Warren resident, World War II vet becomes centenarian

WARREN — This month, World War II veteran Alfred Bury will reach a milestone.

On July 21, the Warren resident will turn 100 years old, or as some would say, 100 years young.

Although his legs don’t work like they used to and he has to think a bit before speaking, Bury’s memory is sharp, his smile is sincere and his life stories come straight from the heart.

Bury was born July 21, 1923, in St. Francis Hospital in Hamtramck, which is now the Hamtramck City Hall building. He was one of five boys born to Steven and Stella Bury.

His early years came with sadness. Bury was just 9 years old when his father died. When he was 13, Bury’s mom came down with tuberculosis and couldn’t care for the family.

“We were wards of the state and put in care at St. Vincent de Paul,” Bury said. “She spent three years in the hospital.”

When she finally recovered, Stella was reunited with her children. In 1942, Bury graduated from Hamtramck High School. He admits he “was not a good student.”

“My (older) brother Leonard was a good student,” Bury said, adding that when Leonard’s former teachers found out they had Bury in class, they told him “We expect a lot from you.”

 

War time
As World War II raged overseas, Bury answered the call to duty. On March 21, 1943, the 20-year-old enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Forces. Knowing he would be drafted, Bury and a couple friends enlisted in the service instead, thinking the gesture would keep them together.

“We signed up early to make a deal with the Army,” Bury said.

No deal. The last time Bury saw his pals was at the train station, the Michigan Central Station, in Detroit.

“Most of the draftees in this area went to Fort Custer in Battle Creek,” Bury remembered.

While at boot camp in Florida, he “sort of” missed home.

“I remember I felt pretty depressed, as in what did I do?” Bury thought. “I had my basic training out of a hotel. They sent me to radar mechanic repair school.”

Good with his hands, Bury became a radar mechanic and serviced B-17 bombers.

“I did maintenance work on the radars preflight before they took off,” he said. “They used the radars to guide them through different cities. We would load the radar equipment onto the plane.”

At one point, Bury was stationed at an air base in Alconbury, England. He was promoted to sergeant.

Because “Bury” was in the name of the air base, Bury joked it was named after him.

On occasion, Bury and the boys would take a brief furlough to London. One hangout was the USO club known as Rainbow Corners, where actress and singer Marlene Dietrich performed.

“She put on a pretty good program,” Bury said.

As World War II continued, Bury said “the only action I heard” was when on military leave at a London club.

“During that night, I heard a huge explosion,” he said. “A V-2 (rocket) exploded. It sounded like it was right out of the window, but it was about 10 miles away. What a terrific noise it made.”

Four of the five Bury boys served in the military. Ernest was in the Pacific during World War II serving in the U.S. Army.

“Ray joined the service after the war ended,” Bury said.

Leonard was in the U.S. Army at the same time Bury served. When Leonard was injured with shrapnel in England, Bury visited him in the hospital.

While away from home, Bury and his brothers often wrote letters to their mother or to each other. Those handwritten notes stayed in the family and are kept in a shoebox at Bury’s home. In one letter, dated Oct. 13, 1943, Bury wished his mom “A Happy Birthday.”

Bury knew the war would not last forever.

“We knew it was going to have an ending,” he said.

That came one evening in 1945.

“When we got back to the borough, on the bulletin board was, ‘Pack up, we’re leaving,’” Bury said of the signage that greeted them. “In three days, we were on the Queen Elizabeth on the way home. We sailed into New York. We saw tugboats spraying water hoses on us.”

His final day in the service was Nov. 14, 1945. After reaching U.S. soil, Bury ended up in the southwestern part of the country. But he eventually made it back home.

“You had to have so many points to be discharged,” he said. “When I got to that number, I had the opportunity to pick my discharge center. I picked Roswell, New Mexico, and got paid in cash.”

He then hitchhiked home.

“I was by myself,” Bury remembered. “I got about three different rides and made it back to Detroit.”

When looking at photographs of his time in the military, Bury feels nostalgic.

“I had a pretty good time in the service,” he said.

 

‘He was a mild guy’
Bury adjusted to civilian life and that’s when love walked in. On New Year’s Eve 1945, Bury’s friend, Harry, fixed him up on a blind date at a Detroit nightclub. Sparks flew between Bury and the young woman named Margaret.

“I must have liked something about her,” Bury said. “We were engaged in a month.”

The couple married Dec. 28, 1946, at St. Florian Catholic Church in Hamtramck. A reception was held at a “small, rented hall.”

The Burys had six children: Linda, Marcia, David, Alfred, Margaret and Nancy. Bury, a man of faith who prays the Catholic Rosary every night, supported the family working as a television repairman.

“Mom was the caregiver and Dad was the provider. He worked a lot,” daughter Margaret Butts said. “Mom always did most of the discipline. He was a mild guy.”

Sadly, Bury’s wife Margaret died in 2005.

While growing up, Butts remembers her dad always tinkering around with things.

“He could fix anything,” Butts said. “He’s Mr. Fix It. A very handy man.”

And he did have “a very dry sense of humor.” One memory Butts shared of Bury happened when she and her siblings were young.

“He would put on my mom’s mink coat over his head and scare us like he was a bear,” Butts remembered.

Bury’s family — which includes 55 grandchildren, great grandchildren and great-great grandchildren — will celebrate his birthday during a family reunion July 22. About 150 people are expected to attend.

As for his longevity, Bury isn’t sure what he should attribute it to.

“I really don’t know any special things that contributed to it. I did a lot of walking and bike riding,” Bury said. “I feel pretty lucky.”