This Military Service Page was created/owned by
Stuart Dahl, LT
to remember
Bressler, Clair (Pete), M2.
If you knew or served with this Sailor and have additional information or photos to support this Page, please leave a message for the Page Administrator(s) HERE.
Contact Info
Date of Passing Jul 23, 2014
Location of Interment Arlington National Cemetery (VLM) - Arlington, Virginia
Pete started working at the Washington Post as an Office Boy (general gopher) right after graduating from Washington-Lee High School. 10 months later he took a job as a switchboard installer for Western Electric (Phone Company), where he worked until he retired, with a haiatas taken during WWII. He worked in several parts of the United States, moving his family with him as he went to various locations installing switchboards and similar equipment. He retired as an installation supervisor.
He and his wife Margaret were married in 1941 (before the bombing at Pearl Harbor), they had 3 sons, the first of these was adopted, but loved with the same intensity. One of the boys pulled a hitch in the US Coast Guard.
Other Comments:
I had the pleasure of meeting Pete and his wife, Margaret, when I first noticed him in 2008 at a subway where my wife and I were also dining. He was wearing a Seabee ball cap, so I had to go over and talk to him about it.
We bumped into each other a few more times over the next few months and eventually I asked him if he wouldn't mind me putting his service history on NTWS, to which he agreed.
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Pete always considered himself a Seabee, rather than as a Sailor, this being typical of many Seabees.
Pete was in the Navy Reserve, as were most Seabees during WWII.
He distinctly remembers his termination from active service: 1100 AM, December 25th, 1945, at Camp Perry, VA, the place where he entered the Navy. He had Christmas dinner with his wife and her family at the family home in the local area the same day.
US Occupation of Japan
From Month/Year
August / 1945
To Month/Year
September / 1951
Description At the end of the Second World War, Japan was occupied by the Allied Powers, led by the United States with contributions also from Australia, British India, the United Kingdom and New Zealand. This foreign presence marked the first time since the uni
My Participation in This Battle or Operation
From Month/Year
August / 1945
To Month/Year
September / 1951
Last Updated: Mar 16, 2020
Personal Memories
Memories Transferred from the Second Section of the 31st Special Naval Construction Battalion to the 1st Special Naval Construction Battalion.
Arrived in Sasebo, Japan in late October, 1945. Spent about 6 weeks before leaving in late November or early December 1945, and was discharged from the Navy at Camp Perry, VA, 25 Dec 1945.
Bulding the Navy's Bases in World War II: History of the Bureau of Yards and Docks and the Civil Engineer Corps, 1940-1946 Department of the Navy Bureau of Yards and Docks"
In October, the regiment (41st Naval Construction Regiment) was reformed to include the 38th, the 127th, and the third section of the 31st Special. The 31st had been divided into four sections on Saipan. Section 1 embarked September 29; arrived at Kure, Japan, on October 8; lay at anchorage five days; and then was ordered to return to Guam. The second section embarked from Saipan on September 28; reached Sasebo, Japan, on October 22; was inactivated on November 5, its personnel being transferred to the First Special Battalion. The third section had sailed from Saipan September 20; reached Yokosuka on October 4; and remained to work at the naval base. The fourth section was given orders to embark for Ominato, Japan, but these were cancelled. >/i
