Remembering 3 Wilmington sailors killed at Pearl Harbor
WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Thursday marks 82 years since the attacks on Pearl Harbor, which killed 2,403 people and injured more than 1,000 others.
Three Wilmington residents were among those killed that day.
New Hanover High School graduates Herbert Melton, Clyde Moore and Harvey Horrell died in the attacks, which took place at 7:55 a.m. Hawaii time, 12:55 Wilmington time.
Melton was killed on his 25th birthday while aboard the USS Oklahoma. Moore died instantly following an explosion on the USS Shaw. Horrell died aboard the USS Arizona, being awarded the Purple Heart after his death.
All three Navy sailors have their names on a plaque at the Hannah Block USO building along with the 248 New Hanover County citizens killed in WWII.
While those were the only known New Hanover County residents killed in the attacks, more than a dozen others were stationed in and around Pearl Harbor at the time.
The last known Pearl Harbor survivor in the region, Leslie George “Bud” Hollenbeck, died in 2021.
Only a handful of survivors are believed to still be alive around the country.
