Pearl Harbor Survivor Floyd R. Welch of East Lyme Dies At 99

EAST LYME, CT — "O hear us when we cry to thee, For those in peril on the sea!"

The Naval Hymn closed the obituary for Pearl Harbor survivor Floyd R. Welch who passed quietly at his East Lyme home Monday. He was 99.

Welch, who joined the Navy at age 19, was assigned to the battleship USS Maryland, according to his obituary and myriad national reports. At the time, the "fleet was changing home ports from Long Beach, California to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Welch's ship was one of the surviving, yet severely damaged, battleships bombed on Sunday, December 7, 1941 during the attack by Japanese submarines and aircraft which propelled the United States into WWII, his obituary reads

And here, Welch tells the story of the Attack of USS Oklahoma.

Attack of USS Oklahoma, by PO2 Lyle Wilkie via DVIDS

Stars & Stripes reported that Welch was "credited with saving the lives of fellow sailors," noting that the sailor heard the "first alarm and later the loud explosions of bombs and torpedoes. When he came on deck, he saw the raging fire and the overturned USS Oklahoma next to the Maryland. He helped pull survivors from the Oklahoma out of the water. He and others then climbed onto the Oklahoma, where they heard tapping coming from inside the ship."

According to his obituary, he remained on the battleship for the next four years and discharged in 1946 after rising to the class of Electrician’s Mate First Class. His decorations include the American Defense Medal, the WWII Victory Medal, the American Campaign Medal, the Asiatic Pacific Campaign Medal (3 Stars), Good Conduct Medal and the United States Navy Constitution Medal.

Connecticut Sen. Richard Blumenthal said that Welch "...braved raging fires below deck, hearing trapped comrades desperately tapping for help, cutting through steel to rescue 33 of them."

"He was a hero, a member of our greatest generation, and I was proud to know him," Blumenthal tweeted.

According to his obituary, following his service, he worked as an alarm installer with ADT Alarms & Security Systems, married Olive Marjorie Scottand the couple settled on Hickory Lane Farm in East Lyme "where they initially raised Guernsey cows."

Welch, "both sold the milk and worked as a driver for Radway’s Dairy - picking up milk cans at the neighboring farms and delivering them to New London."

He would eventually build his business Welch & Son Construction. A sailor, he belonged to the Niantic Bay Yacht Club, served as an officer with both the Land Improvement Contractors of America, the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association and spoke about his military career in schools and VFW halls, marched in parades and was "awarded two Honor Flights: one to Hawaii for the 75th Pearl Harbor Survivors Memorial Ceremony and the other to Washington DC to view the WWII Memorial."

Welch is survived by his wife, children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Donations may be made in the memory of Floyd R. Welch to The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

Read his full obituary, which closes with the words of the Naval Hymn, from Fulton Theroux Funeral Home here.

Here's the U.S. Navy Band Sea Chanters singing the hymn in 2012.

Fair winds, seaman Welch.