08/15/2025
Formative Friday:
On this day, 80 years ago, V-J Day (Victory over Japan Day) marked the Allied victory over Japan and the official end of World War II occurred. After nearly six years of global conflict, and following the devastating atomic bombings of Hiroshima (August 6) and Nagasaki (August 9). Japan announced its unconditional surrender on August 15, 1945.
For millions, V-J Day was a day of immense joy. Across the United States, the United Kingdom, and other Allied nations, people poured into the streets, waving flags, singing, and embracing. One of the most iconic images of this day is Alfred Eisenstaedt’s photograph of a sailor kissing a nurse in Times Square. (pictured below)
V-J Day was also a moment of somber reflection. The cost of the war had been staggering: over 70 million lives lost worldwide, cities destroyed, and societies upended. For many who served, and those who lost loved ones, the end of the war marked both triumph and profound grief.
Later, on September 2, 1945, Japan formally signed the surrender documents aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay, officially concluding the Second World War.
166 Westbankers served during the Second World War, of whom 7 were killed in action: Frank Browne Jr., Robert Clough, Fred Ewer, Lennard Hoskins, Charles Mitchell, George Pringle, and Vernon Yeulett.
