Retired Wahoo grocer, one of Nebraska's last survivors of Pearl Harbor attack, dies at age 97

[Omaha Steve]

Source: Omaha World Herald

By Steve Liewer

Walter Barsell loved the smell of flowers in Hawaii.

He was stationed there in the Navy as a young man.

As an elderly gentleman, he would order Hawaiian leis as gifts for his daughters.

The smell is what stuck with him from that day he lived through long ago, Dec. 7, 1941, when bombs from Japanese aircraft rained down on Battleship Row, not far from his barracks room.

FULL story below photo.




Read more: https://www.omaha.com/news/military/retired-wahoo-grocer-one-of-nebraska-s-last-survivors-of/article_e3e185d0-959b-56ec-89f6-3af01ff179bd.html

[tblue37]

1. My dad, who died in 1992, was a young airman at Pearl Harbor when it was hit. nt

[DinahMoeHum]

2. .

[sarge43]

3. Fair winds and following seas, Sailor.

[denbot]

4. At ease Sailor.

[iluvtennis]

5. May he rest in peace.

[jcmaine72]

6. The America this man fought for was a horrible place for anyone not a white cis male.

But his sacrifice enabled this country to evolve into something better. Sadly, we still have a lot more evolving to do before the full measure of Mr. Barsell's sacrifice can be enjoyed by all.