Jack Le Cras turns 100 after witnessing the end of World War II aboard USS Missouri
Perth WWII veteran Jack Le Cras OAM turns 100 after witnessing Japan’s 1945 surrender aboard USS Missouri, sharing his secret to long life and decades of community service.
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Perth veteran Jack Le Cras OAM has marked his 100th birthday as one of the last living Australians to witness Japan’s formal surrender that ended the Second World War, an event he saw from the deck of the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay on September 2, 1945. Eighty‑one years on from that day, which fell just after his 19th birthday, Mr Le Cras celebrated with family, friends and dignitaries at Bunnings Joondalup, the hardware store he affectionately calls his “church” and where he recently helped raise $50,000 for mental health through a record‑breaking Lions Club sausage sizzle.
Mr Le Cras was one of three sailors from HMAS Bataan chosen to ferry Australia’s senior military representatives to the USS Missouri for the surrender ceremony, placing him among a tiny group of Australians present when the war officially ended. Recalling the moment, he told The West Australian that his attention was captured less by the ceremony itself and more by the sheer scale of the American battleship. “I wasn’t thinking of the ceremony. I was more impressed with the ship with 2600 men on it,” he said. “The Missouri was 300 yards long, 42 guns on the upper deck. I guarantee that every sailor was on the upper deck. It was amazing.”
That day was only one chapter in a life defined by service. After leaving school at 14 to work as a telegram messenger, he joined the Royal Australian Navy at 17 and continued serving beyond the war, including helping with the recovery of prisoners of war in Japan. In the decades that followed he became a driving force behind commemorative services and community causes across Perth’s northern suburbs, logging almost 50 years with Lions Club International and serving as president of both the Wanneroo RSL Sub‑Branch and the Naval Association of WA. At 100 he is still volunteering, keeping busy, and even driving, crediting his longevity to staying involved with the community, following his doctor’s advice, and keeping his mind engaged. “Keep the brain active, the body will follow. You don’t want the body to tell the brain what it’s going to do,” he said when asked for his secret to a long, healthy life.
At Tuesday’s morning tea at Bunnings, his daughter Sue Whiting described her father as a man who simply refused to slow down. “He has just led us by inspiration,” Ms Whiting said. “He is just a doer. His middle name is volunteer, and that’s all he’s done for his 41 years that he’s been retired between Lions, the RSL and commemorative services.” Representing the Royal Australian Navy, Lieutenant Commander Jack Parnell commended Mr Le Cras for more than eight decades of representing “the very best qualities of a Navy sailor”. “Through your service, your humility, your commitment to remembrance, and your unwavaring respect of others, you have carried the Navy’s name with distinction, honour and reward, and you carry it still today,” Mr Parnell said. “Jack, thank you for your service, thank you for your example, and thank you for a century of a life well lived.”
Whitford’s Lions Club president Derek Best said the centenarian, who is still “sharp as a tack”, is a remarkable man whose hands‑on approach sets him apart. “Everywhere he goes, he rolls his sleeves up and gets his hands dirty. It takes a fine man to do that sort of thing,” Mr Best said. “Today’s not about looking back. It’s about celebrating a great man who’s done some amazing things.” Just in March this year, Mr Le Cras was instrumental in raising $50,000 for a mental health support service through a record‑breaking 102‑hour sausage sizzle at Bunnings Joondalup for the Lions Beacon of Light charity, underlining his ongoing commitment to community wellbeing.
After 35 years working at the ABC and a lifetime of witnessing profound social change, Mr Le Cras offered simple but powerful advice for younger generations. “Respect one another. That’s the main thing,” he said. “What the other person does, you might not appreciate it, but you’ve got to respect the person and how they feel, how they go about their life. You may not agree with the principles of their life, but I respect them for what they are.”
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