Nikki Stratton, granddaughter of Donald Stratton, who was one of the few remaining survivors of the sinking of the USS Arizona when he died in 2020, delivers remarks during a Pearl Harbor Day ceremony at the Navy Memorial in Washington, D.C., Dec. 7, 2023. (Joshua Karsten/U.S. Navy)
FORT SHAFTER, Hawaii — The granddaughter of a sailor who survived the sinking of the USS Arizona in the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor will deliver the keynote speech at this year’s commemoration in December.
Nikki Stratton, granddaughter of Donald Stratton, who died Feb. 15, 2020, at age 97, will deliver the address Dec. 7 during the 83rd commemoration of the Japanese surprise attack that plunged the U.S. into World War II, Pacific Historic Parks said in a news release Tuesday.
“It is truly a dream come true,” Nikki Stratton said in the news release. “I know my grandfather Donald Stratton, grandmother Velma Stratton and father, Randy Stratton, are looking down with pride and joy.”
Nikki Stratton, a native of Colorado Springs, Colo., graduated in 2007 from Washington State University with a bachelor’s in education focusing on sports management, according to her biography on the USS Arizona Legacy Foundation website. She lives in Denver and works in quality assurance for a small marketing technology company, the biography states.
The last living survivor of the USS Arizona, Lou Conter, died April 1 at age 102.
He was among the 335 sailors and Marines who survived the destruction of the Arizona, which claimed the lives of 1,177 crew members after Japanese planes dropped armor-piercing bombs on the battleship. The remains of more than 900 sailors and Marines remain entombed in the ship, which is now part of the USS Arizona Memorial.
The attack killed 2,335 service members and 68 civilians on Oahu.
Fewer than two dozen veterans of the 1941 attack are living, and only a handful still possess the good health or stamina to attend the annual ceremonies.
With the passing of the surviving veterans, the annual commemoration has begun emphasizing the event’s significance for the following generations.
Last December, Marine Corps Capt. Ray Daniel Hower, Conter’s nephew, provided the keynote address, focusing on the legacy left by the veterans who survived the attack.
Tom Leatherman, superintendent of the Pearl Harbor National Memorial, invited Stratton to speak at the ceremony, according to Pacific Historic Parks, which quoted portions of the letter of invitation in its news release.
Historic Pacific Parks is a not-for-profit organization that supports preservation of and education about significant sites in the region.
“Your late grandfather, USS Arizona survivor Donald Stratton, and your late father Randy Stratton, fought tirelessly to never forget the sacrifices made that Sunday morning December 7, 1941,” Leatherman wrote. “As such, we feel you are a perfect choice given your family ties to the Pearl Harbor attack, along with your role as a sponsor for the future Virginia Class submarine USS Arizona (SSN 803).”
The sub is under construction in Groton, Conn., and is expected to be completed by 2028.
The theme of this December’s ceremony is “Forging Ahead,” underscoring the imminent passing of the generation that waged and won World War II.
“The spirit of the annual Pearl Harbor Remembrance ceremony is a recognition of that period of time when the Greatest Generation was forged in the crucible of war and an opportunity to honor them,” Pacific Historic Parks said on its web site.
