Dick Higgins’ chair sat empty at the Bend Heroes Memorial on Thursday morning. Framed by American flags, it was a reminder of the way things used to be every Dec. 7, when the aging Pearl Harbor survivor was honored by the community.

There was small gathering, too, led by veterans advocate Dick Tobiason. As Tobiason laid out the events for the day, which would include a military flyover, the schedule had the air of a strategy meeting rather than a plan for a tender remembrance.

But what else could be expected as those closest to Higgins coordinated a public memorial and military service of national significance? Two hours later, after family and friends had filled the pews at Eastmont Church, greeted as they arrived by “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” the city of Bend gave Higgins one last hurrah.

Higgins died March 19, at home in Bend. He was 102 and the last surviving veteran in Central Oregon to witness the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. There are only 21 survivors nationwide.

Higgins’ daughter, Vicki Bolling, welcomed the mourners, many of them dressed in Hawaiian shirts and caps emblazoned with military patches and medals.

“He wasn’t an eloquent speaker,” she said of her father and the stories he told about his long life. “But … people seemed drawn to hear these firsthand accounts, and through these conversations, we all had our eyes, and our hearts opened to a generation of men and women who are willing to lay down their lives for our freedom.”

A memorial for ‘Gramps’

As someone who was fond of storytelling, Higgins left a sizable oral history on the events of Dec. 7, 1941. He had become something of a celebrity in the community of Pearl Harbor survivors.

It was clear a large portion of those in attendance at Eastmont Church were there to honor Higgins’ military legacy. But as Higgins’ family took to the stage, it was also the loving father, grandfather and great-grandfather they remembered.

“I spent the better part of the last two decades conveying how my grandfather was as a Pearl Harbor survivor and as a veteran,” said Angela Norton in her eulogy. “However, as we celebrate his life and passing, I’m here to share with you not who he was as a war hero, but who he was as my grandfather.”

To Norton, Higgins was the great-grandfather who sat with her son, Josiah, telling him stories about life during the Dust Bowl of the 1930s. He was the man who asked her grandmother for a dance and married her four months later. He was the man who would look at her with love every night and say “thank you so much for taking me in.”

In many ways though, being a Pearl Harbor survivor defined Higgins. It’s why he was so fond of Hawaiian music, why he shared his stories and why so many people had the opportunity to connect with him. Whether it was at the grocery store or at an anniversary celebration at the Arizona Memorial in Hawaii, Higgins would talk with anyone about his experiences for as long as he was allowed to.

“The last and final time we joined Gramps in Oahu for the 80th anniversary, we were supposed to go to Ford Island after the ceremony,” Norton said. “Gramps never made it past the visitor center. He was in his wheelchair, and some people started talking to him and asking for his autograph. Soon, a line formed and after four solid hours of talking and taking pictures, my husband had to cut off the line so we could go back to the hotel. I think he could have stayed there all night.”

After the memorial at Eastmont Church, a procession moved to Deschutes Memorial Gardens, where members of the Navy and the Central Oregon Band of Brothers had prepared a service with full military honors. While short on words, the ceremony was full of reverence, and every seat was filled despite blustering winds and the occasional flurry of snow.

At one point, a Navy P-8A Poseidon flew over the cemetery to honor Higgins.

Higgins was born July 24, 1921, near the small town of Mangum, Oklahoma. He joined the Navy in 1939 at the age of 18, and his military service stretched 19 years. Before he moved to Bend in 2015, he lived in Orange County, California, and was president of the local chapter of the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association.

As taps played in the background, dozens of veterans who had come to love Higgins in the decade he lived in Bend silently said farewell to their friend. For many, it was their last opportunity to say goodbye. On Friday, Higgins’ casket will be flown to Orange County, where he will finally be laid to rest next to his wife of 60 years, Winnie.

“This poor Oklahoma boy would be astounded at the outpouring of love shown for him today,” said Norton. “He would have been shocked to see all this honor bestowed upon him, because — as he often said — he was not the hero. The heroes were those who never came home. But Gramps, you are our hero.”