It’s with great sadness; we announce the passing of Ed Guthrie, Nebraska’s last known Pearl Harbor survivor. He was 102.
Edward Guthrie was born during the flu pandemic of 1918, died during the COVID-19 pandemic and lived 102 years in between.
The Omaha man was the state’s last known eyewitness to the Dec. 7, 1941, raid of Pearl Harbor.
In 2016, he shared his memories of the attack that killed more than 2,400 Americans and brought the U.S. into World War II.
Guthrie, a 23-year-old electrician’s mate 2nd class, was reading a comic book on the deck of the USS Whitney when the bombing began.
He watched in disbelief as a Japanese pilot in a red scarf passed close enough to wave at him.
“There were torpedo bombers coming down the chute right alongside of us, skimming over the water. They all wore those red scarves,” Guthrie said at a fundraiser for junior ROTC cadets planning a trip to Pearl Harbor. “I could see this pilot, and he waved at me, and I waved back. My shipmates said, ‘What did you do that for?’ I said, ‘As long as (the pilot) was waving, he wasn’t bombing.’”
Guthrie’s ship was a repair vessel berthed next to a line of destroyers and was not damaged in the attack. But he vividly recalled spending the next three days pulling bodies from the oil-soaked waters of the harbor.
“All those white sailor suits and that black oil ... they didn’t mix very well,” he said. “It’s something you don’t forget.”
In those days after the attack, Guthrie found an oily $5 bill floating in the water. He picked up the bill and kept it in his wallet for 45 years before having it laminated and putting it with other mementos.
In 2016, Guthrie, wife Janet and several family members attended the annual memorial ceremony in Hawaii.
“All the grandkids wanted me to go,” he said at the time. “This will probably be the last time.”
For the duration of the war, Guthrie was reassigned to the USS Banner, and his ship headed for the Asiatic Pacific. In 1946, he witnessed atomic bomb tests in the South Pacific.
Then he returned to Omaha, began a 34-year career with the Omaha Public Power District and met Janet. Together, they raised three kids.
Guthrie was always there to coach his children’s sports teams. He also helped with Boy Scouts and took his children ice skating, sledding, camping and traveling.