MONEY

Buick that survived Pearl Harbor

A young 2nd Lt. Gordon H. Sterling Jr., drove this 1941 Buick Special to work on a Sunday morning 75 years ago, only to die in a dogfight over the waters of Pearl Harbor. It is now owned by John Michalek, 35, of Plymouth.
A young 2nd Lt. Gordon H. Sterling Jr., drove this 1941 Buick Special to work on a Sunday morning 75 years ago, only to die in a dogfight over the waters of Pearl Harbor. It is now owned by John Michalek, 35, of Plymouth.
John Michalek
A young 2nd Lt. Gordon H. Sterling Jr., drove this 1941 Buick Special to work on a Sunday morning 75 years ago, only to die in a dogfight over the waters of Pearl Harbor. It is now owned by John Michalek, 35, of Plymouth.
A young 2nd Lt. Gordon H. Sterling Jr., drove this 1941 Buick Special to work on a Sunday morning 75 years ago, only to die in a dogfight over the waters of Pearl Harbor. It is now owned by John Michalek, 35, of Plymouth.
John Michalek
Fantastic patterns of flame and smoke are seen at the moment the magazine exploded on the destroyer USS Shaw during the attack on Pearl Harbor in this Dec. 7, File photo of the attack on Pearl Harbor, Dec. 7, 1941.
Fantastic patterns of flame and smoke are seen at the moment the magazine exploded on the destroyer USS Shaw during the attack on Pearl Harbor in this Dec. 7, File photo of the attack on Pearl Harbor, Dec. 7, 1941.
Associated Press
A young 2nd Lt. Gordon H. Sterling Jr., drove this 1941 Buick Special to work on a Sunday morning 75 years ago, only to die in a dogfight over the waters of Pearl Harbor. It is now owned by John Michalek, 35, of Plymouth.
A young 2nd Lt. Gordon H. Sterling Jr., drove this 1941 Buick Special to work on a Sunday morning 75 years ago, only to die in a dogfight over the waters of Pearl Harbor. It is now owned by John Michalek, 35, of Plymouth.
John Michalek
A young 2nd Lt. Gordon H. Sterling Jr., drove this 1941 Buick Special to work on a Sunday morning 75 years ago, only to die in a dogfight over the waters of Pearl Harbor. It is now owned by John Michalek, 35, of Plymouth.
A young 2nd Lt. Gordon H. Sterling Jr., drove this 1941 Buick Special to work on a Sunday morning 75 years ago, only to die in a dogfight over the waters of Pearl Harbor. It is now owned by John Michalek, 35, of Plymouth.
John Michalek
A young 2nd Lt. Gordon H. Sterling Jr., drove this 1941 Buick Special to work on a Sunday morning 75 years ago, only to die in a dogfight over the waters of Pearl Harbor. It is now owned by John Michalek, 35, of Plymouth.
A young 2nd Lt. Gordon H. Sterling Jr., drove this 1941 Buick Special to work on a Sunday morning 75 years ago, only to die in a dogfight over the waters of Pearl Harbor. It is now owned by John Michalek, 35, of Plymouth.
John Michalek
This wing from a Japanese bomber shot down in a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor Hawaii, Dec.7, rests on the grounds of the Naval Hospital at Honolulu.
This wing from a Japanese bomber shot down in a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor Hawaii, Dec.7, rests on the grounds of the Naval Hospital at Honolulu.
AP WIREPHOTO
A young 2nd Lt. Gordon H. Sterling Jr., drove this 1941 Buick Special to work on a Sunday morning 75 years ago, only to die in a dogfight over the waters of Pearl Harbor. It is now owned by John Michalek, 35, of Plymouth.
A young 2nd Lt. Gordon H. Sterling Jr., drove this 1941 Buick Special to work on a Sunday morning 75 years ago, only to die in a dogfight over the waters of Pearl Harbor. It is now owned by John Michalek, 35, of Plymouth.
John Michalek
Japanese Navy air view of units of U.S. navy taken at the time of the attack on Pearl Harbor. It appeared in a 1942 Japanese publication, "The New Order in Greater East Asia." AP
Japanese Navy air view of units of U.S. navy taken at the time of the attack on Pearl Harbor. It appeared in a 1942 Japanese publication, "The New Order in Greater East Asia." AP
AP Wirephoto
A young 2nd Lt. Gordon H. Sterling Jr., drove this 1941 Buick Special to work on a Sunday morning 75 years ago, only to die in a dogfight over the waters of Pearl Harbor. It is now owned by John Michalek, 35, of Plymouth.
A young 2nd Lt. Gordon H. Sterling Jr., drove this 1941 Buick Special to work on a Sunday morning 75 years ago, only to die in a dogfight over the waters of Pearl Harbor. It is now owned by John Michalek, 35, of Plymouth.
John Michalek
Crumpled and toppling, the battleship Arizona belches smoke after the surprise Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on December 7, 1941.
Crumpled and toppling, the battleship Arizona belches smoke after the surprise Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on December 7, 1941.
AP Wirephoto