(Tribune Content Agency) — Joe Langdell was known for the World War II stories he could tell.
He was well qualified, having watched from shore as his ship, the USS Arizona, sank during the Dec. 7, 1941, surprise attack on Pearl Harbor.
The 100-year-old Langdell — the Yuba-Sutter, Calif., area's last Pearl Harbor survivor and a fixture in Marysville's annual Veterans Day parade — died Wednesday, family members confirmed.
He had an outgoing personality as well as an affinity recounting the historic attack and had been living in Yuba City, Calif.
"He talked to anybody about it," said John Langdell of Spearfish, S.D., one of his two sons. "He relished being the center of attention. That was part of his makeup."
Son Ted Langdell, who lives in Marysville, said his dad kept high spirits at The Fountains care facility.
"I guess you might say he was creating an endearing character over there," he said, adding a bit of mischief was likely involved.
Joe Langdell's death came almost four months after his 100th birthday. Ted Langdell was there holding his hand when he passed away.
Riding in a wheelchair, Joe Langdell took part in November's annual Veterans Day Parade in downtown Marysville. His presence in the parade became a focal point for the yearly event.
John Langdell said his father's remains will be interred at the site of the USS Arizona, the ship on which he served, next Dec. 7. A local public memorial service will likely be held in April, he said.
Don Schrader, a local veterans advocate and a board member of the Museum of Forgotten Warriors in Yuba County, noted Langdell visited the museum from time to time.
"He went to the parades and always wore his uniform," Schrader said. "It's the passing of an era. It is unfortunate, but we are losing those guys."
Schrader also noted that Langdell seemed to take pleasure in letting people know about his wartime experiences.
"I think he enjoyed it greatly, and I think he was very proud of it," Schrader said. "And he should have been."
Langdell's passing leaves the Yuba-Sutter area with no surviving members of the Dec. 7, 1941, Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Fellow survivor Art Rodda, who lived in Sutter, died in 2013.
"It certainly was the focal point of his service in the Navy and the attack on Pearl Harbor was the center of his life," John Langdell said of his father. "He took pride in it."
The Appeal-Democrat has recounted Joe Langdell's story multiple times during the past several decades. As told to the A-D in 2009, he was 28 years old and asleep on Ford Island when the attack happened and watched helplessly from shore as the Arizona sank and 1,177 sailors assigned to it were lost.
Retiring as a lieutenant commander, Joe Langdell was thought to be the last surviving officer assigned at that time to the Arizona. He was recently one of only seven survivors from the ship, John Langdell said.
Joe Langdell told the Appeal-Democrat in 2009 that he likely would have been killed if he had been on board the Arizona when it was attacked. "Saw it sink? Hell, yes," he said in 2009. "I was right there on shore, as close as you could get while keeping out of the bomb range."
Langdell helped other men wade to shore and get to the hospital, according to the A-D account. He said he was later asked to go with 15 other men who had sheets and pillowcases to gather all the bodies above the waterline.
"You'll always remember it," Joe Langdell said at the time. "It's a milestone in your life — one of the most important battles in the world, in world history, and I've got my medals to tell about it."
Born Oct. 12, 1914, in Wilton, N.H., Joe Langdell was employed as a salesman after the war and, with his wife, sought out the warmer California climate — first in the Bay Area and later in the Yuba-Sutter area. He was a former owner of the Village Mart store in Yuba County.
Arrangements are pending at Ullrey Memorial Chapel in Yuba City.
©2015 the (Marysville, Calif.) Appeal-Democrat. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
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