Just 78 years after he was rescued, Lauren Brunner's ashes were recently buried in the Arizona warship. • The divers wore World War II gear: "We were left speechless."

• Photo by Laura Martin, U.S. Army

History recently occurred in Pearl Harbor when US Army divers descended on the anniversary of the attack, into the Arizona battleship, which sank with hundreds of sailors in the Japanese attack on Hawaii in December 1941, to bring Lauren Brunner's ashes to a final rest.

Lauren Brunner passed away at the age of 98 last September. He is probably the last survivor of the attack that led to the U.S. entering World War II Shittman inside Arizona, because the three remaining survivors, decades after the incident, expressed a desire to be buried in a cemetery in their hometown.

Photo by Laura Martin, U.S. Army

Photo by Laura Martin, U.S. Army

In an unusual move, the two divers entered the water while wearing World War II diving equipment, including the only two helmets still allowed to use due to their advanced age. The two dived with equipment that weighed about 90 pounds, to a depth of 22 feet and placed Brunner's ashes in one of the deepest places on the ship, exactly 78 years after the attack, on December 7.

More than 900 sailors remained buried on the ship as a result of the explosion and the huge fireball that accompanied it during the Japanese attack. Brunner is the 44th survivor on the ship since 1982, and probably the last. "It was a historic moment, I was left speechless," said Julio Melendez, one of the divers. "It was an amazing experience, to understand the historical implications of the act." Brunner was rescued after climbing a 70-foot rope to escape the flames and the ship sinking.

In the US Army, in the last few days, about a week after the ceremony, the rare pictures of divers in World War II have been circulating. Melandez said that of only four suits left in the army inventory, two were approved for use. One of the helmets used was the display. Originally, the rescue effort was used after the Pearl Harbor attack.