... and mostly, it passed without note. Victory over Japan Day (or VJ Day) recalls the day that Japan accepted terms of surrender, bringing a final end to a war that had raged around the world for nearly five years.
The confusion appears to arise from the fact that it was already August 15 in Japan ... but still August 14 in the U.S. when the surrender was officially announced. So, take your pick.
The day is observed in Japan, by the way ... as a "day for mourning of war dead and praying for peace."
One of the nicer sources for VJ Day information, online (not that there are A LOT), comes from the History Channel's website. There's also the ubiquitous Wikipedia entry which, to give them credit, DOES provide some good international perspective on the day, as well as some links for additional research.
Another reason for marking the day ... it was on VJ Day, in New York City's Times Square, that Alfred Eisenstaedt, one of the world's premier photojournalists of the 20th-century, captured one of the premier images of the war ...
The confusion appears to arise from the fact that it was already August 15 in Japan ... but still August 14 in the U.S. when the surrender was officially announced. So, take your pick.
The day is observed in Japan, by the way ... as a "day for mourning of war dead and praying for peace."
One of the nicer sources for VJ Day information, online (not that there are A LOT), comes from the History Channel's website. There's also the ubiquitous Wikipedia entry which, to give them credit, DOES provide some good international perspective on the day, as well as some links for additional research.
Another reason for marking the day ... it was on VJ Day, in New York City's Times Square, that Alfred Eisenstaedt, one of the world's premier photojournalists of the 20th-century, captured one of the premier images of the war ...
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