bussey was sent to officer candidate school, attained the rank of lieutenant (junior grade), and was assigned to uss "warren", an attack transport active in the pacific theater. he received a commendation from admiral raymond a. spruance, commander of the u.s. fifth fleet, for his actions as an assistant beachmaster during the battle of guam in 1944. bussey also saw action at kwajalein, peleliu, leyte, and luzon, participating in a total of 10 amphibious assaults. he was then named "warren"'s head beachmaster for the upcoming battle of lingayen gulf. by this point, bussey had become somewhat pessimistic about his chances of survival. while home on leave shortly before the invasion, bussey confessed to his older brother keefer, himself a combat engineer in the army, that he believed he "would not come out of his next landing alive," and gave keefer his commemorative watch from the 1941 championship game. the night before general walter krueger's sixth army landed on the beaches of lingayen gulf, bussey turned over his personal effects to "warren"'s chaplain, telling him, "tomorrow i make my ascension. will you see that my mother gets these?"