Clarence Reed Lane

Clarence “Bud” Reed Lane, one of the last surviving veterans of the Pearl Harbor attack, passed away peacefully on February 21, 2026, at the age of 100. He was born March 30, 1925, in Wichita, Kansas.

Raised in Kansas, Bud spent his early years working a paper route, helping at his uncle’s roller rink, and dreaming of a life beyond the plains. He often recalled having two ambitions: to sail the oceans with the United States Navy and to pursue aviation. Inspired by Navy recruitment posters, he enlisted in 1941 at age 16 using an altered birth certificate, committing to a six-year term.

Bud’s first assignment placed him on Ford Island in Hawaii. On December 7, 1941, while reporting to morning formation, he experienced the horrors of the attack on Pearl Harbor firsthand, narrowly escaping gunfire during the assault. Following Pearl Harbor Bud continued his service in the Pacific Theater, crewing PBY aircraft on reconnaissance and air-sea rescue missions before transferring to the escort carrier USS Nassau (CVE-16) on which he served during the Battle of Attu.

During his sea duties Bud continued taking classes on aircraft maintenance and repair through 1943 and 1944. This ultimately led to his being accepted and completing a 15-week Pan American Flight Mechanics course conducted at La Guardia, N.Y. earning him his Aviation Machinist's Mate F (Aviation Flight Engineer) 1st Class (AMMF1c) in June 1945. 

As a flight engineer, Bud was assigned ferry duty out of Quonset Point, Rhode Island flying aircraft to California and Florida through the end of the war in Europe.  His Rhode Island assignment brought him frequently to the Boston Navy Yard, MA, Receiving Station (NRS) where he met Eleanor Boomhower, who had worked as a “Rosie the Riveter” at the shipyard during the war.  They married in February 1946, shortly after which he was reassigned and departed for London.  Bud returned later that year to welcome his newborn daughter, Patricia.

Upon completing his enlistment, Bud returned to Kansas, initially working in the oil fields before leveraging his Navy training to establish a successful radio and television repair business.  While in Kansas, their second daughter, Joanne, was born in 1952.

In 1954, the family relocated to Houston, Texas, where Bud worked in electronics for Honeywell Control Systems. During the early 1960s, they moved to Clear Lake City, and Bud served as a contractor for NASA at the Johnson Space Center. His later career took him to Florida with Pan Am World Services, including an assignment in Japan supporting the construction and commissioning of that country’s space launch facilities. While in Japan, Bud met and married his second wife, Nobuko Kato. Their daughter, Tami, was born in 1985.

After retiring, Bud and his family spent several years cruising the Caribbean aboard his 46-foot ketch, Moonraker, before settling in Melbourne, Florida. In later years, Bud returned to Hawaii for the 60th anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack, where he was honored at Ford Island and the USS Arizona Memorial.

Bud’s military service was formally recognized in 2012, 65 years after his honorable discharge, when he was awarded five campaign medals, including the Navy Good Conduct Medal, American Defense Service Medal, American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, and the World War II Victory Medal.

An avid traveler and lifelong aviation enthusiast, Bud later embraced flight simulation, logging countless hours flying PBY and DC-3 aircraft online with his international friends. He remained deeply proud of his service to the United States Navy.

Clarence “Bud” Reed Lane is survived by his wife of 44 years, Nobuko Lane of Niigata, Japan; his daughters Patricia (Pat) Leonard, Joanne Taylor (Bruce Taylor) of Wisconsin, and Tami Kato Lane Herron (Jeff Herron) of Washington.

He is also survived by his grandchildren Kirsten Beaudoin of Texas, Joshua Taylor of England, Michelle Sova of Montana, and Hiroshi Herron of Washington; and by his great-grandchildren William Beaudoin of Mississippi, Evelyn Taylor and Adam Taylor of Manchester, England, Taylor Sova and Corey Sova of Michigan, and Baylee Snyder of Montana.

Services will be held on Monday, March 30, at 11:30 a.m. at Cape Canaveral National Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the North Brevard Honor Guard, P.O.  Box 5, Scottsmoor, FL  32775.