75 Years Since VJ Day
This week, will be the 75th anniversary of the day the Japanese finally surrendered, effectively ending World War Two. This day became known as V-J day, Victory over Japan.
V-J Day was initially commemorated throughout the United States every year on 2nd September, beginning in 1948 and continuing until 1975. However, the event is only recognized as an official holiday in Rhode Island now, on the second Monday of August.
In Rhode Island, the official name for the holiday is Victory Day, renamed on the grounds that the name Victory over Japan Day is discriminatory in modern times. I'm not sure how I would feel if I had Japanese ancestry, but after listening to a particular old time radio show, it's unsurprising really, when you delve into the reasons why.
The show I'm talking of was from the series Arch Oboler's Plays, called The Family Nagachi. The introduction to the play begins:-
"The bombs had torn apart the Japanese will for war, but there were other Japanese. Japanese Americans who had lived here honorably as Americans, whose sons had fought for all us in the European war. These sons were coming home now, to families who, during the war years, had been behind barbed wire in a strange American version of a concentration camp..."
At times I felt uncomfortable listening, but the subject, admittedly intrigued me - so after the show, I searched online for more information, and found this video on YouTube, which gives some real examples of the situation at the time..
After the surrender of Japan, it came as no surprise that Norman Corwin was called upon to write a tribute to the brave men who had fought in World War II, and this was titled Fourteen August.
He wrote the broadcast overnight, and it has been the subject of many debates ever since. I have just listened again to this truly moving masterpiece, which I feel depicted the feeling of the whole nation at that time. It was passionately orated by Orson Welles, and it still brings a tear to my eye, and a tight band of emotion to my heart.
It's a remarkable piece of history, which should serve as a reminder of a war we must never forget, in order to never repeat.