Lt. Jim Downing, U.S. Navy, WWII, Pearl Harbor

Jim Downing joined the U.S. Navy in 1931 because the pay was very attractive at the depths of the Great Depression. After training he would be assigned to the brand new USS West Virginia, serving on 16-inch guns and as postmaster for the ship.

Ten years later, on December 7, 1941, Downing was at a meeting on shore at Pearl Harbor when word came that the Pacific Fleet was under attack.

In this edition of "Veterans Chronicles," Downing explains how he raced back to his ship, helped protect it from exploding and also took it upon himself to write to the families of the fallen from that horrible day.

Downing also tells us about the remainder of his Naval career and the amazing encounters he later had with the Japanese pilot who led the attack on Pearl Harbor.

At the time of this interview in 2017, Lt. Downing was 103 years old. At the time that made him the second oldest living American veteran of Pearl Harbor. He passed away the following year at 104 years old.