By ALEXA MILAN
SANFORD — Malcolm Laws has spent his 92 years as a jack of all trades — farmer, small business owner, devoted husband and loving father to six children.
But it’s his time as a U.S. Navy officer in World War II that has been ingrained in his memory the longest, particularly a harrowing day 70 years ago that the typically friendly and exuberant man describes simply as “hell.”
Laws is Lee County’s only remaining survivor of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941.
“It was the longest day of my life,” Laws said.
Laws was born in Orange County and moved with his family to Lee County when he was a teenager. He joined the service shortly after graduating from high school in 1939.
He still attends Navy reunions annually, and his multitude of World War II photographs and memorabilia demonstrates a deep pride in his service despite the everlasting memories of the arduous events of Dec. 7, 1941 and its aftermath. But as he reflects on his service at Pearl Harbor, Laws insists he just did what he had to do.
“He’s truly an interesting man,” said John Sandrock, Lee County veterans service officer. “What struck me about him is he is not a vain man. He’s just very proud of what he’s accomplished in his life. He’s so down to earth.”
Laws began his naval service on the USS Morris but later transferred to the USS Dobbin, which was stationed in Hawaii. Laws served as an electrician, repairing other ships in the area.
On the morning of Dec. 7, 1941, Laws said he remembers hearing noises as he finished eating breakfast aboard the USS Dobbin. He went to investigate and saw two planes heading from the mountains toward the ship. At first, Laws said he thought the planes were German — until he noticed the Japanese Rising Sun symbol on the side of one of the planes.
Laws said he was scared, but he knew he had to react. There was no ammunition at his gun station, so he went to the ship’s storage unit to retrieve some.
“I knew I just had to go to my gun station,” Laws said. “My duty was to tell them when to fire. We did what we had to do.”
By the time he returned from storage with more ammunition, Laws said the Japanese airmen had already made two runs at Pearl Harbor. The eight ships on Battleship Row — the USS Arizona, California, Maryland, Nevada, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and West Virginia — bore the brunt of the damage.
Laws said he recalls machine gun bullets raining toward the USS Dobbin, and one of the Japanese planes dropped a bomb beside the ship. Some of his shipmates were injured by flying shrapnel when the bomb exploded, and the Dobbin crew shot the plane down.
In addition to the damage the ships at Pearl Harbor sustained, the attack destroyed 188 United States aircraft, killed more than 2,400 Americans and wounded more than 1,200 others.
When the attack subsided, the crew from the USS Dobbin spent the remainder of the day helping survivors from the other ships at Pearl Harbor. Laws said he remembers the crew being more alert following the attacks, alternating watch duty every four hours.
“That night, I couldn’t go to sleep,” Laws said. “Every noise I heard, I thought it was the Japanese coming aboard.”
A few months after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the USS Dobbin transferred to Sydney to repair other ships that had sustained damage in the war. After five years of service, Laws returned to Lee County, and civilian life, in 1944. That year, he met his wife, Geraldine, and they married a year later.
They moved to Lemon Springs, and his time in the Navy, and at Pearl Harbor, became a distant memory as he pursued other paths in life.
In the 70 years since the attack, Laws has never returned to Pearl Harbor, where Hawaii’s crystal blue waters now surround memorials to sunken ships and fallen soldiers.
“I wanted to go, but I think I waited too long,” Laws said. “I do go to my Navy reunions every year though.”
Sandrock said he is in awe of Laws, not only for his military service but for his passion for life after such a frightening experience at war.
“It’s like talking to a piece of history,” Sandrock said. “It’s amazing to be able to sit and talk with someone who went to war, served their country and came back and built this country.”
Though World War II was a draining experience, Laws said the Navy was a positive influence in his life that shaped who he is today.
“I’m just glad to be where I am,” Laws said. “I know God has taken care of me.”
