HALL COUNTY, Ga — Pearl Harbor survivor Harvey “Mack” Abbott has died at 91.
Harvey Abbott of Gainesville, Georgia died June 19 at Summer’s Landing personal care home.
Mack was born in Alabama during the Great Depression. Mack’s family said he decided to join the Marines at 17 and after boot camp at Parris Island, he was moved to the third defense battalion and shipped to Pearl Harbor.
Mack’s family said he became a hardened Marine after being shipped around the world and eventually becoming the security detail for the Enola Gay, used for the Hiroshima atomic bomb.
Mack moved to Texas and started a family after the war. According to Mack’s family, he would spend over 40 years in various sales and sales management positions until retiring at 70.
He later went on to write a book about his experiences in the war entitled, “The First and Last Shots Fired in World War II.”
Mack played a major role with the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association and was instrumental in establishing and maintaining the Pearl Harbor Survivor Memorial at the Marietta National Cemetery. He is also recognized as a veteran in the Circle of Honor at the Freedom Garden at the Northeast Georgia History Center.
According to Mack’s family, he was an active member of the First United Methodist church (First UMC) in Gainesville and enjoyed boating, fishing, playing the guitar and occasionally impersonating Elvis Presley.
Mack’s memorial service will be held June 22 at First UMC in Gainesville.
WSBTV
