Tag Archives: Victory Over Japan Day

V-J Day, or Victory over Japan Day is also known as Victory in the Pacific Day (V-P Day).

There’s actually some debate over whether V-J Day is August 14 or August 15 (largely due to the time difference between Japan and the Allies, but most of the world seems to have settled on August 15. In the U. S., many people celebrate September 2 instead, since the formal surrender ceremony occurred on September 2, 1945 aboard the USS Missouri.

Either way, VJ Day commemorates the end of World War II. Three months earlier, on May 8, 1945 Nazi Germany surrendered and Victory in Europe was declared. However, Japan held on tenaciously across the Pacific theater, until Hiroshima (August 6, 1945) and Nagasaki (August 9, 1945).

I’m not sure that “celebrate” or “holiday” are good terms for today; however, I do believe honoring, remembering, and, similarly, commemorating are extremely important.

“My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.”

John 15:12-13