Top Photo: Jessie A. Mahaffey. US Naval Institute

Jessie Alton Mahaffey, a WWII veteran who survived two separate torpedo attacks and was one of the last survivors of the 1941 surprise attack at Pearl Harbor, died peacefully on March 1, 2025, in Alexandria, Louisiana. He was 102 years old. 1

As a member of the US Navy, Mahaffey was aboard the battleship USS Oklahoma when Japanese air forces attacked the US Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. In a 2024 interview with KTBS-TV, Mahaffey recalled preparing the ship for inspection when the first wave of Japanese torpedo bombers began their attack.2

“It was a quiet Sunday, and we had the day off except for the yearly admiral inspection,” Mahaffey told the television station. “Then we heard a siren, saw planes and smoke. It must have gone on for 45 minutes, but it was crazy.”

The first sign of an attack on the Oklahoma was shouted at approximately 7:57 a.m. As the Japanese torpedo bombers approached the ships anchored at Battleship Row, they descended below 100 feet and released their torpedoes at point-blank range. The torpedoes hit with devastating accuracy.3

"Battleship Row" after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. The capsized USS Oklahoma (BB-37) is visible the foreground, behind her is USS Maryland (BB-46), USS West Virginia (BB-48) burns furiously on the right. National Archives

As crew scrambled to general quarters, the Oklahoma began to list to its port side. Within a minute of the first strike, two more torpedoes struck the battleship, accelerating the list. In total, at least five torpedoes struck the Oklahoma, and within 12 minutes the ship had capsized at its berth. Hundreds of sailors, including Mahaffey, dove overboard into the harbor or climbed up the hull as the ship turned on its side.

“It turned upside down, and we had to slide over the bottom of the ship into the water,” Mahaffey recalled.

Out of a crew of more than 1,200 men, 429 men aboard the Oklahoma were killed in the attack, most trapped within the sinking hull of the ship. Just over 2,400 Americans were killed in the attack on Pearl Harbor, including 2,008 Navy personnel, 109 Marines, 218 Army personnel, and 68 civilians.4

View of the capsized U.S. Navy battleship USS Oklahoma (BB-37) at Pearl Harbor. USS Maryland (BB-46) is visible at right. December 7, 1941. National Archives

Mahaffey was transferred to the USS Northampton, a heavy cruiser that took part in several operations in the Pacific, including the Doolittle Raid, the Battle of Midway, and the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands.

On November 30, 1942, the Northampton was struck by two torpedoes during the Battle of Tassafaronga during the campaign for control of Guadalcanal. The torpedoes tore into Northampton’s hull, forcing the crew to abandon ship around three hours later.5 Fifty sailors were killed and 35 more were wounded.

Nearly 800 Northampton survivors were rescued by the USS Fletcher and USS Drayton.6 However, dozens of crewmen, including Mahaffey, spent the rest of the night in two life rafts before they were rescued by PT-109.

“The ship was sunk at midnight, and we had to stay on rafts the whole night,” Mahaffey said.

A Navy photo taken after the Battle of Tassafaronga shows survivors of the Northampton crowded onto the topside of the patrol boat as it entered Tulagi harbor.7 

U.S. Navy photo taken after the Battle of Tassafaronga off Guadalcanal shows a U.S. PT boat bringing survivors of the heavy cruiser USS Northampton (CA-26) into Tulagi harbor. In the background is the heavy cruiser New Orleans (CA-32) with her bow blown off, including her number 1 main battery turret. Naval History and Heritage Command
 

Mahaffey was next transferred to the USS Frederick Funston, a troop transport that supported invasions in the Mediterranean theater, including the invasions of Sicily and Salerno in 1943. The ship was later transferred to the Pacific theater to support operations at Saipan, Leyte, Luzon, and Iwo Jima.8

With Mahaffey’s death, only two other known survivors of the Oklahoma remain, according to a report by Stars and Stripes. That report adds that only 14 veterans who survived the attack on Pearl Harbor are still alive.9

• 1

  Batesville®, Funeral Home Website by. “Obituary for Jessie Alton Mahaffey at Warren Meadows.” Warren Meadows Funeral Home, LLC : Many, Louisiana (LA), March 2025. https://www.warrenmeadows.com/obituary/jessie-mahaffey 

• 2

  Edwards, Madison. “North Louisiana Pearl Harbor Survivor Recalls the Date That Lives in Infamy.” KTBS, December 8, 2024. https://www.ktbs.com/news/north-louisianal-pearl-harbor-survivor-recalls-the-date-that-lives-in-infamy/article_9795986e-9546-11ee-be67-af82de11bc60.html 

• 3

  Schick, Joshua. “Recovered and Identified on the USS Oklahoma.” The National WWII Museum, November 30, 2021. https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/recovered-and-identified-soldiers-uss-oklahoma 

• 4

  “Remembering Pearl Harbor.” U.S. Department of Defense. Accessed March 10, 2025. https://www.defense.gov/multimedia/experience/remembering-pearl-harbor/ 

• 5

  “Northampton II (CL-26).” Naval History and Heritage Command, August 15, 2015. https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/n/northampton-ii.html 

• 6

  Brooks, Alvin. “A USS Northampton Survivor’s Thanks to Fletcher.” USS Fletcher Reunion Group, 1942. https://ussfletcher.org/stories/survivor.html 

• 7

  Cox, Samuel J. Survivors of Tassafaronga. Photograph. Tulagi harbor, 2017. Tulagi harbor. https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/about-us/leadership/director/directors-corner/h-grams/h-gram-013/h-013-2.html 

• 8

  “Frederick Funston.” Naval History and Heritage Command, July 9, 2015. https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/f/frederick-funston.html 

• 9

  Olson, Wyatt. “One of the Last Us Survivors of Pearl Harbor Dies at 102.” Stars and Stripes, March 7, 2025. https://www.stripes.com/veterans/2025-03-06/uss-oklahoma-pearl-harbor-survivor-mahaffey-17061308.html