Beloved Pearl Harbor Survivor and MCC Honoree Dies at 101

Local Catholic WWII veteran Bill McAnany, who witnessed first-hand the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, as a 19-year-old navy radiology technician, has passed away at the age of 101.

While serving on the USS Solace, and later on the USS Samaritan, Bill saw duty during World War II's entire Pacific Theater of Operations, including the Battle of Midway, the Battle of the Coral Sea, Guadalcanal, Saipan, Guam, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa. For more about Bill’s life and service, see this article.

At the 2019 MCC Annual Assembly at the state capitol, the MCC premiered a video that told the story of Bill’s Pearl Harbor experience, and Bishop McKnight presented him with an award honoring his service. You can watch the video here.