbor. It is a day that no one will forget. The memories still haunt the survivors to this day. December 7^th, 2016, marked the 75^th anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack. The oldest survivor, Ray Chavez, is 104 years old and is still going strong. Chavez returned to the naval base on the 75^th anniversary for the reunion where he was honored. He was very eager to return and share his story.

Ray Chavez was born in San Bernardino, California, in 1912. Chavez worked on fields and nurseries growing up. He married a woman named Margaret in his early 20’s and had a baby girl shortly after. He joined the Navy at the age of 27, where he was assigned to the minesweeper USS Condor at Pearl Harbor.

The morning of December 7^th, 1941, Chavez was asleep at nearby Ewa Beach when he heard the bomb raid start. He immediately went to the base where he spent the next nine days on duty. He described those nine days as “unimaginable tragedy.” Chavez doesn’t usually talk about the past because it was so traumatic. He says, “I think about it as I fall asleep every night. I can see, smell and hear every second.” He couldn’t talk about the memories of that day for at least four decades. It was too hard because he could still remember pulling his friends out of the oily water and cleaning up the wreckage.

Chavez’s life was very up and down. He got promoted to the rank of chief and served on delivery ships until 1945, when he retired because of his PTSD. It took three months for him to stop shaking after he retired. However, Chavez experienced another tragedy when his daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter died in a car crash. Just two years later, Chavez and his wife adopted Kathleen from an orphanage. Kathleen was the joy that the family needed. Even though Kathleen and Chavez aren’t connected by blood, they are as close as any family could get. Chavez also attends a personal fitness program twice a week to keep in shape. He doesn’t smoke, drink or eat unhealthily, with intentions of living a longer life. Even with all the pain in his life, he has an amazing support system which makes living worth it.

Ray Chavez is loved and admired. He went through one of America’s worst tragedies and came out stronger than before. He made it all the way to Pearl Harbor’s 75^th anniversary and is hoping he will make it to more reunions with his fellow survivors. His strong will and experience inspires everyone around him to make the best out of any situation and to never give up. Ray Chavez is a true American hero and is an inspiration to all.