MISSION, Kan. — The city of Mission, Kansas, dedicated a tree Monday afternoon to honor the Kansas City metro’s longest-living military Pearl Harbor survivor.
Dorwin Lamkin served in the U.S. Navy and was stationed on the USS Nevada when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. Lamkin died in 2019 at the age of 96.
He was instrumental in helping establish Pearl Harbor Memorial Park in Mission where the tree honoring him was dedicated.
“It’s really special because nobody’s forgotten Dorwin,” said his daughter, Sue Cowan. “He died a couple years ago and he had been very active in developing this park and here two years later, we’re still talking about him.”
After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Dorwin went to Navy lab school and served on the USS San Francisco from 1943-44 at the battles of Tarawa, Kwajelein (Marshall Islands), Saipan, Tinian, Guam, Iwo Jima, Okinawa and Attu, Alaska.
Dorwin received several awards for his service and served as the president of the Metro III Chapter of the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association.