HOUSTON - The area's last known survivor of the attack on Pearl Harbor was laid to rest Friday at Woodlawn Cemetery. David Lock was 95 years old.
Lock was a member of the Marine Corps, stationed aboard the USS Pennsylvania when the Japanese bombers flew over Hawaii.
"He ran out of the mess hall and there were bombs dropping all around him," said Lock's son, also named David Lock. "Everybody says he should have been scared, well he didn't have time to think about being scared."
The attack killed some 2,400 members of the military and injured more than 1,200.
"I am free to speak to you today because of people like Mr. Lock," said Lori Centro of the Houston chapter of the Sons and Daughters of Pearl Harbor Survivors. "He is the last Pearl Harbor survivor at least in this area, he is the last in our chapter."
At his burial, Lock was honored by the Veterans of Foreign Wars, a Marine Corps honor guard and the Patriot Guard Riders.
After the war, Lock settled in the Houston area and worked at local refineries. While his son was in middle school, he went back to school and received his high school diploma.
"His motto was if you do something, do the best you can and stick with it," said Lock's son.
Lock's wife of more than 50 years died in 2002. He is survived by his son, daughter-in-law, three grandchildren and six great grandchildren.
