In the waning years of his long life, James Starnes has often pictured himself standing once more aboard the aging battleship USS Missouri.

But only one spot on the dreadnought would do for the former sailor, and only one date in time: on the surrender deck on the 60th anniversary of the official end of World War II.

The 84-year-old veteran from Stone Mountain, Ga., will realize his private dream next month.

Starnes will join scores of dignitaries, military commanders and nearly 150 World War II veterans who will gather at Pearl Harbor to commemorate the anniversary of the signing of the Japanese surrender treaty.

The public is invited to attend the Sept. 2 ceremonies on the Ford Island pier where the Mighty Mo is berthed.

The program will feature two U.S. sailors who watched Japan's formal surrender — Starnes and Murray Yudelowitz, a gunner's mate who perched on one of the ship's huge gun turrets that day.

Also included in the program will be retired Army Col. Ben Skardon, a survivor of the war's infamous Bataan Death March.

Adm. Gary Roughead, commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, will be the keynote speaker.

Hawai'i National Guard F-15 fighter jets will make a missing-man flyover above the harbor, and a 21-shot salute will be given from the deck of the Missouri.

If time permits, the ceremony will end with officials sealing a time capsule to be opened on the 100th anniversary of the end of the war.

Veterans of U.S. destroyers, including men who escorted the Missouri when it sailed into Tokyo Bay for the surrender, plan to attend the ceremony. Most of them belong to a national veterans group called the Tin Can Sailors, which will be in Honolulu to mark the anniversary with an Aug. 27 event on the Missouri and an Aug. 28 event at National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

For some of the Tin Can Sailors, the Missouri event will be their first time on the battleship they helped guide safely through the minefields of Tokyo Bay.

The trip to Hawai'i was organized by David McComb, a 56-year-old nonveteran from Bolton Landing, N.Y., who has become a champion of the destroyer sailors. His goal on this trip is to inspire as many Americans as possible to thank the World War II veterans.

"I realize what they have done and I realize that their pride has lasted all these years," McComb said. "And I realize that as their average age passes 80, it is time that someone say thank you."

Starnes has thought about this day for a long time.

He was the Mighty Mo's navigator during the final months of the war and served as officer of the deck on Sept. 2, 1945 — the day U.S. and allied military leaders and Japanese leaders signed the surrender documents at a ceremony aboard the Missouri.

Starnes isn't sure yet what he will say at the 60th anniversary ceremony but figures his presence there will mean more to him than the public.

"You look forward to it, decade by decade," Starnes said. "But it has been sort of a fantasy for the last 10 years."

Starnes last saw the Missouri at ceremonies marking the 50th anniversary of the end of the war. It was floating and rusting in the Navy's mothball fleet at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton, Wash. No one was allowed to board the decommissioned battleship.

The Mighty Mo has since been towed to Pearl Harbor, restored by thousands of volunteers and turned into a museum. It may look more like the ship Starnes served on than when he saw it in Bremerton.

"I imagine I will be pretty much at home there," Starnes said. "I am really looking forward to it."

CEREMONY HERE

Ceremonies to mark the 60th anniversary of the signing of the Japanese surrender treaty begin at 8:45 a.m. Sept. 2 on the Ford Island pier where the Mighty Mo is berthed. Reservations are recommended, but not required. For details, call USS Missouri Memorial Association at 455-1600, ext. 244.