Lou Conter, Last Surviving Crewman of the USS Arizona Dies

Louis Anthony Conter, the last survivor of the USS Arizona, has died. He was 102. Conter was born in Ojibwa, Wisconsin on September 13, 1921. He enlisted in the US Navy on 15 November 1939 and completed basic training in San Diego, California. He boarded the USS Arizona on January 24, 1940, with the rank of Quartermaster 3rd Class.

Conter was on watch on the quarterdeck station between the third turret and main deck, when the ship was attacked by a squadron of Japanese torpedo planes and bombers at 8 am. About five minutes later, Arizona was struck by a 1,760-pound bomb between the first and second turret, which ignited the ship’s ammunition magazine. The following explosion blew off the ship’s bow and lifted the battleship out of the water.

As the ship burned and started to sink, it was hit by more Japanese projectiles. Meanwhile, Conter was aiding fellow wounded sailors, keeping them from jumping in the burning oil covering the water’s surface. When Conter was already knee deep in water, the Captain gave the order to abandon ship and Conter took to the lifeboats. Arizona sank in 9 minutes, taking the lives of 1,177 of her crew. Her 334 surviving crew struggled to escape the burning ruins, of which Conter saved several by pulling them out of the water into his lifeboat before rowing to shore. Following the attack, Conter spent several weeks helping to put out fires and recovering the bodies of the fallen.

Shortly after the attack on Pearl, Lou attended flight school, getting his wings in  November 1942. He participated in several bombing raids in Black Cats – a black painted PBYs used for night bombing – in the South Pacific. He was shot down twice during the war but managed to use a raft to row to shore on both occasions. Conter went on to serve in the New Guinea campaign and the European theater at the end of the war.

After the war, Conter joined the reserves and wound up seeing action in Korea aboard the USS Bonhomme Richard. He retired from the Naval service in 1967 as a Lieutenant Commander.

After his retirement from the Navy, Conter pursued a career as a real estate developer in California. Conter wrote a book about his life titled The Lou Conter Story in 2021; he turned 100 the same year. Following the death of Ken Potts in April 2023, Conter became the last known survivor of the sinking of the USS Arizona.

He died in Grass Valley, California on April 1, 2024, at the age of 102.

Until Valhalla Lou.