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Oldest military survivor of Pearl Harbor dies at 106

Ray Chavez's daughter, Kathleen Chavez of Poway, California, tells The Associated Press her father died in his sleep Wednesday.
Credit: Pool
Pearl Harbor survivor Ray Chavez sits with his daughter Kathleen Chavez and Chief Warrant Officer 4 Dorian Bozza during a ceremony commemorating the 75th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor at Kilo Pier on December 07, 2016.

LOS ANGELES (AP) - The oldest U.S. military survivor of the Dec. 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor that plunged the United States into World War II has died at age 106.

Ray Chavez's daughter, Kathleen Chavez of Poway, California, tells The Associated Press her father died in his sleep Wednesday.

Chavez had visited Washington in May where he was honored by President Donald Trump during Memorial Day services.

He was assigned to the minesweeper USS Condor when Japanese war planes bombed Pearl Harbor.

RELATED: WWII Veteran from Missouri who survived attack on Pearl Harbor passes away on Veterans Day

Hours before the attack, he and others had spotted a Japanese submarine near the harbor and notified a destroyer, which sunk it.

Soon after, his ship docked, and he returned to his nearby home. Minutes later, he would race back to the harbor when Japanese warplanes began to attack.

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