Vaughn Drake Jr., an esteemed Central Kentuckian believed to be the oldest survivor of the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, died last week.
Drake died April 7 at the age of 106, according to a news release from the nonprofit Affinity Media and Public Relations announcing his death. His visitation is Thursday at the Milward Funeral Home on Southland drive in Lexington, according to his obituary, and a military-style burial will follow at Winchester Cemetery at West Lexington Avenue.
Drake was born in Winchester in 1918 and was stationed at Kaneohe Naval Air Station on Oahu during the Dec. 7, 1941, Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
More than 2,400 American military personnel and civilians died in the attack, and eight U.S. Navy vessels, including three battleships, were sunk, according to the Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum.
Drake was 23, serving in the Army Corps of Engineers, at the time, according to the news release. He said in a previous interview with the Herald-Leader he was in charge of running a temporary power plant so carpenters building new barracks at Kaneohe had electricity for saws and other equipment.
Drake was getting ready for breakfast when the attack began.
“We left to go to the chow line to get our breakfast, and we noticed these planes flying over the naval air station, diving and everything. And we thought, ‘Boy, they’re really putting on a good show,’” Drake said in the interview. “Even though we saw the red spots on the wing — which was the Japanese symbol — we still couldn’t believe it. ...
“About that time, one of the officers had been in contact with headquarters at Schofield Barracks, and they said, ‘This is an attack! The Japanese are attacking the whole island!’”
Drake witnessed a plane crashing at Kaneohe, and he later went back to the crash site and tore some pieces out of the plane. Military officials later learned the plane had been piloted by Lt. Fusata Iida (the first name is sometimes spelled Fusada), who had taken off from a Japanese carrier.
Drake did not return to Oahu or Pearl Harbor, but he occasionally shared his story at public meetings or in interviews.
“I do feel like a part of history,” Drake said in the interview with the Herald-Leader. “I haven’t made it the big thing in my life.”
Drake was also a part of the Battle of Saipan in the Mariana Islands, according to the news release announcing his death.
That battle, on June 15, 1944, happened on Saipan, the second-largest island in the Marianas, which served as a major Japanese base and sugar production area.
U.S. Marines stormed the island’s beaches intending to gain a crucial air base, according to the park service. Soldiers fought about 32,000 men, double the size estimated by American intelligence, but claimed victory over the Japanese on July 9.
Nearly 3,000 American troops were killed and more than 10,000 wounded, according to the park service.
Drake received numerous honors for his military service, including the special Congressional Medal for the Veterans of Pearl Harbor, the Army Good Conduct Medal, the American Defense Medal with Foreign Service bar, the Asiatic-Pacific Medal with two battle stars and the World War II Victory Medal, according to his obituary.
After World War II, Drake started a career in engineering back home in Kentucky, according to the news release. His obituary says he attended the University of Kentucky College of Engineering and was a registered professional engineer for more than 50 years.
Drake worked with the General Telephone Company for thirty-six years and retired in 1981 as a valuation engineering manager. His obituary says he designed and supervised construction of all the underground telephone conduits placed in Lexington, Morehead and Ashland in the 1940s and 1950s.
Drake was also a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, the National Society of Professional Engineers and was a charter member and past president of the Bluegrass Chapter of the Kentucky Society of Professional Engineers, according to his obituary. In 1979, he received the KSPE State Award for “Outstanding Engineer in Industry.”
At one time in his career, he was a member of the professional advisory board for the Lexington-Fayette County Planning and Zoning Commission, according to his obituary.
“We have lost an amazing hero in Vaughn Drake, Jr.,” Lexington Mayor Linda Gorton said in a statement. “Our city, state, and country will be forever grateful for his military service, surviving the Pearl Harbor attack in 1941 and fighting in the Battle of Saipan, receiving numerous commendations and honors, and going on to a professional engineering career here in Central Kentucky. As the oldest living survivor of the Pearl Harbor attack, Mr. Vaughn led a long life filled with a commitment to his country and family.”
Drake was married to Lina Wilson Drake for 65 years until her death in 2011, according to the news release. His obituary said Drake had one son, two grandsons and three great-grandchildren.
106 years ago
Drake was born on Nov. 6, 1918, just a few days before an armistice was signed by the Germans to end World War I.
On the day he was born, Allied Supreme Commander Marshal Ferdinand Foch arrived in Compiègne, France, to begin negotiations with German armistice delegates, according to Imperial War Museums’ website.
Woodrow Wilson was the 28th U.S. president at the time. He served from 1913 to 1921.
The average price of gasoline was 25 cents a gallon, according to inflationdata.com. In 1917 the average price of a home was $5,000, which comes out to $111,584.29 in 2017 when adjusted for inflation, according to singularityhub.com.
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