Jack Holder, Pearl Harbor Survivor turned decorated WWII educator, dies at 101

Jack Holder, a Pearl Harbor survivor turned decorated WWII veteran who flew missions over the Solomon Islands in the Pacific Theater and the English Channel in the European theater, died at 101 years old in Chandler on Friday.

"It is with profound sadness that I announce the passing of our dearest friend and esteemed member of the Greatest Generation, Pearl Harbor survivor and Navy Flight Engineer Jack Holder," Darlene Tryon, a close friend and executor of the Holder estate, wrote in an announcement on Sunday.

Tryon said she was with Holder when he took his final breath at Chandler Regional Medical Center on Feb. 24.

Holder was 19 years old when he lined up on the morning of Dec. 7, 1941 for roll call, a daily occurrence for his post as flight engineer in a PBY squadron stationed on Ford Island, a small islet nestled in the middle of Pearl Harbor. Moments later, the first bomb dropped on Ford Island in what would come to be known as one of the most tragic turning points in U.S. history, and tore through a hangar 100 yards away from him.

"Hunkered down behind a fortress of sandbags on December 7, 1941, I wondered if this was the day I would die," Holder told a Republic reporter in a 2016 interview. "That morning I watched as Japanese dive bombers devastated Pearl Harbor. I knew that we would no longer sit on the sidelines of the war ravaging Europe."

After three harrowing days spent manning a ditch lined with sandbags to construct a makeshift machine gun pit in the aftermath of the attack, Holder did anything but "sit on the sidelines."

Holder went on to defend the United States in the Battle of Midway and flew missions over Guadalcanal and the Solomon Islands before being transferred to Devonshire, England where he joined the crew of a B-24 Liberator Bomber, completing missions along the French coast and the English Channel.

"Holder flew over 100 missions, many of which turned the tide of war in favor of the United States in the Pacific Theater," said the Pearl Harbor National Memorial in a commemorative Facebook post.

Holder was awarded two Distinguished Flying Cross Medals, six Air Medals, a Presidential Citation, and six Commendation Medals throughout his Navy career before being honorably discharged in 1948, according to the Pearl Harbor National Memorial.

Born Joseph Norman Holder on Dec. 13, 1921 in Gunter, Texas to a family of dirt farmers against the backdrop of the Great Depression, Holder first became infatuated with flying after watching his uncle fly crop dusters and hearing stories of Charles Lindbergh's trans-Atlantic flight expeditions.

He enlisted in the Navy after high school, having been told of its good opportunities by a Navy veteran he met in Safford while traveling with a friend. He began his career at boot camp in San Diego before heading to Pearl Harbor in December 1940 where he was assigned to a PBY squadron on Ford Island shortly after.

Holder pursued his pilot's license after his honorable discharge in 1948 and flew for 25 years as a corporate and commercial pilot, according to Tryon.

He picked up a love of golf and spent three years mastering the sport. Holder then moved to Arizona to work for the company that would later become Honeywell and retired in the Valley, living in Chandler's Sun Lakes community and golfing often.

'American hero' turned WWII educator

Holder became an avid WWII educator in his later retirement years, spreading a message of courage and bravery to young and old alike, according to Tyron.

"Like so many other World War II survivors, Jack didn't talk much about his service after the war," said Tyron. That all changed in his late 80's when Holder was invited to participate in an honor flight to visit the WWII memorial in Washington, D.C.

"The positive reception he and other World War II veterans received triggered a desire to tell the stories of World War II," said Tyron.

Holder said that for a long time, he didn't think anyone was interested. It was after people told him they wanted to hear those stories from veterans who actually lived it, not historians, that his thinking changed.

Holder became a regular at Pearl Harbor Commemorations, museums and schools, telling a Republic reporter in 2016 that he wanted everyone to hear the stories of what happened at Pearl Harbor and in the war that altered history forever.

Holder wrote and published a book titled, Fear, Adrenaline and Excitement in 2016. The memoir-style book details his experiences in WWII and Pearl Harbor. The name of the book pays homage to what Holder described as "the heart of the battle."

"The heart of battle can best be described in three words: Adrenaline, excitement, and fear. Make no mistake about it, there is always a brief moment of fear. But there is a vast difference between the moment of fear and being afraid," Holder wrote in a biography.

Holder celebrated his 100th birthday by flying over Arizona's Superstition mountains in Amazing Grace, a WWII trainer operated by Arizona Based nonprofit Grounded No More, an organization committed to helping veterans overcome grief.

"Jack’s memory will continue to live on in me and others, as I carry him in my heart," said Tryon. "His words resonate particularly in our youngest Americans, who look to him as the American hero he has become."

Holder will be laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery. A memorial service will take place in Phoenix in early April, though an exact date has yet to be announced.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Pearl Harbor Survivor dies at 101 years old