Victory in Japan at 70

[yelladawgdem]

Seventy years ago today, at 12:00 noon Japan Standard Time, the Emperor Hirohito announced to his battered nation, their Unconditional Surrender to the United States of America and her allies ending the Second World War. The surrender came less than a week after President Harry Truman, making a decision that no man should ever have to make, ordered the dropping of the two atomic bombs "Fatman" and "Little Boy", on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The "Potsdam Proclamation" read by the Emperor to his nation, was officially signed aboard the USS Missouri on September 2, 1945. Representing Japan was Foreign Minister Mamoru Shigemitsu and representing the United States was General Douglas MacArthur.

There are no words that I, or anyone else, could pen that would do justice to those who fought this battle. So I will simply say, on behalf of both a grateful nation and a grateful world; Thank You For A Job Well Done.

 

[Htown77]

Harry Truman was a member of the sons of the confederate veterans and therefore a racist.... sorry couldn't help it.

In seriousness, thank you WW2 vets, those that sacrificed at home and those that made the ultimate sacrifice abroad!

 

[nashhorn]

Thanks Dad, and you too Mom for the sacrifices.

 

[Mr. Deez]

Thanks to everybody who served in the Pacific Theater but special thanks my grandfather who worked as a medical assistant in the Army Medical Corps treating wounded soldiers in the Pacific. He saw some horrible things and worked in terrible conditions, but many made it home in part because of him.

 

[Crockett]

A few years ago for Father's Day I bought my dad, a serious history buff, a copy of Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors, which I liked just because it's a great story well told.

Turns out he had a first cousin who grew up a mile away from him who served on the USS Johnston. Dad said he knew the Johnston had been sunk in battle, but the cousin never told the story of his and shipmates' heroism and ultimate success in the Battle of Leyte Gulf. Seeing his now-deceased cousin's name mentioned in the narrative was a thrill and a surprise for him and he's shared the story with numerous relatives.

 

[yelladawgdem]

Crockett-

Thank your family for it's service to our Great Nation. Forty Six years ago today, I answered the door to find two Army Officers to deliver the news that my big brother had been killed in that God forsaken jungle in Southeast Asia. A Million Midnight's Ago. My brother died doing what he loved and what he believed in. The bond that Gold Star Families share, cannot be explained. God Bless.

Yelladawgdem

 

[Crockett]

yelladogdem, my immediate family's sacrifice was very small compared to yours. My dad grew up in West Virginia, one of 13 children in a household and his dad had 18 siblings. There were a lot of first cousins and only one died in World War II, lost when the USS Hornet went down. My dad, like others in the holler, grew up in hero worship to World War I's Sgt. York. He was drafted in the 1950s and proud to serve. The GI bill and his high school football coach, by now head coach at New Mexico Highlands, meant he'd be the first in his family to go to college. Like a lot of soldiers stationed out west, he volunteered to participate in tests of the impact of nuclear fallout on frontline troops. So glad, he was not selected.