Brockton Pearl Harbor survivor remembers life changing day

BROCKTON, Mass. — Even at age 95, George Hursey can remember the raw emotions that ran through him on Dec. 7, 1941.

It was a day that changed the course of American history.

Hursey, a longtime Brockton residence, was just 21 and stationed at an Army base above Pearl Harbor in 1941.

When he saw enemy planes come into view, he knew everything was going to change, and he ran right into danger.

A Japanese plane that had been shot down nearly took out the truck he and other soldiers were riding in.

“It didn't explode - it just dropped there and stopped. If it had exploded it would have got us all,” he said.

Hursey saw many lives lost, but kept fighting.

“We do what we're trained to do,” Hursey said.

He also didn't know for hours if his brother, JB Hursey, was safe. He had been standing watch on the base when the attack happened.

After the commotion died down, the brothers were reunited, and Hursey remembers how happy he was.

“My brother was out safe - he was with me!" he said.

George Hursey is the last know living Pearl Harbor survivor in Brockton and was honored Wednesday in a ceremony, thanking him for his service.

George went on to fight in the jungles of New Guinea during the war, and he was wounded by a shell on the island of Guadalcanal in the Pacific theater. He was then sent home to train other men. He then had a long career in the post office and now his grandson is a second lieutenant in the Massachusetts National Guard.

Hursey's brother JB died last year. George still lives with his 91-year-old wife, Mary.

Cox Media Group