ON MAY 11, 1945, Everett “Red” Lanman of Plymouth, Massachusetts, was serving as an aviation mechanic on board the USS Bunker Hill when it was struck by two kamikazes during the Battle of Okinawa. He had been assigned to the Essex-class aircraft carrier shortly after it was launched on December 7, 1942—exactly one year after Pearl Harbor. Today, the 100-year-old is still going strong, just like the Bunker Hill’s motto: “Never Surrender, Never Sink.” Lanman’s hair is no longer red, but the Bronze Starrecipient has a clear memory of the dramatic events of nearly 80 years ago.
Where did you first serve when you enlisted right after Pearl Harbor?
I was stationed in New York City at Pier 92, which was a receiving station. We were on guard duty there before shipping out to the Pacific. One of my first duties was after the SSrolled over at Pier 88. It was being converted to a troopship in February 1942 when a fire broke out and it sank at dock. After that, we were assigned to the USS
