OCEANSIDE, Calif. (KGTV) — High in the sky overlooking the coastline, this Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day was Navy Veteran George Coburn.
While 81 years later, he was enjoying the scenery, he still remembers the moments the Japanese attacked his ship at Pearl Harbor.
"Torpedoes on the Oklahoma- they hit one after another," he said.
He was on the third deck of the USS Oklahoma when he heard an announcement over the intercom.
"All hands, man your battle stations. Real planes. Real bombs. No (expletive)," he recalled. "The ship had been torpedoed and had a huge hole on the side, and I could hear the water pouring in."
He said he escaped the crowds and found a port hole- but not everyone was as lucky.
He remembers the Chaplain onboard not being able to fit through the port hole.
"It was a real display of faith. He just went back and helped other guys go through it," said Coburn.
Coburn swam to the USS Maryland after making it through the port hole.
He didn't waste a second when he got on board.
"I knew what the people needed to do that had to man the guns, and I started doing part of it," he said.
If you ask him if he's a hero, he'll tell you no.
"I might've been 30 years ago, or more but heroism fades. It doesn't last forever," said Coburn.
The humble hero's bravery touched the pilot-- Darryl Fisher-- who took him on his flight in remembrance of the attacks.
"Now, would you do me a favor, George? Would you sign my hat for me?" said Fisher as he handed him a hat.
Coburn wants Americans today to know this when they think about the date which will live in infamy.
"Don't let it happen again," he said.
