Ira 'Ike' Schab, Pearl Harbor survivor, dies at 105

Ira 'Ike' Schab, a long-serving Navy veteran and one of the last remaining Pearl Harbor survivors, died early Saturday at age 105, his daughter said. He passed away at home in Beaverton, Oregon, with Kimberlee Heinrichs and her husband at his side. With his death, only about a dozen Pearl Harbor survivors remain.

Schab was 21 at the time of the Dec. 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor. Born July 4, 1920, in Chicago, he joined the Navy at 18, following his father into service and later serving as a tuba player in the USS Dobbin's band. On that Sunday morning, as Japanese planes roared overhead, Schab went topside, watched the USS Utah capsize, and helped feed shells to an anti-aircraft gun in a daisy chain of sailors. Navy records show three sailors from his ship were lost that day: one killed in action and two later dying of fragment wounds from a bomb that struck the stern.

Schab spent most of World War II in the Pacific theater, with assignments in the New Hebrides (now Vanuatu), the Mariana Islands, and Okinawa. After the war he studied aerospace engineering and worked as an electrical engineer on the Apollo spaceflight program for General Dynamics, helping send astronauts to the moon. His son also joined the Navy and is a retired commander.

Schab became a familiar presence at Pearl Harbor memorials in recent years, traveling from Beaverton to Hawaii to honor those who did not survive. In a 2023 ceremony, he said, "To pay honor to the guys that didn’t make it." He noted that those who remain deserve recognition, whether living or dead, and he said he was determined to participate in remembrance ceremonies as long as he could. Last year he spoke about summoning the strength to stand and salute.

With the number of living Pearl Harbor veterans shrinking, the memory of the attack remains a focal point of U.S. history. The December 7, 1941, assault killed more than 2,400 service members and propelled the United States into World War II.

Schab's death comes less than three weeks after he did not feel well enough to attend last year's observance. He is survived by his daughter and by his son, a retired Navy commander, as well as by a broader network of veterans who share his experiences.

His life bridged World War II and the space age, with a career that helped advance lunar exploration. The Associated Press confirmed his death and said Heinrichs spoke with her father shortly before he passed, describing a quiet, peaceful ending surrounded by family.