West
Bob Fernandez, a 100-year-old Pearl Harbor survivor, dies peacefully at home 83 years after bombing
Bob Fernandez, a 100-year-old survivor of the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor, died shortly after deteriorating health prompted him to skip a trip to Hawaii to attend last week’s remembrance ceremony marking the 83rd anniversary of the attack.
Fernandez died peacefully at the Lodi, California, home of his nephew, Joe Guthrie, on Wednesday. Guthrie’s daughter, Halie Torrrell, was holding his hand when he took his last breath. Fernandez suffered a stroke about a month ago that caused him to slow down but Guthrie said doctors attributed his condition to age.
ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY, DECEMBER 7, 1941, PEARL HARBOR ATTACK KILLS 2,403 AMERICANS, LAUNCHES US INTO WWII
“It was his time,” Guthrie said.
Fernandez was a 17-year-old sailor on board the USS Curtiss during the Dec. 7, 1941, attack that propelled the U.S. into World War II. A mess cook, he was waiting tables and bringing sailors morning coffee and food when they heard an alarm sound. Through a porthole, Fernandez saw a plane fly by with the red ball insignia known to be painted on Japanese aircraft.
Pearl Harbor Navy veteran Bob Fernandez is photographed at home Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024, in Lodi, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
He rushed down three decks to a magazine room where he and other sailors waited for someone to unlock a door storing shells so they could pass them to the ship’s guns. He has told interviewers over the years that some of his fellow sailors were praying and crying as they heard gunfire above.
“I felt kind of scared because I didn’t know what the hell was going on,” Fernandez told The Associated Press in an interview weeks before his death.
Fernandez’s ship, the Curtiss, lost 21 men and nearly 60 of its sailors were injured. The bombing killed more than 2,300 U.S. servicemen. Nearly half, or 1,177, were sailors and Marines on board the USS Arizona, which sank during the battle.
“We lost a lot of good people, you know. They didn’t do nothing,” Fernandez said. “But we never know what’s going to happen in a war.”
Fernandez had been planning to return to Pearl Harbor last week to attend an annual commemoration hosted by the Navy and the National Park Service but became too weak to make the trip, Guthrie said.
He was “so proud” of his six years in the Navy, all of it aboard the USS Curtiss, Guthrie said. Most of his casual clothes, like hats and shirts, were related to his service.
“It was just completely ingrained in him,” his nephew said.
Fernandez worked as a forklift driver at a cannery in San Leandro, California, after the war. His wife of 65 years, Mary Fernandez, died in 2014.
He enjoyed music and dancing, and until recently attended weekly music performances at a local park and a restaurant. He helped neighbors in his trailer park take care of their yards until he moved in with Guthrie last year.
“I’d do yard work and split firewood and he’d swing the axe a little bit,” Guthrie said. “We’d call it his physical therapy.”
Fernandez’s advice for living a long life included stopping eating once you’re full and marching up stairs. He said it was OK to take a nap, but do something like laundry or wash dishes before going to bed. He recommended being kind to everyone.
Guthrie said he thinks Fernandez would want to be remembered for bringing people joy.
“He would rake people’s yards if they couldn’t do it. He would paint a fence. He would help somebody,” Guthrie said. “He would give people money if they needed something. He was so generous and such a kind person. He made friends everywhere.”
Fernandez is survived by his oldest son, Robert J. Fernandez, a granddaughter and several great-grandchildren.
There are 16 known survivors of Pearl Harbor that are still alive, according to a list maintained by Kathleen Farley, the California state chair of the Sons and Daughters of Pearl Harbor Survivors. All of them are at least 100 years old.
Fernandez’s death would have brought the number to 15, but Farley recently learned of an additional survivor.
Read the full article from Here
HONOLULU — The latest lava fountaining episode of an erupting Hawaii volcano reached 1,000 feet high Tuesday, prompting temporary closures at a national park and part of an important highway because of falling glassy volcanic fragments, including ash.
Kilauea, on Hawaii’s Big Island, has been dazzling residents and visitors for more than year with an on-and-off eruption that periodically sends fountains of lava soaring into the sky.
The fountaining that began Tuesday morning marked the eruption’s 43rd episode since it began in December 2024. A livestream showed two fountains of bright-red lava and smoke. It’s unclear how long the fountaining will last. Some episodes have lasted a few days and others a few hours.
Like other times, the molten rock was confined within Kilauea’s summit crater inside Hawaii Volcanoes National Park and hasn’t threatened homes or buildings.
But the lava fountains were creating trouble for neighboring communities and a highway where the volcanic fragments and ash, known as tephra, was falling. The tephra prompted temporary closures at the national park around the summit and a partial closure of Highway 11, an important route around the island, on either side of the park.
Hawaii County officials also opened a shelter at a district gymnasium for residents and tourists impacted by the road closure or falling tephra. There were no people using the shelter soon after it opened, said Tom Callis, a county spokesperson.
The National Weather Service issued an ashfall warning.
Volcanic tephra can irritate eyes, skin and the respiratory system, according to county officials. Tephra also can clog and cause other problems with water catchment collection systems, which are common in some parts of the Big Island, officials said.
Ash fell so heavily during a previous fountaining episode that some communities needed help from county civil defense workers to clean up ash that coated their homes, Callis said.
Kilauea is one of the world’s most active volcanoes.
LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — Smith’s employees are packing 5,000 meal kits for Clark County students through a partnership with Move for Hunger and Communities in Schools of Southern Nevada.
The event took place on March 10 at Decker Elementary School.
About 270 leaders from across seven states are also participating in building the kits. The donation is valued at approximately $50,000.
Feed The Need: Helping Southern Nevadans fight food insecurity
In the past year, Smith’s and its customers provided more than 16 million meals to nonprofit hunger-relief organizations throughout Nevada through donations.
Copyright 2026 KVVU. All rights reserved.
Daily Briefing: All eyes on Rome, Georgia
Towering lava fountains of Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano trigger park and highway closures
Ask the Meteorologist: How one storm produced a violent tornado, 6-inch hail in Illinois
At least 4 tornadoes suspected of leaving trail of damage in Illinois, Indiana, NWS says
‘¿Habla español?’ Iowa schools look overseas to find Spanish teachers
Florida High School Football Rankings: Top 25 teams – Oct. 21
Cleary's 21 help Le Moyne down Central Connecticut State 69-64 in OT
How old is Bo Nix? What to know about Oregon quarterback ahead of 2024 NFL Draft
99th annual Pony Swim held in Virginia
Indiana Members Credit Union announced as new anchor tenant at Bottleworks District
EXCLUSIVE: ICE says El Paso detention facility will stay open under new contractor after $1.2B deal scrapped
Von der Leyen ‘acting outside of competence,’ Araud tells Euronews
Wheelchair curler Steve Emt’s path from drunk driver to three-time Paralympian
Map: 2.3-Magnitude Earthquake Reported North of New York City
Trump stirs GOP primary drama with visit to Massie’s Kentucky home turf
-
Wisconsin1 week agoSetting sail on iceboats across a frozen lake in Wisconsin
-
Massachusetts1 week agoMassachusetts man awaits word from family in Iran after attacks
-
Pennsylvania6 days agoPa. man found guilty of raping teen girl who he took to Mexico
-
Detroit, MI5 days agoU.S. Postal Service could run out of money within a year
-
Miami, FL7 days agoCity of Miami celebrates reopening of Flagler Street as part of beautification project
-
Sports6 days agoKeith Olbermann under fire for calling Lou Holtz a ‘scumbag’ after legendary coach’s death
-
Virginia7 days agoGiants will hold 2026 training camp in West Virginia
-
Culture1 week agoTry This Quiz on the Real Locations in These Magical and Mysterious Novels