Local News
By William Coffman, Local & Lifestyle Editor
Featured in Xavier University’s archives are letters from former Xavier president Paul O’ Connor to his mother, detailing his time as chaplain onboard the USS Missouri and his witnessing of the Japanese surrender ending World War Two. With the world marking the 80th anniversary of Victory in Japan (VJ) day last week, Newswire explored Father O’Connor’s time on the Missouri and his recounting of that day.
O’Connor was born on Aug. 10, 1909, in Joliet, Illinois. He attended Loyola University in Chicago for two years, before joining the Society of Jesus in 1929. Twelve years later in 1941, O’Connor was ordained, a year after that, he took a role at the University of Detroit as its Dean of Freshman, serving for two years.
In 1944, O’Connor joined the Navy, ending up onboard the USS Missouri in the Pacific Theater of the war. O’Connor was tasked with broadcasting the signing ceremony to the crew of the Missouri below the deck. This responsibility meant he received a great view of the event, which he recounted to his mother in a letter the next day on Sept. 3.
Third from left: Fr. Paul L O’Connor, S.J., then Catholic Chaplain aboard the U.S.S. Missouri, here headed for an audience with Pope Pius XII.
“I don’t suppose I shall ever see so many important personages gathered together in one place for the rest of my life,” O’Connor wrote, describing the unique view of history he had that day. “I had a marvelous view of the whole proceedings, standing on the bridge directly above the spot where the signing took place.”
Eventually came the time to sign. “At precisely 9 o’clock, McArthur(sic) strode out of the admiral’s quarters and up to the microphones with a piece of paper in his hand. He began a short speech that was good; it was simple, direct and firm,” O’Connor said.
Japanese Foreign Minister, Mamoru Shigemitsu was the first to sign the document followed by Gen. Yoshijiro Umezu. Gen. MacArthur was the first of the Allied representatives to sign and formally accepted the surrender.
Following the surrender, the Missouri remained in Tokyo Bay, where O’Connor took trips to the mainland to explore Tokyo and provide aid to Jesuits and people in the city. “Impossible, so they told us, to get into Tokyo. But we had a jeep loaded with food and clothing and we knew the fathers at the university were praying ‘Give us this day our daily bread,’” O’Connor said.
O’Connor described the destruction he saw in Tokyo and the harsh conditions of the Japanese. “They tell me 80% of the city is destroyed and I believe it. The dock and factory areas are leveled, the residential districts a mass of ruins,” O’Connor stated.
“The Jesuits at the University greeted us with open arms. We were, of course, the first ones to get through to them. None of them had been killed, but were all suffering terribly from malnutriton. They were just plain hungry. Besides the boxes of food we had brought k rations along for lunch, but when we saw how hungry they were we slipped the k rations into the boxes,” O’Connor continued.
Group photograph at Sophia University, Tokyo, Sept. 5, 1945.
O’Connor described the upcoming occupation of Japan by the United States, writing “But I foresee no difficulty during the occupation. All the common people want is to be left alone and allowed to live.” O’Connor then concluded his writing speaking highly of the Japanese, his writing epitomizing the peace that had arrived, and the mending of relations between America and Japan, a relationship that remains strong today.
“I couldn’t help feeling sorry for them. Thousands have no place to live. Families are scattered. The future is dark. Their city is desolate…And yet they go about their daily routine almost stoically and find time to talk and laugh and smile at strangers in a dusty jeep. A remarkable people,” O’Connor wrote.
O’Connor would remain in the Navy until 1946. He arrived at Xavier that year as Dean of the Evening College. In 1948, he became Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, holding that role until he assumed the presidency in 1955. “Fr. O’Connor was the second longest-serving president in Xavier’s history,” University Archivist for the McDonald Library Anne Ryckbost said. “With his leadership, the student population and campus infrastructure grew.”
Notable accomplishments achieved under Fr. O’Connor were the construction of buildings like Bellarmine Chapel and Alter Hall, and the admission of women into the undergraduate college. After leaving the presidency in 1972, Father O’Connor was named the first ever Chancellor in university history. Father Paul O’Connor SJ died Sept. 10, 1974, at the age of 65.
