OLYMPIA, Wash. — You don’t make it to 101 years old without being a fighter and a survivor.
“You can’t just sit around, you got to keep on moving,” said Harvey Drahos, who was honored at the state Capitol for his lifetime of service Wednesday.
"The House of Representatives express its thanks and appreciation to Mr. Harvey Drahos, without whom Washington state and the Nation as a whole could not be successful," House Resolution 4657 said.
Drahos, who said he appreciated the honor, received a standing ovation from legislative members.
”If I receive some recognition, it’s not only for me but for all my World War II buddies I served with,” Drahos said.
Raised in the Great Depression, and wounded on Okinawa in World War II, Drahos survived the Great Alaskan Earthquake in 1964.
Measuring more than 9.0, it was the largest recorded earthquake to hit the United States.
Drahos said he watched his home collapse during the quake.
After serving the public as a police officer and a chiropractor, Drahos has spent his retirement volunteering for public service organizations like Kiwanis International and the Rotary.
”When I got blown up on Okinawa, and I was in serious trouble and I got the last rites, I made that ‘fox hole’ promise," Drahos said. "If I make it, I’ll help people, and that’s what I’ve been doing most of my life."
More recently, he had to fight for himself.
Last year he received the Purple Heart he earned more than 75 years ago while fighting in the Pacific.
Clerical records made it difficult for the military to confirm he had served in the Army.
”I got boxes of stuff and they kept saying denied, denied, denied,” Drahos said. “You got to stay in there and make it happen.”