Harvey “Buster” Milhorn GM 3/c USS Arizona
Interment Ceremony USS Arizona Memorial 7 December 2021
USS ARIZONA SURVIVOR ACHIEVES FINAL WISH
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n the afternoon of Dec. 7, 2021, Navy Lt. Harvey Milhorn was finally laid to rest with his fallen USS Arizona shipmates in a ceremony steeped in military tradition Lt. Milhorn was the 45th USS Arizona survivor to be interred. He was a Gunner’s Mate 3rd Class when Pearl Harbor was attacked. A total of 1,177 of his fellow Arizona crewmembers died that day. Most remain entombed in the battleship. After Pearl Harbor, he served on various ships and served throughout the Pacific. After being commissioned, he retired after 30 years of distinguished military service. Milhorn’s daughter Frances Goldsberry and granddaughter Rachel Yarasavich attended. These are their accounts of that emotional day.
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REMEMBRANCE WINTER 2022
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y daughter, Rachel, and I were finally on our way to Hawaii. Our first trip to the Islands wasn’t for a vacation, something much more important. Sitting on the plane, all I could think about was Daddy is finally going home, to the Arizona, to his shipmates and to the sea. My mind wandered back to growing up hearing the story of the day Pearl Harbor was attacked. When Daddy spoke about it, you could see him re-living it in his eyes. The day had finally come to grant his final wish to join his shipmates. The weather in Oahu wasn’t cooperating that week. It rained so much that it flooded in some areas. The threat of thunderstorms was ever looming - which would mean the interment was going to have to be postponed until a later date. I remembered what Daddy would say when faced with a challenge, “If the Lord is willing and the creek don’t rise”. We were literally down to the wire and the decision to go forward would depend on the weather. I was praying really hard. Additionally, all of the ceremonies on the 80th Anniversary would be scrapped if the weather continued to be uncooperative. The weather finally cleared just enough to go forward with the ceremonies and the interment. It was drizzling and windy and everyone was crossing fingers it would hold. The boat ride to the Memorial was solemn. Stepping onto the Memorial, a wash of feelings came over me and I could only imagine what those men went through that day. Rachel and I were very humbled to be there to honor not just my Dad and her “Pop-pop”, but also his shipmates. It was a very somber ceremony. The respect and care shown by everyone that was involved in bringing this to fruition was very apparent. Handing the urn to the divers, Rachel and I said our last goodbyes to our hero. Walking hand in hand back to our seats, Rachel whispered
