Melvin Heckman, a Pearl Harbor survivor, poses for a photo with the sailors of Patrol Squadron 9 next to a P-3C Orion 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 re
Melvin Heckman, a Pearl Harbor survivor, poses for a photo with the sailors of Patrol Squadron 9 next to a P-3C Orion 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
