Fon B. Huffman | Gunboat survivor, 95

Fon B. Huffman, 95, believed to be the last survivor of the 1937 Japanese attack on the gunboat USS Panay outside Nanjing, China, died Thursday in Sierra Vista, Ariz.

Mr. Huffman was a 24-year-old boilerman serving in the U.S. Asiatic Fleet at the time of the attack on the Panay. Part of the fleet's mission was to patrol the lawless Yangtze River to protect American interests under a treaty with the Chinese.

A U.S. newsman, Norman Alley of Universal, captured newsreel footage of the airplanes attacking the ship and its gunners firing back. Mr. Huffman gave his own life jacket to Alley and is seen in film and still photos throwing an improvised flotation device overboard. - AP