AN AMERICAN HERO
Celebrates His 100th Birthday By Jim McCoy, Pacific Historic Parks
“It was quite a celebration, and I was overwhelmed.” That was how retired Lt. Cmdr. and USS Arizona survivor Lou Conter summed up his 100th birthday celebration near his Northern California home. And then he added “It was once in a lifetime” followed by a hearty laugh. Members of the California Highway Patrol proudly escorted him to the venue. There was a flyover. A five-year-old girl sang the National Anthem. Local community leaders paid tribute. He signed copies of his book “From USS Arizona Survivor to Unsung American Hero: The Lou Conter Story.” Guests added their signatures to banners signed by his friends in Hawaii from the National Park Service and Pacific Historic Parks. And then there was the moment Conter was presented with a photo that went viral. On the day before his party, he pinned the pilot wings he earned nearly 80 years ago to the chest of his great nephew, Marine Captain Ray Daniel Hower. "I got those wings on November 15, 1942, and I'm so glad he's got them now,” Conter said in a phone interview from his home a week after the celebration. “He said he’s going to protect them the rest of his life, and I’m glad he’s got them.” Louann Daley, Conter’s daughter, said the pinning ceremony was a proud and powerful moment filled with emotions. “I thought back to when my dad was pinned in 1942 and how he must have felt,” she said. “This was something my dad and mom started talking about 10 years ago to pin my dad’s wings on Daniel and before she passed a few years ago she made him promise to pin his wings on Daniel. With family surrounding them both it was a beautiful moment to witness. They both looked so handsome in their uniforms.”
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REMEMBRANCE FALL 2021
