VJ Day Plus 80

Monument to Allied dead in the Kohima War Cemetery, India.

King Charles III released an audio message last night commorating the end of World War II on this day in 1945:

Here is the speech broadcast by his grandfather, King George VI, in 1945:

Earlieri that day in Washington, President Truman had announced the unconditional surrender of Japan, sparking riotous celebrations across the United States:

My dad was an Air Force mechanic stationed in Aachen, Germany, at the time. I don't know how he celebrated, but I do know that just two months later, after being shipped stateside with maybe ten thousand other G.I.'s on the Queen Elizabeth, he was back home with his parents, safe and sound. Many others never made it home, or were disabled for life. Living or dead, we owe them all an immense debt of gratitude - as it says on the monument pictured above.

Their service and sacrifice saved the whole world from depraved tyranny and unspeakable horrors. As President Roosevelt had remarked some years before, that generation had a "rendezvous with destiny." They met it with courage and righteous determination, bequething to us who followed three generations of general peace, progress, and unparalleled prosperity in the free world.  

What destiny lies ahead for today's linked-in generation, and how will they meet it? This weary old man in his twilight years wonders -- but would rather not stick around to find out.

-----