Tribute to the oldest Pearl Harbor Survivor from Blue Ridge

MACON, Georgia (WDEF) – The state of Georgia is mourning the loss of the oldest remaining survivor of the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Fred Johnson died a couple of weeks ago at the age of 104.

He grew up in the Georgia mountains in Blue Ridge and Fannin County.

The youngest of 11 children graduated from Berry College, before enlisting in the U.S. Navy.

Johnson was on board the battleship USS Maryland on the morning of December 7, 1941.

The Maryland was on battleship row (next to the Oklahoma) during the Japanese attack, but suffered only minor bomb damage.

Johnson was originally on the USS West Virginia but was transferred to the Maryland a week before the attack.  The West Virginia was sunk, with more than a hundred sailors on board.

Johnson served 23 years in the Navy, including action in World War II and the Korean Conflict.

After leaving the Navy, he moved to Macon, Georgia where he became a teacher.

He was buried there last week.

You can read more about his life in the Macon Telegraph.