Why Doesn't the US Observe the Anniversary of VJ Day?

[D_Gunther Snotpole]

I dont know. Besides the most famous VJ celebration- the one in New York, with the sailor kissing the nurse, there were HUGE VJ Day celebrations all over the country. I've seen pictures of Downtown San Diego's Broadway (the main drag then and now, basically our main street that is lined with most of the important buildings) just jampacked with people- in the street, on the trolleys, hanging out of windows- on light fixtures. I wasnt alive then, but it was a pretty big deal apparently.

I'm not really talking about the original VJ Day celebration.
I'm talking about how, as memories of the war shook down, the VJ Day celebration seemed to disappear.

 

[TomCat84]

Here is a pic of Downtown San DIego on VJ Day. Kinda cool

Google Image Result for https://www.sandiegohistory.org/timeline/images/ut8243-5.jpg

 

[BobLeeSwagger]

I don't think it's very mysterious. After the First World War, the nation celebrated Armistice Day (now Veterans' Day), and when the Second World War occurred a mere generation later, it would have been kind of creepy to celebrate ALL of the victory anniversaries on multiple days. It also would have begged the question of where to draw the line. Should there be a national holiday for Appomattox too? How about Yorktown? The Battle of New Orleans? At some point there would just be too many days to honor ALL of the ends of individual wars.

Since WWII killed even more people than WWI, but no one wanted to diminish either victory, it made sense to combine them into one holiday for veterans and another for those who'd died in wars.

I suppose I come from a generation that has heard almost nothing about this. When we were taught about WWII it was all about Europe, Pearl Harbor, Iwo Jima and the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Other than those three major incidents I don't recall Japan being mentioned. So that would support the theory that we associate WWII with the war with Germany more than anything else.

I would also like to think, although I doubt that there is any truth to this, that we realize using those atomic weapons is nothing to celebrate.

That is really sad, if true. And Texas wants to rewrite our schoolbooks too?

I'd say it's not celebrated the same because the Nazis were vanquished entirely, & the war is more remembered as against them than Germany, Italy etc, whereas Japan...well it shows we're willing to forget some people sins & atrocities more than others.

I'm not sure where you're getting that from. We let a lot more culpable Nazis go than we did Japanese. We occupied Japan longer too.

 

[superbot]

The reason that we in Britain COMMEMORATE VE Day (and always have done) has got nothing to do with any of the above.It is mainly do allow the men and woman of the armed forces of WW II to march in pride that the together with our allies we put a stop the biggest threat to our way of life that we have ever known in our long history.The lessons of war need to kept fresh in our minds for obvious reasons....

 

[Dave NoCal]

It may be that in the European theatre we had a more memorable and individually identifiable villain in Hitler. Also, the idea that the U.S. had stronger national origins in Europe than in Asia also seems like an explanatory factor.
Dave

 

[Dave NoCal]

Big E wrote:
yeah, it's a shame. being proud isn't gloating. he'll (sic) we celebrate cinco d'mayo (sic) and it wasn't our war better yet mexico doesn't even celebrate it.

I have to differ. In the U.S. Cinco de Mayo is celebrated as an occasion for partying. It is celebrated in Mexico, at least in certain cities. The holiday commemorates the Battle of Puebla in which the French colonial forces were defeated. I was in Puebla during that holiday in 1999 and there was a major celebration with a huge parade attended by numerous officials including the President of Mexico and the Governor of the state of Puebla. Due to no accomplishment of my own I was seated in the Governor's box in the reviewing stands and can say the parade took over one half hour to go by. The crowd surely numbered several hundred thousand people. I'll add that I had a great time and that the crowd was completely orderly and respectful.
Dave

 

[B_crackoff]

Originally Posted by crackoff
I'd say it's not celebrated the same because the Nazis were vanquished entirely, & the war is more remembered as against them than Germany, Italy etc, whereas Japan...well it shows we're willing to forget some people sins & atrocities more than others.

I'm not sure where you're getting that from. We let a lot more culpable Nazis go than we did Japanese. We occupied Japan longer too.

I don't know where you got that from.

Germany was occupied by the Allies & Soviets till 1994! The Saar was French till 1955.

There are still many overseas miltary bases in both Germany & Japan.

I don't know of many culpable people let go, especially as parts of the Geneva Convention (intended to apply to military) were decided at Nuremburg to apply to all prisoners, whilst simultaneously, the Allies were doing the same - forced Labour of 4 million for 4 years, concentration camps for ethnic Germans stuck in other countries, a prevention of food aid, ethnic cleansing - mass deaths(millions) through malnutrition & lack of shelter, unspeakably high infant mortality, a lack of medical aid, & continual mass rape by the Soviets.

I think that's why Churchilll didn't want a show trial at all - the hypocrisy. His view was just to shoot or hang the leaders, & a few others just to remind them they'd been beaten. Bugger fake justice, have a real bullet!
None of that happened in Japan.

 

[scotchirish]

ScotchIrish,

What year did you graduate HS or college? What history courses have you been exposed to? This is not a "pounce" on what you said, but considering what I just posted, I'm curious as to what you had offered at your HS/college and/or were able to take.

I graduated HS in '06, still in the process of college. As I recall I only had to take 2 history courses in high school, early civilizations and early american history, the second only got up to the civil war...that filled my credit requirements....as for college, again i've taken early US history, i still have 3 more credits due which would be the second half of us history. it would have been 8th grade that i last had a class about wwii

 

[scotchirish]

I'm scratching my head- he brought Okinawa and Iwo Jima, AND Hiroshima and Nagasaki, but claims his school didnt bring up Japan....

no, I clearly said that aside from those three major events, Pearl Harbor being the third, I could recall other mention of Japanese WWII events.

 

[stratedude]

How about historical precedence?

- We don't celebrate the victory over the British (only Independence which signaled the START of the war and the national anthem speaks of one battle)

- We don't celebrate the victory day or even the end of the Civil War

- We don't celebrate V day of WWI

- We don't celebrate the V day of the Gulf War which may be the most lopsided victory in the history of mankind.

Not really sure why but we just choose to not celebrate those days. I guess if I think of winning a war as an NFL team winning the Superbowl, I couldn't see that team so many years later celebrating that victory is such a fashion. It was great people talk about it but life moves on. Its not good to live in the past, even when the past was good or even better. Just my take.