VJ DAY
August 14th, 2009 | 4:55 pm
Waterloo Daily Courier, August 14, 1945. (Photo Courtesy of Robert M. Edsel Collection.)
Sixty-four years ago this was but one of the newspaper headlines as the world awoke to read about the end of World War II. Victory in Japan, “V-J” Day, August 15, 1945.
Japan’s acceptance of the Potsdam Declaration calling for their unconditional surrender on August 15, 1945 (August 14 in the United States) marked the end of World War II, three years, eight months, and seven days after the attack on Pearl Harbor. While the official signing of the surrender took place on September 2, 1945 aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay, victory was celebrated in the United States, Britain, and Australia with a two day holiday beginning on August 15. Soldiers and civilians alike rejoiced in the streets of cities across the United States and Europe. When the announcement came at 3 a.m. in Hawaii, every ship in Pearl Harbor set off its store of rockets.
President Truman informs reporters of Japan's surrender at a press conference in the Oval Office. August 14, 1945. (Photo Courtesy of Time Life)
Amidst the celebrations, the gravity of the situation was not to be forgotten. King George VI addressed the British people from Buckingham Palace, saying:
“Our hearts are full to overflowing, as are your own. Yet there is not one of us who has experienced this terrible war who does not realize that we shall feel its inevitable consequences long after we have all forgotten our rejoicing today.”
These consequences are still felt today. Of the almost 300,000 American combat deaths during World War II, more than one-third occurred in the Asia-Pacific Theater. This “Victory in Japan” Day should serve not only as a day to remember the final Allied victory, but also as a day to remember those who so nobly lost their lives fighting and winning the war in the Pacific Theater.
