EL PASO, Texas (KFOX14/CBS4) — Nearly 81 years after witnessing the end of World War II from Tokyo Bay, El Paso resident Bobby Pierce Long is preparing to celebrate a milestone few achieve: his 100th birthday.

Long, a U.S. Navy veteran and lifelong El Pasoan, will mark his centennial on June 21, 2026 — Father’s Day — surrounded by family, friends, fellow veterans and community members honoring a life defined by service, resilience and faith.

As an 18-year-old sailor aboard the USS Lavaca, Long was among the thousands of Allied servicemen present in Tokyo Bay on Sept. 2, 1945, when Japan formally surrendered aboard the battleship USS *Missouri*, officially ending World War II. From the deck of his ship, he watched one of the most significant moments in modern history unfold.

Today, Long is believed to be among the last surviving witnesses to the historic surrender ceremony.

This isn’t just a birthday,” Long’s family said. “It’s celebrating a living piece of history.

Born June 21, 1926, in Fabens, Texas, Long entered the world during a vastly different era. The youngest of nine children, he was born in a tent and grew up during the Great Depression in a modest home near the Franklin Canal outside El Paso. The family lived without running water or a sewer system, just yards from busy railroad tracks where steam engines thundered past day and night.

At 17, Long left Ysleta High School to work as a bicycle messenger for the Southern Pacific Railroad, helping support his family. One year later, he enlisted in the Navy and was assigned duties laying ship-to-shore communications lines, a critical role that enabled commanders and landing forces to coordinate operations throughout the Pacific theater.

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Following the war, Long returned to El Paso and married his childhood sweetheart, Lula Nell White. Together they raised two children while Long built a 45-year career with the Southern Pacific Railroad. Beyond his professional life, he dedicated countless hours to community service, volunteering as an assistant Boy Scout master and working with youth programs through Grace United Methodist Church.

His military service continued to be recognized long after the war. In 2014, Long participated in an Honor Flight to Washington, D.C., joining fellow veterans in visiting memorials dedicated to their service. Four years later, Ysleta High School awarded him an honorary diploma, recognizing the sacrifice he made as a teenager when he left school to help support his family.

Long remains active in his church community and has attended Cross of Grace Church for more than four decades.

On Sunday, approximately 75 family members and friends are expected to gather at the Woman’s Club of El Paso to celebrate Long’s 100th birthday. The event will include veterans, active-duty service members, representatives from the Rio Grande Honor Flight, the Railroad Transportation and Museum of El Paso, and members of the El Paso Fire Department Bag Pipers.

For Long’s family, the occasion is about more than reaching a remarkable age.

“It’s rare to reach 100,” they said. “But it’s even more special to celebrate someone who lived through the Great Depression, served in World War II, witnessed the end of the war in Tokyo Bay, and then spent the next eight decades building a life and serving his community.”

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