Bob Fernandez

Robert Louie Fernandez (July 11, 1924 – December 11, 2024) was an American veteran and a survivor of the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Biography Born in San Jose, California, Fernandez enlisted in the United States Navy in August 1941 at the age of 17, and was stationed at the Pearl Harbor base on Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. He later stated that he was motivated to join the navy because he "wanted to see the world". He was stationed on the USS Curtiss (AV-4) and, according to military records, he was "a mess cook and ammunition loader". In 2016, Fernandez was interviewed by the History Channel for the television show Pearl Harbor: The Last Word. He had travelled to Hawaii three times to remember the attack, and had planned to visit in 2024 to commemorate the "83rd anniversary of the bombing", but was unable to due to a decline in his health. A week before his death, he did a phone interview with Associated Press.

Fernandez died on December 11, 2024, in Lodi, California, at the age of 100. He was living with his nephew at the time of his death, having been in his care since 2022 following a dementia diagnosis.