LOCAL

Pearl Harbor survivor William Breland of Mississippi turns 100

Hattiesburg American

A Mississippi man who survived the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, has survived many other obstacles in his 100 years.

William Breland, who turned 100 Monday, came from a family of poor sharecroppers who settled in the Darbun/Kokomo area of Marion/Walthall counties in 1811, six years before Mississippi became the 20th state.

Bill Breland, who turned 100 Monday, July 9, 2018, survived the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor with his brother, the late Parley Breland.

"He told me he remembered snowflakes actually coming through the cracks of the walls of the little shack," his son Randy Breland said.

As a child, William Breland had to rise at 4 a.m. to fire up the wood-burning stove and make breakfast for the family.

He later would pick cotton with the rest of his family for 50 cents a day.

But he and his brothers never thought about being poor. They thought about working hard and becoming successful adults — something William Breland accomplished early through military service.

"All the brothers lived productive lives and successful lives," Randy Breland said. "They were able to get themselves out of that (poverty) situation."

William Breland enlisted in the Army Air Corps before World War II. His brother, the late Parley Breland, also enlisted. Both were stationed in Hawaii in 1941. Bill was at Hickam Air Force Base, while Parley was at Wheeler Army Air Field.

William Breland, left, and his brother Parley Breland of Walthall County were both in the Army Air Corps on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. Parley Breland died in 2010. William Breland turned 100 on July 9.

"The Navy had been doing target maneuvers for days, so it wasn't unusual to hear a plane come by that low," William Breland told the Clarion Ledger in a 2001 story. "When I heard the explosion, I just figured some poor guy didn't pull out of his dive soon enough."

But the explosion was followed by others.

"That's when I ran to the window and could see one of the planes banking and that rising sun insignia on its side," William Breland said. "I'd been a nut about planes since I was a teenager and had studied plane recognition in the service. So I knew right away who it was and what was happening."

For the next few hours on Dec. 7, 1941, William Breland had what he called "a ringside seat" for the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, which killed 2,340 American soldiers, injured 1,143, and destroyed 12 U.S. battleships and 164 aircraft.

Randy Breland said his father and fellow soldiers felt powerless as they watched the air attack.

"They didn't even have a toothpick to throw at them," Randy Breland said.

William Breland, who attained the rank of major, retired in 1960.

The Brelands moved to Jackson, where William worked at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, and later returned to Walthall County, where William and Parley Breland had bought 80 acres in the 1940s.

"My dad was a really good dad," Randy Breland said. "He loved his kids and provided for them."

Randy Breland followed in his father's footsteps, enlisting in the Army. He fought with the Infantry in Vietnam, where he was injured twice and earned two Purple Hearts.

Until the last few years, William Breland, a lifelong member if The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, lived on his family's property, where he and his wife, the late Dorothy Mangum Breland, raised four children. William Breland now lives in Ridgeland with his son, John Breland.

Randy Breland's wife, Lynne, said William Breland never smoked cigarettes or drank alcohol.

"And he is the epitome of a Southern gentleman," she said. "He looks the part, he acts the part. He's very respectful to women. He thought his wife hung the moon."

He was driving until he was 97, Randy Breland said.

William Breland survived prostate cancer in his 70s and a heart-valve replacement at 85.

"He was up walking around the same day (of surgery)," Randy Breland said.

William and Dorothy Breland served on a church mission to Ireland in 1989-90, when he was in his 70s.

He outlived his wife of 64 years and three of his children.

William Breland cared for his wife, who had Alzheimer's disease, on his own for 15 years, until he felt he couldn't do it any more. He called Randy Breland and asked him to help.

William Breland will celebrate his century mark with a party at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Columbia, surrounded by family, friends and the community.

"It's remarkable," Randy Breland said.

Clarion Ledger reporter Billy Watkins contributed to this report.

If you go

A 100-year birthday celebration for William Breland will be from 2-5 p.m. Saturday at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 83 West Lakeview Drive in Columbia.