VJ Day, the end of World War II – August 15, 1945

Today is the 63rd anniversary of “Victory Japan” Day, or VJ Day. On that day Japan announced it would surrender unconditionally.

President Harry Truman warned Japan to surrender, unconditionally, from the Potsdam Conference, in July. Truman warned that the U.S. had a new, horrible weapon. Japan did not accept the invitation to surrender. The announced surrender came nine days after the U.S. dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, and six days after a second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. The actual surrender occurred on September 2, 1945, aboard the battleship U.S.S. Missouri, anchored in Tokyo Harbor.

Celebrations broke out around the world, wherever U.S. military people were, and especially across the U.S., which had been hunkered down in fighting mode for the previous four years, since the attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese on December 7, 1941.

I posted some of the key images of the day a year ago (go see), and repost one of my favorites here.

Alfred Eisenstaedt's iconic photo of the Kiss in Times Square, V-J Day 1945.

Resources:

• See the list of resources from an earlier post, here
• Statement from Canada’s Minister of Veterans Affairs
• “Memories of World War II,” exhibit at the Truman Library opens November 11, 2008
• On The Radio site of news broadcasts of the day
• VJ Day in Minnesota (August 14?)