V-J Day

[Hardcast416taylor]

Anybody else besides me know what this meant?Robert

[looseprojectile]

Ayup.
V- E day came first. They don't even put it on the calendar anymore.



Life is good

[Mike H]

Anybody else besides me know what this meant?Robert

Yes,though some years ago it was quietly changed to VP (Victory in the Pacific).
Mike

[Bob Krack]

Yes, Robert. I was just a youngster (toddler, actually) when it happened but it was rollin' in the streets!

Bob

[fatnhappy]

they asked for it. they got it.
67 years ago today


http://www.skilluminati.com/img/hiroshima.jpg

[WILCO]

http://vimeo.com/5645171

[Freightman]

Yes I remember the Christmas present I got that year, my dad came home on Christmas day. Best Christmas ever, when I went back to school I wore the stripes of a Staff Sargent and wore his dog tags.

[Harter66]

I do. Then again my moms folks and Aunt were at Pearl.

We must remeber too that it is not just a day of victory but that it was as close as we've been to intentional genocide. Sorry just facts .

[bob208]

i saw it 10 years ago when important history was being droped off the calenders. v-j v-e d-day. pearl harbor. armistance day. flag day veterians day. and amny more.

but then the libs are trying to rewrite history.

[OBIII]

"Trying"? It looks to me like they are totally succeeding.

[Blacksmith]

V-J is that some kind of new V-8 juice?:kidding:

[KCSO]

Yep my turkey hunting mentor was a POW in Japan and wouldn't even buy a Toyota in 1990 because it came from Japan.

[Bent Ramrod]

It's probably the reason I'm here. My Dad was scheduled to be in the mainland Japan invasion and he never changed his opinion that if it had happened, the prospects for his return home would not have been good.

Bad as the A-Bombs were, we didn't start that war. Our only responsibility was to finish it, at as little cost to ourselves as possible.

[melter68]

Yes lets thank all those who served, we owe them so much

[1Shirt]

My father in law was on the invasion fleet heading into Japan when the bombs were dropped. He caught 2 iyears of occupation duty there after the surrender.
Hated Japs with a passion to his dying day. He had been battlefield commissioned on Iwo. I knew 3 old Marines when I was a young Marine, who were POW's, but never got to know them well. Also had an AF 1st.Sgt. who was a survivor of the Batan Death march. The war in the Pacific was brutal. The war in Europe was (if there is such a thing in war) far more humane, based upon the cultures and traditions of the enemy we fought!
1Shirt!

[Harter66]

Had an "Uncle" that landed Omaha beach at Iwo. 2 more besides that. I never knew him to have any hatred for them as a people.

I met and had drinks w/Gregory "Pappy" Boyington and Masajaro "Mike" Kowato the Japanese pilot that shot him down when he was caputured. They were just old war dogs w/o any real bitterness.

[FISH4BUGS]

We must remeber too that it is not just a day of victory but that it was as close as we've been to intentional genocide. Sorry just facts .

I hope I understand your remarks correctly. If I do, with all due respect, you are sorely mistaken in your assesment. We dropped the bombs because the Japanese people (including women and children) would have fought with pitchforks and clubs if we had needed to invade Japan to conclude our war with them.
My dad was ar Sugamo prison during and after the war crimes trials. I have done a great deal of research on the war crimes trials. What the Japanses military did to our soldiers was inhumane, cruel, and against all the norms of war.
The fire bombing of Tokyo killed more pople than the atomic bombs. The dropping of atomic bombs saved millions of lives on both sides.
You are, of course, free to have whatever opinion you wish to have. But I urge you read more about the military in Japan in WW2, and the plans we were making to invade Japan.
You might well see the necessity of having done it.

[fishnbob]

Actual film footage that I saw on PBS shows the Japanese walking out into the ocean and jumping off cliffs to avoid capture. People with that mindset have to be defeated soundly by whatever means necessary for the good of all. Have you seen the pictures of Hiroshima 67 years later and compared to Detroit? We did them a favor. My daddy was headed to the Pacific after serving in Germany when it ended.

[DCP]

Plus 1

All gave some Some gave all



I hope I understand your remarks correctly. If I do, with all due respect, you are sorely mistaken in your assesment. We dropped the bombs because the Japanese people (including women and children) would have fought with pitchforks and clubs if we had needed to invade Japan to conclude our war with them.
My dad was ar Sugamo prison during and after the war crimes trials. I have done a great deal of research on the war crimes trials. What the Japanses military did to our soldiers was inhumane, cruel, and against all the norms of war.
The fire bombing of Tokyo killed more pople than the atomic bombs. The dropping of atomic bombs saved millions of lives on both sides.
You are, of course, free to have whatever opinion you wish to have. But I urge you read more about the military in Japan in WW2, and the plans we were making to invade Japan.
You might well see the necessity of having done it.

[Longwood]

Do some research about the cruelty of Jap soldiers and the Jap people.
Do a google search about unit 71 Also Japanese prisoner of war treatment and the medical experiments.

Be prepared for some super gruesome stuff.

I knew a lot of ex soldiers that would NEVER acknowledge a Jap soldier, as being a decent human. Many of them were less than a decent animal.

[Harter66]

So much for keeping an open mind, you are correct. We I'm sure saved untold lives. It was the best tool we had for the job as well,no contest,probably should have laid a half dozen into Iraqastan.

My point is that 67yr after the fact,after a half million people were killed w/just 2 bombs maybe they too,should be given they're due .

[Harter66]

" We dropped the bombs because the Japanese people (including women and children) would have fought with pitchforks and clubs if we had needed to invade Japan to conclude our war with them. "

I believe had it been the other way around we would have done the same,save for we had "a rifle behind every blade of grass".

Believe it or not I do understand the ........... predjudice,for lack of a better word. It just isn't part of who I am nor what I carry w/me. My Moms parents and Aunt were at Pearl,growing up I met and socialised w/dozens of vetsof the war. My Dads older brother lost his best friend in the Sea of Japan . War is brutal and ugly .

Nancy Elliot was William McKinely's wife , she was also my 3rd great grandmothers Aunt, William annexed the pacific rim as president . I think that should entitle me to MOHO.

[waksupi]

All in all, I would have rather went up in the atomic bomb, rather than the creeping terror of the fire bombings, being the first use of napalm in a highly flammable city.

[JIMinPHX]

Had an "Uncle" that landed Omaha beach at Iwo.

???????

I thought that Omaha beach was in France.

[AnthonyB]

I do. Then again my moms folks and Aunt were at Pearl.

We must remeber too that it is not just a day of victory but that it was as close as we've been to intentional genocide. Sorry just facts .

Harter 66:
"Intentional genocide?" Please explain that one - I don't get it. How was the atomic bombing of Japan any different from what we had been doing to their homeland? If it was an attempt at genocide, why did we quit after two? We still had sufficient conventional weapons to continue the effort at "genocide" if that was the motive.
Tony

[daniel lawecki]

My father was on the essex his two brothers were prisoners of the same war none of them where ever bitter

[DCP]

Yes it was

OMAHA Beach Normandy France

https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&oe=UTF8&msa=0&msid=112071111345491128628.00048b33d27a36fc2546d





???????

I thought that Omaha beach was in France.

[Hardcast416taylor]

I guess what spurred my initial question of who remembers what it meant is an item on the late news Sun. Graves were marked in a vetrans cemetary of all service men that had lost their lives in WW 2 with flags in marking V-J day this weekend.Robert

[Blacksmith]

Yes it was

OMAHA Beach Normandy France

https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&oe=UTF8&msa=0&msid=112071111345491128628.00048b33d27a36fc2546d

Very interesting map. If you click on the American Military Cemetery and change to Satellite View you can zoom in and see the 9,300 markers. One of the most moving things I have ever experianced was visiting there 40 years ago.

If you follow the coast line you can find Ponte Du Hoc and see German emplacements in the Satellite view.

[Ivantherussian03]

I grew up hearing my grandmother talk about them Japs, and she would say not so nice things about the Jap military; she was terrifide of them, and the possible invasion of the mainland I think, but to her credit she recognized the internment of Japanese Americans was wrong. She lived for a time at the Tulee (spelling?) internment camp in northern California. She told me they had two camps there, a German pow camp, and the Japanese internment camp. She told me the Germans were treated much better.

[725]

Happy V-J day! The bomb was the most humane thing we could do. Crunch the numbers. Thank God for the Bomb!

[9.3X62AL]

The internment of the Nisei at Tule Lake, Manzanar, and other locations was not America at its best.

Both the Nazi military-industrial juggernaut and the Japanese Empire/zaibatsu combination were vicious, racist, horrific governmental entities intent upon enslaving as much of the world as they could hold. Our ally Josef Stalin was no humanitarian, either--and he had his own people purged and murdered. AFAIC, any weapon that would shorten the war and minimize Allied casualties would have been fine by me. Moral of the story--choose your leadership with balanced judgement, or don't whine and bitch when your cities are ablaze. World History 101.

[shooterg]

My Pop was on Okinawa and other Pacific paradises with Uncle Sam's Misguided Children. Still carries a grudge. Quit talking to the neighbors when they bought a Kubota tractor. Would've disowned us if we came home in a Toyota ! Good chance I wouldn't be here if the Enola Gay missed that flight .

[Longwood]

When the end of the war was announced in Japan, some the butchers that were running the POW camps killed the prisoners of war.
We treated their prisoners like royalty in comparison to how they treated our men.

[Pavogrande]

Actually V-J day is august 15, not the days the bombs were dtopped --

As i am a mite older than most of you I also remember quite well dec 7 '41 -
Like others, my dad was a CWO usmc sitting on guam awaiting embarcation for the coming invasion.
Fortunately they were sent to China to accept surrender of japanese forces there. He ended up in Tsingtao where he had first served in 1923 --
He did not get back home until sept 1946 --
I cetainly do not share harter66 compassion for the japanese people --- I remember quite well the newsreels of japanese atrociteis in china, bataan and the like. I doubt many civilian prisioners of the japanese in china, the PI and else where shed many tears for them.
my tuppence

[waksupi]

"The Rape Of Nanking" may be a good book for people who think we were too tough by bombing the Japanese homeland. There are also videos on Youtube of some of the atrocities as they occurred, beheadings in the street and such nice things.

[DCP]

I found this

VJ Day



When :

August 14th - Japan surrenders

August 15th - Surrender announced to the world

September 2 - Ceremony and formal signing of surrender


VJ Day marks the end of WWII, and the cessation of fighting against Japan. It is called "Victory In Japan Day or "Victory Over Japan Day".

The confusion over three dates:

There is some confusion over what date is V-J Day. You can consider any (or all) of three dates as V-J Day. President Harry S. Truman caused some of this confusion........

On August 14, 1945, the Japanese government cabled to the U.S. their surrender. This is the date of most modern observances.

On August 15, 1945, news of the surrender was announced to the world. This sparked spontaneous celebrations over the final ending of World War II.

On September 2, 1945, a formal surrender ceremony was held in Tokyo Bay aboard the USS Missouri. At the time, President Truman declared September 2 to be VJ Day.


Regardless of which day you view as VJ Day, World War II was finally over.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A Little VJ Day History
The war in the Pacific was hard fought and bloody. The tide had definitely turned, and the U.S. military was fighting island by island towards Japan. Resistance was fierce. Casualties on both sides were high.


The U.S. had developed the atomic bomb. The U.S. government was anxious to end the war, and stop the loss of American lives.


On August 6th, 1945, the United States military dropped an atomic bomb over the city of Hiroshima, Japan in an effort to force Japan into an immediate, unconditional surrender. Instead of immediately surrendering, the Japanese government debated what to do. So, the U.S. dropped a second atomic bomb on August 9, 1945 over the city of Nagasaki, Japan.


On August 14, 1945, Japanese Emperor Hirohito cabled the U.S. to surrender, and agreed to the terms of the Potsdam Declaration.


On August 15, 1945, news of the surrender was announced to the world. World War II was finally over. Hostilities ended.


On September 2, 1945, the Japanese formally surrendered aboard the U.S. battleship USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay. President Truman declared this to be V-J Day.


Did You Know? The battleship USS Missouri was chosen for the formal surrender ceremony, as she was named after President Truman's home state.



Actually V-J day is august 15, not the days the bombs were dtopped --

As i am a mite older than most of you I also remember quite well dec 7 '41 -
Like others, my dad was a CWO usmc sitting on guam awaiting embarcation for the coming invasion.
Fortunately they were sent to China to accept surrender of japanese forces there. He ended up in Tsingtao where he had first served in 1923 --
He did not get back home until sept 1946 --
I cetainly do not share harter66 compassion for the japanese people --- I remember quite well the newsreels of japanese atrociteis in china, bataan and the like. I doubt many civilian prisioners of the japanese in china, the PI and else where shed many tears for them.
my tuppence

[Harter66]

Y'all are correct I can't remember nothing right. Guess I better just quit while I'm behind.

[captaint]

Yes, I remember. BOOM !!!. And finally, it was over. How fortunate are we that we figured it out first. Would have been a different world. Mike. And a sincere thank you for all that served. Glad some of you are still with us.

[GabbyM]

It's probably the reason I'm here. My Dad was scheduled to be in the mainland Japan invasion and he never changed his opinion that if it had happened, the prospects for his return home would not have been good.

Bad as the A-Bombs were, we didn't start that war. Our only responsibility was to finish it, at as little cost to ourselves as possible.

Similar story here. My father was scheduled to report to the induction center in St Louis when the war finally ended. He’d of had no rotation points going into any invasion of Japan. Which General Omar Bradley’s staff calculated would cost over one million American lives. The Navy had a plan to blockade and starve the Japanese people out. Which would have been a more terrible end than the A bomb. There was no easy way to win that war and we did not start it.

My father ended up in the USMC during the Korean Conflict. Where he served easy duty on the East cost of the USA and a couple floats in the Caribbean. I was born after that war.

My parents certainly have no guilt over winning the war. Neither do I. Loosing or this no solution business is for losers. When the game is played for keeps loosing is not a good option.

If you all stop and think about the blockade and starvation plan. After it was placed into effect on an already hungry nation. Could not have been reversed even after a surrender. That’s what the Emperor was facing The A bomb coming on the scene gave him a way to surrender. Within the total scope of that war the number of people the A Bombs killed was insignificant.

[1Shirt]

One of the major problems in this country is that FEW today wear or have worn the uniform of this country, and many have never been in a third world country and have never truely been hungry. This in my opinion is one of the reason for so many bleeding hearts, pollitical correctness, and socialist attitudes. Those who grew up during the depression, and those of us who were children of those who went thru the depression were raised with different values, morals, standards, and patriotism.
1Shirt!

[DCP]

plus 1

There is hope, I have 6 young men and women in the last few yrs have joined the military. From the HS school school bus I drive.

But on the other hand you ought to hear why the might vote for someone.
That why I dont think 18 yr old should vote. (unless they're in the military or supporting themselves. This means not living with mommy or daddy) Its mom and dads job to get them out in that big bad world.



One of the major problems in this country is that FEW today wear or have worn the uniform of this country, and many have never been in a third world country and have never truely been hungry. This in my opinion is one of the reason for so many bleeding hearts, pollitical correctness, and socialist attitudes. Those who grew up during the depression, and those of us who were children of those who went thru the depression were raised with different values, morals, standards, and patriotism.
1Shirt!

[Bob Krack]

Well ya'll....
Today is August 15th. My baby sister was one year old to the day when the agreement was reached for Japan's unconditional surrender. Hmmm,,, actually the agreement was reached the 15th in Japan, which was the 14th here. Legal observation is September 2nd which is the day of the formal signing in Tokyo bay.

I would have liked to have given more information earlier but I thought it was interesting to see the answers (and lack of answers), and I have been diggin' through my archives to find a picture. I have a picture of me standing behind my grandparents car on the beach at Daytona Beach, taken on V-J day. The license clearly shows 1945 but I cannot document the date except I remember mom and granma laughing and rejoicing that evening. Whenever I finally find that picture, I will post it.

I was just over 2 years old and it's kinda funny how some OLD memories remain when so many more recent memories are not memories any longer.

Bob