Lauren Bruner Will Be the 44th and Final Crew Member Interred on the USS Arizona

From the December 6, 2019, Concord Monitor "California man will be then 44th and final crew member interred on the USS Arizona" by Audrey McAvoy, AP.

On December 7, 1941, the then 21-year-old Lauren Bruner was the second-to-last man to leave his stricken ship, the USS Arizona.  He lived to be 98, married twice and outlived both wives.

This weekend, divers will place Bruner's ashes inside the wreckage of the USS Arizona.  He will be the 44th and last Arizona crew man to be placed on the ship as the other three Arizona survivors still alive have opted to be buried with their families.

Bruner said he wants to be buried at the Arizona as few people go to cemeteries and millions visit the Memorial.  Plus, he wants to be with old friends who never made it off the ship.

The Navy began interring survivors on their old ships in 1982, but there are only two ships from Pearl harbor still there, the Arizona and USS Utah.  The other ships there that day were repaired and put back into service except for the USS Oklahoma.