Melvin Heckman, a Pearl Harbor survivor, speaks with Cmdr. Beth Regoli, the commanding officer of Patrol Squadron 9, about his experiences during the attack on Pearl Harbor at Hangar 104 aboard Marine Corps Base Hawaii, December 2, 2016. Heckman is known for rescuing sailors from the USS Arizona during the attack on Pearl Harbor after the ship was attacked by Japanese Zeros. "I reached out to grab a man's hand to help him up and take him to the island," said Heckman, a Sheridan, Wyoming, native. "I got him out of the water and saw that everything below his belly button was missing; he died in


Melvin Heckman, a Pearl Harbor survivor, speaks with Cmdr. Beth Regoli, the commanding officer of Patrol Squadron 9, about his experiences during the attack on Pearl Harbor at Hangar 104 aboard Marine Corps Base Hawaii, December 2, 2016. Heckman is known for rescuing sailors from the USS Arizona during the attack on Pearl Harbor after the ship was attacked by Japanese Zeros. "I reached out to grab a man's hand to help him up and take him to the island," said Heckman, a Sheridan, Wyoming, native. "I got him out of the water and saw that everything below his belly button was missing; he died in my arms" Heckman was awarded a purple heart for his bravery after receiving burn wounds from an explosion by a Japanese bomber and rescuing service members.


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Keywords: 2, 9, archive, arizona, armed, bomber, defence, forces, harbor, heart, japanese, military, patrol, pearl, purple, reportage, servicemen, squadron, survivor, usa, uss, vp-9, war, world, wwii