LAKE COUNTY — Walter H. Urmann, one of the last four Pearl Harbor Survivors residing in Lake County, died Sunday at 87.
Urmann died at approximately 6 p.m. with his companion of the last five years, Alice Darrow at his bedside. Darrow was also a Pearl Harbor Survivor widow, also known as a “Sweetheart.” Urmann and Darrow traveled extensively around the world together, including two trips to ceremonies at Pearl Harbor and one trip to Sydney, Australia, where Urmann spent time on leave during World War II.
Urmann was born on Nov. 27, 1923 in Windsor. He lived there until he joined the U.S. Navy at 17.
Urmann was aboard the destroyer USS Blue as Japanese Imperial forces attacked Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. His ship got under way and was the third vessel out of the harbor. Urmann said he saw a Japanese pilot wave as the pilot passed over him.
The safety of his ship was somewhat short-lived, however as it steamed south and engaged many other enemy ships during the Battle of Guadalcanal, finally sinking after it was torpedoed on Aug. 22, 1942 in “Iron Bottom Sound.” Urmann told friends the torpedo hit the area where his bunk was and had he been there he would have been among the dead.
He served for the duration of World War II on other destroyers, but always identified himself as part of the crew of the USS Blue and was proud to be a Pearl Harbor Survivor.
Upon his return to California, Urmann worked for Pacific Telephone for 33 years before retiring to Clearlake Park with his wife Iris in 1982. Since then he was active with the Pearl Harbor Survivors, Chapter 23 North. He participated in presentations for Lake County college students as a witness to history.
Urmann was well known around Lake County but especially by those at the California Highway Patrol, where he served as a volunteer during the 1990s.
His friends said Urmann liked to sing and would often spontaneously break into song without warning if the mood struck him. A YouTube video of Urmann singing the National Anthem while visiting the USS Arizona Memorial can be viewed at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3X8WseEF84.
He is predeceased by his wife, Iris in 2005 and his daughter Patricia in 2011. He is survived by two granddaughters, seven great-grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews.
Donations toward the preservation of the Pearl Harbor Survivors Memorial Mast in Library Park in Lakeport in Urmann”s name can be made by contacting Janeane Bogner at 998-3280.
