Louis Anthony Conter was born in Ojibwa, Wisconsin, on September 13, 1921,[2] to Nicholas Anthony Conter and Lottie Esther Milligan. Conter had one older and one younger sister. He and his family moved from Wisconsin to New Mexico in 1922, before moving again to Denver, Colorado, in 1924. Conter moved to Stockton, Kansas, in 1927 before returning to Denver in 1930, where he lived on a farm. Upon finishing school, Conter began working at the same company as his father.[3]
The USS Arizona returned to her base at Pearl Harbor on December 6, 1941. On the morning of December 7, Conter was on watch on the quarterdeck station between the third turret and main deck, when the ship was attacked by a squadron of Japanese torpedo planes and bombers at 8 am. About five minutes later, the Arizona was struck by a 1,760-pound (800 kg) bomb between the first and second turret, which ignited the ship's ammunitionmagazine. The following explosion blew off the ship's bow and lifted the battleship out of the water, knocking over Conter while killing and injuring many others. As the ship burned and started to sink, she was hit by more Japanese projectiles. Meanwhile, Conter was aiding wounded fellow sailors, keeping them from jumping in the burning oil covering the water's surface. When Conter was already knee deep in water, the captain gave the order to abandon ship and Conter took to the lifeboats. The Arizona sank in nine minutes, taking the lives of 1,177 of her crew. Her 334 surviving crew struggled to escape the burning ruins, of which Conter saved several by pulling them out of the water into his lifeboat before rowing to shore. Following the attack, Conter spent several weeks helping to put out fires and recovering the bodies of the fallen.[6]
The Arizona's forward magazines explode in a still from a film made during the Japanese attack.
Following the end of the war, Conter returned to California where he had completed his basic training back in 1939, and joined the Naval Reserve. Recalled to active duty during the Cold War, Conter saw action again during the Korean War in the 1950s, serving on the aircraft carrier USS Bon Homme Richard. Conter decided to remain on active duty and eventually retired from the Navy in December 1967, having achieved the rank of lieutenant commander.[10]
Later life
After his retirement from the Navy, Conter pursued a career as a real estate developer in California. Conter published a book about his life titled The Lou Conter Story in 2021;[11] he turned 100 the same year.[12] Conter was also a member of the Knights of Columbus.[2] Following the death of Ken Potts in April 2023, Conter became the last known survivor of the sinking of the USS Arizona.[12] He died from congestive heart failure at his home in Grass Valley, California, on April 1, 2024, at the age of 102.[13][4][14][15]