He was at Pearl Harbor: Robert E. Coyne of Lehigh Acres was at Pearl Harbor when it was attacked on Dec. 7, 1941.

One of the last survivors of the attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese on Dec. 7, 1941 is turning 90 on Oct. 20 and his wife is going to throw a party on Oct. 16.

Robert Coyne who was born on Oct. 20 in 1920 is looking forward to it, too. Old friends who he served with him during World War II have been invited but they may be able to attend. However, several friends in Lehigh in the service clubs and members of their church, First Congregational, have been asked to RSVP by calling 369-1405.

Coyne is from Phillipsburg, N.J., and turned 18 in 1939 and went into the CCC, a program put forth by President Franklin Roosevelt to put young men to work during the Great Depression. After a short stint with the CCC, Coyne said he wanted to join the U.S. Navy and was trained at Newport R.I. He said he went overseas in the spring of 1940 aboard the USS Winslow a destroyer leader. From Long Beach, Calif., he headed south to Pearl Harbor on the USS Hull and worked on the bridge as a signalman quartermaster. His main responsibility was to send and receive visual communications.

Her had spent time in San Diego attending communications school.

On that historic day in Pearl Harbor, Coyle found himself stationed on the USS Hull. He was a third class petty officer who worked on the bridge.

Pearl Harbor Vet with Wife: Eloise Coyne is shown with her husband, Robert. She is planning a 90th birthday party for her husband who was aboard a ship when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. Photo by Mel Toadvine

His memory is as sharp today as it was 69 years ago and he can recall events that occurred on that day that most Americans only read about in history books.

He was there and he experienced it and he will tell you he was scared.

“Yes I was scared and I cried when it happened,” he remembered. “Not ashamed to say so.”

The bombs hit Pearl Harbor where the U.S. Fleet was gathered early on a Sunday morning sometime around 6:30 a.m. and Coyne remembers being in his bunk and was awakened by someone screaming down the hatch that the “Japs are attacking us.”

His ship the USS Hull was tied up next to the USS Dobbin , a destroyer tender.

Robert E. Coyne, Pearl Harbor: Here Coyne is shown in front of the American Flag. The photo is printed on the initiation to friends who are invited to his 90th birthday party in Lehigh on Oct. 16.

Coyle said he grabbed his uniform shorts and ran up to the bridge. He saw the 50 caliber machine guns that were being fire back at the planes that were dropping bombs on the harbor, destroying many ships and killing thousands of sailors that Sunday morning.

“Three of them came down at us, the first one hit the Dobbin and killed all the gun crew. The next one lifted from the stern and out into the water and the third one crashed after on the beach.

“I was scared, no doubt,” he remembered.

The USS Arizona was across the way and he saw her being hit and the USS Oklahoma capsized and turned upside down with its men trapped inside.

He remembers the USS Nevada getting underway to get out of the harbor and taking a torpedo.

“We got underway, too,” he remembered. “And we were lucky because we got out.”

He watched as diver bombers aimed for the ships. His vessel was sent north of Hawaii in search for the enemy, but it was just before noon when the USS Hull got out of the harbor with its 125 to 130 men and he noted that none of them were killed or wounded.

He recalled that two days later when the USS Hull returned, that there was still burning and smoke, but the survivors could see the horrible wreckage, which brought America into World War II.

Roosevelt called it a day that would live on in infamy.

“I think there were between 2,100 and 2, 200 men lost and another 3,000 wounded when Pearl Harbor was hit,” Coyne said.

Over the years Coyne has recalled those days at Pearl Harbor whenever anyone wanted to know. He has been a living history book and has been invited to area schools several times to tell of his experiences.

When he left the Navy, he had been promoted to lieutenant.

Today he is active in the VFW and the Lions Club in Lehigh and also in the Elks Lodge on Joel Blvd.

The party on Oct. 16 is from 2 to 4 p.m. at the First Congregational Church.

His wife, Eloise Coyne, has planned the event and is excited.

They visited San Diego last year and visited with Archie Deyerke, one of Coyne’s closest buddies who served with him at Pearl Harbor.

They also met with another friend, Pat Douhan, who is 89.

“Archie can’t come now due to his health,” Eloise Coyne said.

Coyne is glad to be alive and wonders why his ship and his crew were not hit and sailors on board were not injured. His wife said it was just meant to be, but he considers himself lucky, but he says he never forgets for a day the sacrifices of the men who lost their lives on that day in early December of 1941.

“It’s a day I won’t ever forge,” he said. He has been back to Hawaii and has visited Pearl Harbor but the memories were not good. Those days of the attack came back into his mind, he said, just like it was yesterday.

Those who would like to attend the birthday party should call his wife, Elosie at 369-1405.

For those who want to hear from an eye-witness, Robert E. Coyne is the man to talk to. He can recall every detail. He can still visualize the waves of Japanese bombers as they struck Pearl Harbor. He still can visualize the ships in the Harbor that were hit by the Japanese and those memories will remain with him forever, he says.

He may be the only veteran left in Lehigh who served at Pearl Harbor when it was attacked.