Lee Brousard enlisted in the Navy with the intention of joining the Naval Air Corps. But as he was traveling to Florida for flight training, the Navy changed those plans and sent him to San Diego for naval training. After completing basic training, Broussard then finished at the top of his class at Pacific Fleet School at Pearl Harbor. That led to him joining the staff and ship of Adm. William "Bull" Halsey, Jr. in 1944.
In this edition of "Veterans Chronicles," Broussard tells us about Halsey as a commander, surviving a vicious typhoon near the Philippines, relentlessly shelling Okinawa and the Japanese mainland, and dealing with a kamikaze attack.
Primarily serving aboard the battleships USS New Jersey and USS Missouri, Broussard shares his vivid memories of witnessing the formal Japanese surrender to Gen. Douglas MacArthur aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay on September 2, 1945.