Edgar Buffman

Gunner’s Mate Second Class (GM2c)

Hailing from Newport, Rhode Island, Mr. Buffman served aboard the USS Missouri from 1944 to 1946 as a Gunner’s Mate Second Class (GM2c) in the Gunnery Department’s 8th Division. He is also a proud World War II plank owner. 

On April 11, 1945, he witnessed the Kamikaze attack on the starboard side of the ship. "Being on the port side, we felt the ship shake, and we could see the smoke coming up... All hell was going on over there." He would later be present aboard the Missouri during the formal surrender on September 2, 1945.  

Mr. Buffman was part of Malone’s Marauders, a contingent of USS Missouri and Third Fleet sailors selected to be the first Allied personnel in Tokyo as part of an advance occupation force prior to the formal surrender. He was tasked with destroying Japanese munitions at an artillery emplacement. 

Mr. Buffman now resides with his wife, Jolene, in Media, Pennsylvania, where he founded the Pennsylvania Veterans Museum.