Louisiana's last Pearl Harbor survivor has passed away. Mr. Joe Richard just turned 100 a few months ago. In the days immediately after the attack he cut holes in ships to rescue survivors. He spent the next few months after recovering bodies.
I had the honor of meeting him about 3 years ago. He carried a heavy burden. One of his greatest offsets for that burden was getting to meet one of the survivors he rescued decades later.
Saturday we escorted Mr. Joe to his final resting place.