Rolland E. Briar, a Pearl Harbor survivor and longtime Wisconsin resident, died August 1 at the age of 104, leaving behind a large family and a long record of service and community life.
Rolland E. Briar was born in Marinette, Wisconsin, in 1922 and finished high school in 1940 before enlisting in the U.S. Navy. He completed basic training at the Great Lakes Naval Training Station and served in the Pacific theater during World War II. Briar was at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, one of the small number of survivors who still carry first-hand memories of that day.
His recollection of the attack has been preserved in interviews. “”It was a Sunday morning. I was getting ready to go to Mass on Ford Island when the planes started coming in. Fortunately, we weren’t there because that building was hit … during the attack,” he told the Green Bay Press Gazette in 2001. Those lines capture the sudden, chaotic shock that survivors describe even decades later.
After the initial attack, Briar described the immediate danger aboard ship. “Because I was with flag allowance, we had no battle stations,” Briar said. “Due to the strafing by the Japanese planes, we were ordered to go below deck as some were killed on deck. We had five destroyers tied next to us and would have been a prize target.” He continued his naval service on the USS Whitney and later transferred to the USS Markab.
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When the war ended, Briar returned to civilian life and pursued further education. He attended college in Dubuque, Iowa, graduated from Northwestern University, and later received additional training at Harvard University. Those studies helped launch a postwar career that mixed professional work with a strong community life back in Wisconsin.
Music and family were central to Briar’s life outside the military. He was a talented pianist who performed with his high school and college orchestras, and he kept that love of music throughout his life. He also became a devoted Green Bay Packers fan, attending both the dedication of Lambeau Field and the famous 1957 Ice Bowl.
Briar married Joyce Boivin on September 13, 1947, and they raised three daughters together: Debra, Sharon, and Bette. Joyce Briar passed away in 1990, and family remained a defining part of his life story. The couple took many camping and road trip adventures across the United States, creating the grounded family memories that grandchildren still talk about.
Professionally, Briar worked as an accountant for Green Bay Box, which later became Green Bay Packaging, applying the discipline and attention to detail he’d carried from the service. He kept active in social circles and enjoyed card games, including Bridge, Sheepshead, Smear, and Pinochle, finding friendly competition and company in those regular gatherings. Those routines reflected a steady, practical character forged by wartime duty and decades of civic involvement.
At the time of his death, Briar was 104 years old, and his passing leaves the cohort of Pearl Harbor survivors dwindling yet still remarkable for their longevity. With him gone, there are now 10 survivors, and all of them are centenarians, a stark reminder of the living link to that pivotal moment in American history. His long life bridged major chapters in the 20th century.
Rolland is survived by his three daughters, eight grandchildren, and 17 great-grandchildren, a large extended family that reflects the life he built after service. His story blends frontline memory, postwar education, steady work, musical talent, civic loyalty, and family devotion. Those who knew him remember a man whose experiences tied local Wisconsin life to the larger sweep of American history.
