Warren “Red” Upton, a Navy radioman who survived the attack on Pearl Harbor aboard USS Utah, died on December 25, 2024, at age 105. At the time of his death, he was described as the oldest living Pearl Harbor attack survivor and the last surviving member of Utah’s crew. Those are historical descriptions of his status in 2024, not current survivor counts.
Who was Warren “Red” Upton?
Upton was 22 years old and serving as a radioman aboard USS Utah on December 7, 1941. He later worked in radio repair and electronics, and served in the Navy Reserve during the Korean War, according to The Washington Post’s January 4, 2025 obituary.
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Upton died in a hospital in Los Gatos, California, after pneumonia on Christmas Day 2024. The Associated Press reported his death and age on December 27, attributing the cause and location to Kathleen Farley, California state chair of the Sons and Daughters of Pearl Harbor Survivors: Associated Press report.
How Upton escaped USS Utah
USS Utah had been redesignated as a target ship and was moored at Pearl Harbor when the attack began, according to the U.S. Naval Institute’s April 2025 account. Upton was preparing to shave when a torpedo struck the ship.
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As Utah began to list and capsize, Upton managed to get free and swim to Ford Island. He took shelter in a trench while aircraft strafed the area, then was taken to safety by truck after roughly half an hour. The AP and Naval History recount the escape; neither account establishes a verified verbatim quotation from Upton for this article.
What “oldest living survivor” and “last USS Utah survivor” mean
At the time of Upton’s death, news accounts described him as both the oldest living survivor of the Pearl Harbor attack and the last surviving USS Utah crew member. These labels refer to different groups: Pearl Harbor attack survivors included people from across the installation, while the Utah designation concerned the crew of one ship. Other attack survivors were still alive after Upton died.
The AP reported that approximately 87,000 military personnel were on Oahu during the attack, an estimate attributed to military historian J. Michael Wenger. It also reported that 15 Pearl Harbor attack survivors remained alive after Upton’s death. These are period-specific estimates reported in December 2024, not a current count.
USS Utah’s losses and Upton’s later life
The Washington Post obituary put the death toll at roughly 2,400 Americans at Pearl Harbor, including service members and civilians. Separately, it reported that 58 Utah crew members died and 461 survived. Those figures describe different scopes: the overall attack and the ship’s crew.
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After his active service, Upton worked in radio repair and electronics and later served in the Navy Reserve during the Korean War. He remained involved in his local Pearl Harbor Survivors Association chapter for many years. The Washington Post reported in January 2025 that the chapter had become defunct because it no longer had enough members.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Why Upton’s story matters
Upton’s account connects the broad history of the Pearl Harbor attack to one crew member’s experience aboard a ship that capsized. His survival depended on escaping the vessel, reaching Ford Island, and finding shelter amid the attack. His death in 2024 also marked the end of the USS Utah crew’s living survivors, as reported at that time, while the wider community of Pearl Harbor attack survivors continued beyond him.
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