Every year, there are fewer survivors of Pearl Harbor and every year one more piece of history is lost to the ages.
For some of them, their stories were heard far and wide. But for others, it’s only been later that a son or a daughter will uncover a uniform hidden at the back of a closet. Only later are they left wondering what more there might have been to the story.
Such is the story of Pearl Harbor survivor Marvin Emmarson, of Sisters, who left the world on Feb. 11, 2024. He was 102.
At the time of Emmarson’s death, there was one remaining Pearl Harbor survivor in Central Oregon, Dick Higgins, of Bend.
But Higgins died early Tuesday, a reminder of how fast this generation of veterans is passing. He too, was 102.
While Emmarson was deeply proud of his time in the Navy during World War II, where he served aboard the USS Selfridge, he wasn’t one to share his story unprompted.
John Tehan, Emmarson’s closest next of kin, knew his step-father was aboard the USS Selfridge the day the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, and he knew about the several battles afterwards in the Pacific, but details were sparse.
“He was just a quiet fella,” Tehan said on Saturday. “He would talk about it if we kind of trotted him, but … I think a lot of (veterans like him) don’t talk about it because a lot of their friends were killed. They don’t feel heroic by any means. They feel like the people that gave their lives were the heroes.”
It’s a story veterans of every era know all too well.
Emmarson was born in Astoria on Dec. 13, 1922. He enlisted in the Navy out of Portland, with his best friend Owen Bauserman at his side. They were together during the attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941 and they were together when Bauserman perished in the battle of Vella Lavella in 1943.
It’s not uncommon for children of veterans to have to put together the puzzle pieces for themselves. In fact, it’s a rather unifying experience.
“My father was aboard the USS California on Dec. 7 1941,” said Kathleen Farley, the California chapter president with Sons and Daughters of Pearl Harbor Survivors. “He didn’t talk about it because he knew we would never understand the atrocities that they went through … And as as my mother would say, they went over as young boys and came back as men. It’s not until you would put two or more Pearl Harbor survivors together, that they would talk about it.”
There are 21 survivors remaining in the entire country, Farley said, including two in Oregon: David Russell, of the USS Oklahoma, who lives in Albany, and Kenneth Stevens, of the USS Whitney, who lives in Powers.
For Tehan, it wasn’t until the The Nugget newspaper in Sisters, Oregon, reached out for a profile on Emmarson for his 100th birthday that he really began to understand the breadth of what his step-father went through during his military service.
“They were able to get him to talk about things in a way that I never heard, that really put it in a different perspective,” Tehan said. “I can’t pretend to know what he went through, but it just informed me about his experience, even though you get bits and pieces along the way.”
When the attack of Pearl Harbor began, Emmarson awoke to an explosion just before 8 a.m.
He ran to the deck of the USS Selfridge, a steam-powered destroyer that was the flagship of the Navy’s Destroyer Squadron 4. Still groggy from a night ashore, he caught a glimpse of a Japanese warplane as it flew over Pearl Harbor and then ran to his post below deck in the fire room to help make steam for the ship’s engines.
But Emmarson won’t just be remembered for his military service. His family described him as a kind-hearted man who treated them with devotion. He was married to Tehan’s mother, Marge Lee, for 35 years before she died in 2020.
“He treated my mother like every son would want his mother to be treated, with respect. He was a caring and loving person and always very positive and helpful. We spent many years together as a family,” Tehan said.
Emmarson is survived by his step-son, step-daughter-in-law Peggy Tehan, and step-grandchildren Audrey, Hattie, and JC Tehan.
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