'I feel just fine': Pearl Harbor attack survivor celebrates 100th birthday

Fort Collins, Colo. – At 100 years old, Malbert "Mal" Middlesworth may not remember what he had for breakfast, but ask him about Dec. 7, 1941, and he's suddenly 18 again, walking up a ladder to get to his 8 a.m. duty watch shift aboard the U.S.S. San Francisco.

As the young Marine headed toward the ship's fantail that ill-fated morning, he looked across to Ford Island – an islet in the center of Pearl Harbor where the U.S.S. San Francisco was moored and awaiting repairs.

"I saw a single Japanese plane," Middlesworth recalled Tuesday, his eyes wide and attention drawn as friends and family milled around his 100th birthday party in Fort Collins, Colorado. "And then I saw a lot of Japanese planes."

By 8 a.m., Pearl Harbor was officially under attack, with more than 300 Japanese aircraft raining fire in the surprise blitz on America's Pacific fleet. In total, 2,390 U.S. service members and civilians were killed, according the National Park Service, which operates the Pearl Harbor National Memorial.

The U.S. entered World War II the following day. Middlesworth was part of the first task force to leave Pearl Harbor aboard the U.S.S. San Francisco on Dec. 16.

In between well wishes, birthday cake and candles at his Tuesday party at an assisted living home – Middlesworth's home for the last two years – the centenarian looked back on life.

When asked how it felt to be 100 years old, he quipped, "I feel just fine ... like it was 99."

Middlesworth was born Jan. 31, 1923, in Cowden, Illinois. He grew up in Elgin, Illinois, where he met his high school sweetheart, JoJean Ciraulo. After joining the Marines, he was stationed on the U.S.S. San Francisco – an assignment that ultimately brought him into the crosshairs of one of the deadliest attacks on American soil.

Middlesworth and JoJean went on to get married and have three children, with his post-war career in film taking the family to Illinois, California and Detroit, where he worked for a company that produced industrial films for General Motors, Middlesworth said Tuesday.

Now, at 100 years old, it's his time as a Marine – and particularly his experiences at Pearl Harbor – that draws out some of his most vivid memories from the past, according to Susan Cox, one of his daughters.

It wasn't until later in life, when Middlesworth spotted a car with a Pearl Harbor survivor license plate, that he became interested in telling his story.

"He thought that was pretty cool," his oldest daughter, Cheryl Griffin, recalled Tuesday, noting that the license plate kicked off her dad's interest in educating people about the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Soon, Middlesworth had found and gotten involved in the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association, serving as its president from 2005 to 2008.

In December 1991, while on vacation in Hawaii with JoJean, the two visited the Pearl Harbor National Memorial. They'd go on to return every five years for the survivors association's anniversary celebrations. For 13 years they also edited and produced the association's publication, the Pearl Harbor Gram.

Mal and JoJean's commitment to the survivors association initially came as a surprise to Griffin, who said her dad never really talked about Pearl Harbor while she and her siblings were growing up. But he quickly found his stride and thrived at public speaking engagements and in interviews – even meeting former President George W. Bush and rubbing elbows with TV journalist Tom Brokaw at an anniversary event.

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In recent years, the ranks of Pearl Harbor survivors like Middlesworth have diminished. While the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs does not track the number of Pearl Harbor survivors, it estimated that of the 16 million Americans who served in World War II, roughly 167,000 were alive in 2022, with an estimated 180 dying each day. The National Park Service also doesn't track the number of Pearl Harbor survivors, but has pinpointed that just two U.S.S. Arizona survivors are alive today.

In 2011, the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association officially dissolved, citing its aging membership, which had dwindled to roughly 2,700 U.S. members at the time of the association's disbandment. At its peak, the association had 18,000 U.S. members.

Mal and JoJean eventually left California for Colorado, moving to Fort Collins in 2015 to be closer to family.

The following year, the couple officially stopped their tradition of visiting Pearl Harbor during its five-year anniversaries. With their family concerned about them making such a big trip, the two missed the 75th anniversary event in 2016 – marking the first time they hadn't traveled to Pearl Harbor for a five-year anniversary since 1991.

JoJean moved into Collinwood in 2019 and Mal followed the next year. After 76 years of marriage, JoJean died in August 2020.

When asked how it felt to be at her dad's 100th birthday party, tears welled in Griffin's eyes.

"I don't know if there will be another one," she choked out.

"You never know," Lee Piper, Middlesworth's former son-in-law, said reassuringly, noting that Middlesworth has surprised everyone with his longevity.

"He is stubborn," Griffin said with a laugh.

Today, Middlesworth enjoys simple pleasures at his Fort Collins assisted living facility – bingo, football games, long walks in the summer, the occasional root beer float.

On the eve of his birthday, he was visited by the Rocky Mountain Young Marines, who celebrated with him early and listened to stories from his time aboard the U.S.S. San Francisco.

And on Tuesday he got an extra special treat as family members, friends and facility staff gathered around him to see him blow out the candles at his 100th birthday party.

Decked in a simple checkered shirt and blue birthday pin, Middlesworth also briefly wore a gold plastic crown Tuesday – emphasis on briefly.

In no time, he traded it back for a simple blue baseball cap that was embroidered with gold lettering bearing the title of a dock landing Navy ship named for that fateful day in 1941 – one that would become among the most defining in Middlesworth's long and storied life. "U.S.S. Pearl Harbor," it read.

Contributing:  Cassa Niedringhaus, Fort Collins Coloradoan