On August 15 each year, we observe Victory in the Pacific
(VP) Day, this day commemorates the surrender of Japan to the Allied Forces on August 14, 1945. This year marks the 75th Anniversary of the end of the Second World War.
On the morning of August 15, 1945, Australian Prime Minister Ben Chifley made an address to the nation.
“Fellow citizens, the war is over… Let us remember those whose lives were given that we may enjoy this glorious moment and may we look forward to a peace which they have won for us.”
Japan had accepted the Allies’ terms of surrender, VP Day was declared in Australia.
Scenes of jubilation erupted across the nation as people spilled out onto the streets celebrating the war had ended. Civilians and men and women in uniform danced together, strangers embraced one another and the streets were littered with confetti. For years people had lived in a world of rationing, they had worked long and hard, they had been anxious for their loved ones on active service and lived in fear of a Japanese invasion. The war had left everyone exhausted and lives had been forever changed, its end was met with sheer relief and elation across the nation.
In his address, Chifley thanked the servicemen and women of the Allied nations, and the millions of people who had worked hard for the war effort on the home front.
“The Australian people may be justly proud of everything they have done.”
On August 16 crowds once again gathered across the nation, this time for services of thanksgiving to remember those who had made the ultimate sacrifice and would not be coming home. Almost one million Australians served in the Second World War, with over 39,000 lives lost.
VP Day brought an end to years of fighting, but with the war now over, men and women who played vital roles during the war had returned home to be husbands, fathers, sons, mothers, and daughters. Their homecoming saw these men and women faced with a new challenge, the challenge of adjusting to life as a civilian post-war. Many of those who returned home found they had lost their enjoyment of life, the trauma of what they had seen and endured throughout the war was ever-present and countless individuals continued to fight a different and more personal battle back home.
On August 15, 2020, as we observe the 75th Anniversary of VP Day may we stop and reflect on all that we are blessed to see, all that we can experience and, all the freedoms we are fortunate to enjoy, because of the sacrifices made by men and women who served and fought to defend our country when the threat to us was so close and very real.
Lest we forget
Danielle Ridgway
Defence School Mentor