The oldest living survivor of the USS Arizona, sunk during the Pearl Harbor attack of Dec. 7, 1941, has passed away at the age of 100. Joe Langdell survived the Japanese attack as well as the war and continued to preserve the memory of the battleship as well as his fallen comrades’.

In a post on Facebook, Ted Langdell announced his father had passed away on Wednesday Feb. 4 in Ted’s company while listening to Beethoven's Symphony No. 3, "The Eroica."

The Appeal-Democrat reports Langdell passed away at The Fountains care facility in Yuba City, California. An outgoing and charismatic man, Langdell enjoyed retelling stories about the Second World War and the attack on Pearl Harbor.

"He talked to anybody about it," said his son John Langdell who lives in Spearfish, South Dakota. "He relished being the center of attention. That was part of his makeup."

Langdell turned 100 almost four months ago, but despite his age, participated at the Marysville Veterans’ Day Parade as well as the local Museum of Forgotten Warriors.

"It certainly was the focal point of his service in the Navy and the attack on Pearl Harbor was the center of his life," John Langdell explained. "He took pride in it."

Langdell, who was born on 1914, the same year as the USS Arizona began construction, lived in New Hampshire before attending Boston University and graduated in 1938, according to the Arizona Republic. He worked as an accountant but joined the Navy in 1940. After training, he joined the Arizona in March of 1941 as an ensign.

The day before the infamous attack, Langdell was on shore and woke up to the sounds of Japanese bombs exploding all around Pearl Harbor. Langdell saw the Arizona sink and throughout that day as well as the next couple of days, he helped retrieve and tend to wounded soldiers.

Following the war, Langdell married and moved to California. He became involved with the USS Arizona Reunion Association, becoming the group’s president and reunion coordinator.

According to his son Ted, Langdell will be buried at with the wreckage of the USS Arizona near the battleship’s No. 4 turret. Crew assigned to the ship on Dec. 7, 1941 can have the honor of being buried there.

Eight more survivors remain from that fateful day; however, many remember Langdell, including Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey and Arizona’s U.S. Rep. Kyrsten Sinema.

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