V-E Day
painting of V-E Day celebration
V-E DAY WAS A VICTORY FOR MILLIONS AROUND THE GLOBE
Celebration on Cross St., Whitehaven
Wellington on V-E Day
IT DOES NOT MATTER WHAT COLOR YOUR FLAG IS – PLEASE SHOW YOUR THANKS AND SUPPORT FOR THOSE WHO GAVE SO MUCH FOR YOU!
Smitty, with many thanks to Priorhouse.wordpress.com/
Smiles all around!
New York City on V-E Day, 1945
The veterans and their stories.
IF YOU CARE TO SHARE A STORY, FEEL FREE TO DO SO AT ANY TIME BELOW IN THE COMMENTS.
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AND WEAR YOUR COLORS PROUDLY!
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ANOTHER SHOUT-OUT HERE TO THE OUTSTANDING VETERANS IN ARKANSAS! I HAVE BEEN HEARING ABOUT YOUR VOLUNTEER WORK WITH THE VICTIMS OF THE TORNADOES. IT PROVES YOUR SPIRIT AND CHARACTER BEYOND ANYTHING I CAN EXPRESS.
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Farewell Salutes –
Maurice Albin – Northbrook, IL; US Army, WWII
Hollis Baker – Grand Rapids, MI & Palm Beach, FL; US Navy, Lt., WWII, PTO
Donald Goebel – Burien, WA; US Navy, WWII, cadet & pilot
Paul T. Gray – N.Palm Beach, FL; USMC, Cpl., Vietnam
Jordon Hillman – Chicago, IL; US Army Air Corps, Navigator, WWII, 8th AF unit
Alfred “Jim” Hudson – New Zealand; Royal Navy # C/SSX16068, WWII, ETO, African Star & The Italy Star
Joseph Lupo – Houston, TX; US Army, WWII
Joseph O’Hare – McLean, Va; USMC, WWII, PTO & US Army, Korea and Vietnam (30 year service)
James Robertson – Meadowbank, NZ; RNZ Air Force # 427110
Robert Scott, Jr. – Englewood, FL; US Army, WWII
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Posted on May 8, 2014, in Korean War, Vietnam, WWII and tagged family history, History, Military, Military History, nostalgia, Pacific War, V-E Day, veterans, war, WWII. Bookmark the permalink. 73 Comments.
Pacific Paratrooper 
That was the day the world celebrated the end of a nightmare.
I like the first picture with the piano in the street, it tells the whole story of that eventful day.
Regards
Ian
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Thanks for commenting, Ian. I can always count on you!
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cheers to our Vets! 🙂
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Hip-hip!! They deserve it!
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❤ 🙂
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My dad was drafted in June, 1945 when he graduated from HS. Right from the start they were told they were being trained for the invasion of Japan. When Japan surrendered there was a collective sigh of relief followed by much cheering according to my dad. Thanks for an excellent blog. I truly look forward to it.
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Your dad was truly one of the lucky ones! Thank you for your story, Bruce.
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Yeah, he was. Retrained as an MP and served in occupied Germany-Cologne/Giessen.
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Thanks for the Wellington photo – I haven’t seen that image before. What an amazing scene.
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Quite a crowd, eh? I did a lot of hunting to find ones that depict the spirit felt that day. Thanks, Hayley.
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As ever a cracking way to capture those people (events even) that should be remembered.
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Thank you very much. Good to see you here.
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Cheers.
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Reblogged this on alaskasretrievers.
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Thank you, I am honored by your re-blog.
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You’re welcome. Honored to share
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I couldn’t have expressed it any better than Koji did above. We need another “Great Generation” but I’m afraid those days are gone — I’m not speaking of the soldiers, mind you, they are Great. I’m referring to just the clueless powers at the top pulling the strings.
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I gotcha, Linda and I firmly agree!! [it baffles the mind that the military tries to refrain from war while the civilian politicians get us right into one? Disgusting]
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I can only imagine the great joy on that day. The price of failure was so great–from there came the emotion. I probably don’t want to risk that ever again.
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I wouldn’t think so, not with today’s weaponry. Thanks for commenting, Jacqui.
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Indeed, V-E Day was a day of tremendous relief for all involved in the European Theater of War…but all we can do today is read about it. We will never experience that sense of togetherness ever again… In a way, perhaps it is a good thing. “War” today is a never ending one, made worse by civilian (i.e., White House) leadership.
As a side note, all guns at Okinawa were fired to celebrate V-E Day.
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Koji – when you say that you and I are on the same page – you’re not kidding! Every word you’ve typed here is exactly how I feel. The news of Okinawa is an added plus! Thanks for coming by and have a great day!
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You too, gpcox!
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Absolutely — remember all our vets !!!
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YOU GOT IT, BRO!
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My mother, who was living in Wales and was 12 years old at the time talked of the big street parties, the joy and the strange things she looked forward to trying for the first time – like bananas! The rationing had meant always being hungry for so many. Things took a few decades to get back on track though.
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I imagine so, the UK was bombed pretty thoroughly in any industrial area. But at least on this date, they knew the repairing would begin, not German lessons.
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Keep up the good work of sharing the history of times that many have forgotten.
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Thank you, Bev, you’ve been a long-time friend here and I greatly appreciate that. Thank you for helping us Remember.
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I was very young when that day came round, but old enough to realise that something truly momentous had happened.
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At least you have that memory, how terrific! But the Pacific raged on…
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Yes, but that is where it became much more remote to us, from my recollection.
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Hi,
I don’t know if you’ve seen this person’s blog, but I thought in case you haven’t, you’d enjoy the beautiful 4×5 kodachrome images. http://pavelkosenko.wordpress.com/2012/03/28/4×5-kodachromes/
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No, I had never been to that site before, John, so thank you for referring me. Those pictures were amazing, so crisp and the timeline (as you are well aware) is perfect!
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I often wondered how people would have felt like at V-E day. My dad having spent all his youth days at war in Europe. Having started out being sent with the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) 1939-40 then escaping the Dunkirk debacle only to go back again with D-day and the push through France, Belgium, Holland and finally Germany. All those years of being at war and suddenly relief, return and rebuild. People rebuilding their lives. Tough generation, resilient folks.
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Enough can NOT be said about them – the “Greatest Generation” is not just a nonchalant phrase. You must be very proud of your father and thank you for leaving a quick record of his tour of duty here.
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It really is a day worth celebrating. Thank you for the lovely post. The photos you selected are great.
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Thank you, it’s difficult to limit them on these holidays, but since this month is Military Appreciation Month, I should have time to use more. Thanks for stopping, Amberly.
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It is rather sad that we don’t come together as we did then…that VE day like other important dates, just become another number on the calendar. We should never forget these times nor those true patriots/vets who make these times possible.
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Very, very true! If only!
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My father told of getting leaving from his post in the Aleutians during April 45 (a rare event for most American troops) and being on a troop ship outbound from Seattle taking him back to Attu the first week in May. When the news of VE broke the troops broke into wild celebrations and large amounts of smuggled booze found its way into the open. Father didn’t partake in this party and when pressed why he wasn’t happier, he replied, “Don’t know about you SOBs but I’m on a troop ship on my way to fight the Japs, but you enjoy yourselves and I’ll save my scotch for VJ day.” (note, grandfather owned a grocery store and my dad had hidden 3 quarts in his duffel bag).
Later in life he could tell you the day, hour, minute, where he was and what he was doing when the Japanese surrender was announced.
However, my wife’s family in England can tell you stories about VE day that would go on all night and into tomorrow – relief, joy, sadness and fear for the future all mixed together.
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Thank you very much for your story, Andrew. That was how my father felt in the Pacific on V-E Day. If your wife wishes to add a story here, by all means!
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A day where most people sighed and finally looked forward to the next day. To be in a real war is devastating to all. I view Iraq and Afgan. as minor but the wounds are the same and the hurt to our country is real. But imagine the scope of the other wars. The pain was extreme and the hurt is still there.
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The wars following WWII may be smaller is territory, but remember how long they have been going on; very similar to Nam in my book. But as you say, the wounds are the same. Thank you for coming by today, Barry.
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always my privilege. How do you feel on troops on the ground in Nigeria looking for those girls?
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I am not informed enough to comment, but if saving someone’s life hangs in the balance – I’m for it.
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It may mean a slippery slope. I remember
Ethiopia and a friend of mine commenting there were bodies everywhere and the war lords did not care. It scares me some. I always try to avoid our military personnel being used as somebody’s mercenaries.
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Very true, not a good idea. I told you I wasn’t informed enough on it.
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Aren’t we always cleaning up someone else’s mess? I get tired of that – I’m sure the troops do too.
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http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-27299199 I really liked this BBC article. Great post gp and the photo of Wellington on VE day is excellent. I haven’t exactly written about VE day but my latest post fits well with yours. http://silkannthreades.wordpress.com/2014/05/08/4673/
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Both links are excellent, especially for today. I hope all who pass by this way will take the time to click onto them. Thank you, Gallivanta.
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Yes, now it seems there are so few that are directly affected here at home by our wars, the sense of everyone pulling together is not there. Which less affected is in a way good but because of that I don’t feel our solders are given the credit they deserve.
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Correct and sometimes, being patriotic is considered nerdy or un-cool.
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I think to this day, there are those that remember that feeling of relief and accomplishment as told by their parents or remembered as children and wish that feeling could be recaptured after our modern wars. But WWII was so monumental, we will never be able to recapture that feeling. And hopefully we will never have another war like it again.
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Now, everything is high-tech, so I firmly agree with you. It’s just too bad we don’t have the emotions that go along with it, like you said.
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I don’t think we (those who came after) will ever really understand that feeling. It’s not like I want a large war, but wars today don’t seem to end. Soldiers trickle in and out of war zones almost without notice except to their loved ones. I’m not sure how Korea “ended” as in how that was recognized publicly. I remember Vietnam ending, sort-of ending, but certainly no parades and certainly no recognition of a job done and a sacrifice made.
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Quite right, Dan. War has become as technical as everything else, sanitized and distant. So, I very much agree.
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I agree with your sentiment about wars today don’t seem to end. News about the status of current wars almost seems like background noise. We barely notice on a day to day basis. My nephew lost his best friend to the war Afghanistan in 2010 and those crazy people from the Westboro Baptist Church threaten to protest at his funeral. Luckily they were a no show. I give my respect to all veterans especially those that made the greatest sacrifice.
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Thank you for your view, Maryann; and my heart goes out to your nephew and his loss. I certainly hope that Baptist Church agenda will fade away now that their fanatical leader has joined his maker. I’ve been on your site long and often enough to know that is NOT how you feel, you always give the troops respect. Have a wonderful day!
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I would like to share, but I don’t know where to start…
What I do know is how many mothers must have felt that V-E Day… Relieved!
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Pretty much the whole world came off their shoulders, I suspect.
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I have this in my draft section…
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Thanks for the link, another post that fits today’s celebration!
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I knew I had something up my sleeve…
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Psst – what’s this I just read on another blog about tomorrow being Canada’s first National Day of Honour?
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I rather not comment on this…
http://pm.gc.ca/eng/news/2014/03/18/national-day-honour
You know where I stand with politicians’ photo opps and the treatment of veterans.
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I understand your opinion of that – we have quite an uproar about the treatment of our veterans as well. But, it should not take away the recognition of the bravery of your troops who served, should it?
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I understand what you mean, but I know some veterans will not attend these ceremonies after what that government’s decision to cut back some services to veterans like closing some offices.
http://www.capebretonpost.com/News/Local/2013-11-28/article-3520919/Veteran-vows-to-fight-office-closures/1
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NOW I understand!! I will make no mention of it then.
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People must have felt God finally returned to the world He seemed to have abandoned.
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I sure many did just that, Carl.
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