Junior’s funeral took place at 2:30 in the afternoon August 14, 1945, at the Workman Funeral Home in Perry, Iowa. The forty-eight-star flag from the casket was ceremoniously folded. Lieutenant Woods presented the grieving parents, Clabe and Leora, with this symbol of their son’s service and sacrifice. 

Claiborne Junior Wilson was the first in the family buried in Perry’s Violet Hill Cemetery. 

President Truman announced that Japan had agreed to unconditional surrender. The day after the funeral, the town of Perry joined the rest of the country in celebrating VJ-Day (Victory over Japan) with bells and sirens. 

I was a toddler underfoot. I just cannot imagine how they got through this day. Even young Ralph Woods. He and Junior were buddies at the airbase.

Please see Leora’s Letters: The Story of Love and Loss for an Iowa Family During World War II. Five brothers served. Only two came home.