• NEWS
    • EDUCATION
    • Business
    • Government
    • CRIME
    • Chamber Spotlight
    • OPINION
  • OBITUARIES
  • SPORTS
  • Photo Gallery
  • Classifieds & Public Notices
  • Church Directory
  • SUBSCRIBE
  • HOME
Search
Sunday, January 29, 2023
The Baldwyn News
  • NEWS
    • EDUCATION
    • Business
    • Government
    • CRIME
    • Chamber Spotlight
    • OPINION
  • OBITUARIES
  • SPORTS
  • Photo Gallery
  • Classifieds & Public Notices
  • Church Directory
  • SUBSCRIBE
  • HOME
Home News Witness to History: Baldwyn WW II veteran Burress saw signing of peace treaty with...
  • News

Witness to History: Baldwyn WW II veteran Burress saw signing of peace treaty with Japan

By
Jason Collum
-
February 22, 2018
0
1810
Share
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
WhatsApp
ReddIt
    Baldwyn resident and World War II veteran Willie Burress was stationed in Tokyo Bay, Japan, with his ship anchored beside the USS Missouri. Burress was able to witness the signing of the peace treaty with Japan that officially ended the war. News photo/Jason Collum

    Willie Burress remembers vividly where he was on September 2, 1945. He was witnessing a major historic event aboard a ship in Tokyo Bay.

    Burress was in the middle of his service in the U.S. Navy, and his ship was stationed near the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay, Japan, upon which Japanese General Yoshijirou Umezu, Chief of the Army General Staff, signed the surrender documents for his country, officially ending World War II.

    Japan had previously announced its surrender to Allied forces on August 14, 1945, but the formal surrender didn’t take place until the treaty was signed almost three weeks later.

    “Our ship was anchored right beside the USS Missouri, where the peace treaty was signed,” Burress said. “I was looking at it. I wasn’t close enough to hear what was going on, but I was looking at them when they signed the treaty.”

    Burress served as a cook on the USS Shadwell (LSD-15), and also worked in the ammunition room. He cooked for a team of about 30 to 35 of the more than 500 men serving on the ship. He recalls his work handling ammunition as being very hectic work.

    “I was down in the ammunition room and had a phone across my head so I could use both hands,” Burress said. “They would tell me what kind of ammunition they wanted and how much, and I would put it on an elevator and push a button and it would go straight up to the gun turret. It was already in a clip. We just had to get it and put it in the chute.”

    Burress said he was not upfront in any battles, but his ship was hit by a torpedo. The ship didn’t sink, however.

    That attack happened on Jan. 24, 1945. The ship came under fire by three torpedo bombers. Burress’ crew members were able to take down two of the planes, but the third escaped in the darkness to return and drop its torpedo. The crew shot down the plane, but not before the torpedo left a hole approximately 60 feet wide. The ship did begin taking on water and was starting to sink, but its crewmen were able to save the ship. Amazingly, there were no fatalaties in the attack, and only three casualties.

    “It hit on the right stern, but it went right through,” Burress said. “The plane was so close to the ship that the torpedo just went through it and it went, oh, 40 yards I guess after it passed through the ship before it exploded.”

     An active life

    Burress grew up primarily around the small Tennessee community of Pocahontas, which is located between Corinth and Middleton, Tenn. He was one of 14 children. His father and family were sharecroppers, meaning they moved around quite a bit. He helped out in those farming duties as he grew up.

    “If I had a dollar for every pound of cotton I picked, I’d be glad right now,” Burress said.

    He had finished high school at age 16 and had already taken about a year and a half of classes at Rust College, looking to earn a degree so he could seek a better paying job. He turned 18 in January 1944, and by April he was in the Navy. He completed his duties with the Navy in 1947, serving a little more than three years.

    When his time in the military was completed, he returned to Rust College, but a job offer in Cleveland, Ohio, as a bus driver for the transportation system there lured him away. He worked there until retirement.

    Somewhere along the way Burress moved to Baldwyn. He met his wife, Janette, here, and they have been married about 17 years.

    “I don’t know how I got to Baldwyn, to tell you the truth,” Burress said with a laugh.

    He has four children, seven grandchildren and one great-grandchild. He is a member of Mt. Olive Baptist Church in Baldwyn.

    Victory Over Japan Day, Burress said, was one of the happiest of his life – and a long life it has been. Born in 1926, he’ll be 93 on his next birthday. He doesn’t have a particular habit to which he attributes his longevity, other than maybe the fact that he has always just taken life as it came.

    “I just go with the flow,” Burress said.

    • TAGS
    • Willie Burress
    • World War II
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Pinterest
    WhatsApp
    ReddIt
      Previous articleCheering Success: Baldwyn cheerleaders rank sixth in the U.S. in first trip to UCA Nationals
      Next articleMcKay’s late free free throws help Tigers secure spot in state semifinals
      Jason Collum

      RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

      Baldwyn Magazine

      Scars of War: Baldwyn’s Jake Lindsey fought for his country in the South Pacific

      Features

      Freedom’s Warriors: Jimmy Cunningham played a role in helping keep America the Land of the Free

      News

      A Hero Among Us: Hamblin’s actions at Omaha Beach saved many lives in World War II

      HERITAGE

      News

      At Tom’s Drug Store, coffee drinkers ‘Round Table’ solve problems

      News

      Cunningham’s, longtime fixture here, changes hands

      Opinion

      Spinning Wheels by Bernard Coggins

      Opinion

      Spinning Wheels

      MOST POPULAR

      Youth’s teacakes help raise funds for toys

      December 24, 2015

      Girls continue family tradition

      February 21, 1995

      Chris Prather

      May 8, 2020

      Baldwyn football, basketball back on the air

      August 11, 2016
      Load more

      EDITOR PICKS

      Larry Joseph Vegas I

      October 11, 2022

      Virginia Johnson Jordan

      October 6, 2022

      Baldwyn ranked No. 1 in new AP Class 2A poll

      October 5, 2022

      POPULAR POSTS

      Prentiss authorities probe attack in Wheeler; two remain hospitalized

      June 4, 2020

      Storms leave major tree, property damage in Baldwyn, but no deaths...

      January 11, 2020

      Chamber Spotlight: Stacy Stone Armstrong, Blue August

      October 15, 2020

      POPULAR CATEGORY

      • News212
      • Obituaries38
      • Sports35
      • Education28
      • Crime25
      • Opinion24
      • Features22
      • Government21
      • Business14
      ABOUT US
      The Baldwyn News is a multi-award-winning newspaper covering the north Lee County and south Prentiss County areas of Northeast Mississippi. The Baldwyn News was ranked third in General Excellence in 2017 and 2019 in the Mississippi Press Association's Better Newspaper Contest.
      • Disclaimer
      • Privacy
      • Advertisement
      • Contact Us
      © Copyright The Baldwyn News. All Rights Reserved. Site developed and maintained by Jason Collum and Associates, LLC.
      error: Content is protected !!
      MORE STORIES

      Poor cell service, high-speed ’Net focus of PSC Town Hall

      August 4, 2016

      Political qualifying ends March 3; voter registrations due by April 1

      March 3, 2017