Why isn't the 60 Anv. Being Hype like ..............

[en830]

May 9th is being celebrated every year here in the Channel Islands as Liberation Day, but that's generally because we were the only part of the British Isle's to be occupied by the Germans.

I'm probably right in saying that VE and VJ day's have never been marked publically in the UK.

[wendovertom]

Rob,

I feel strongly about the VE/VJ dates - my family and thousands of others paid dearly for them.

Maybe because we are a country of immigrants? perhaps we don't want to remind our newer citizens of the beating they recieved (deservedly). I know that some of my ancestors never spoke a word of German again once the war started. Up to that point english wasn't spoken in the home.

Anyway - because I lost your other thread and missed some dates -

January 19, 1945 - Marianas B-29s hit Japan for the first time during a raid on Aircarft factories outside of Tokyo.

p.s. - the Wendover airshow committee has extended an open invitation to the members of the 509th Composite Group for our August air show.

Tom P.
www.wendoverairbase.com

[dhfan]

There are some commemorations planned over here in the UK but our politicians appear to have re-scheduled them so they don't interfere with their holidays rather than hold them on the correct dates.

[RyanShort1]

There's a pretty big event going on in Fredericksburg, TX for the Iwo Jima Landings anniversary. Looks to be a good event and I hope to go.

http://www.nimitz-museum.org/iwojima2004.htm

Ryan

[DonL]

Thats an interesting point. Why isn't the end of WWII as hyped as D-Day? I think that to most Americans June 6th is the mother of all World War II battles. They might remember from the movies that Charleton Heston won the Battle of Midway and Henry Fonda defeated the Germans at the Battle of the Bulge but VE Day was just a capitulation not a famous battle. Personally, I believe that VE and VJ Days were the defining moments of the twentieth century however, most of my friends don't know very much about the war. Ask your American friends(I am sure the Allied friends would have different answers) if they can name 5 battles of World War II other than Pearl Harbor, Midway, Guadalcanal, Iwo Jima, and the Battle of the Bulge. I bet they cannot! Then maybe it is not a lack of historical knowledge, maybe at this point in time many Americans do not want to think about a war from 60 years ago when the war in Iraq is taking so many American lives. Please forgive this cynical Pinot Grigot induced rant. Who knows? Maybe on VE, VJ day we can all gather on the internet and give a toast to all of the allied soldiers who fought so bravely for us.

[tom d. friedman]

it is a sad commentary, but the ww 2 vets are passing on at the average rate of 1000 per day world wide. our average u.s. population is oblivious to the ww 2 era & it's generation's contribution & spirit. our youth???? well, hells bells they are about lost on all aspects of history let alone ww 2!! let's face it..... memorial day, labor day, veteran's day, 4th of july are just another lame excuse for a picnic or day off from work, with no appreciation of the commemoration, the sacrifice or the patriotism. the average american doesn't give these holidays any more thought for their meaning than buttoning their shirt. we have become a self centered self serving bunch of bums, & same goes for other countries & their citizens in relation to their ww 2 vets, holidays etc. the world has become soft, & greedy with everybody having their own agenda of personal satisafaction. my apologies for my tangent in spouting off, but this has been a long painful sore of mine. back to warbirds i promise!! tom

[DaveM2]

Tom

Pleased to report that trend is being reversed here, turnouts for the Dawn Parade for ANZAC Day is growing at an astonishing rate every year, nearly all of that from school aged kids. There was a HUGE turn out late last year when the remains of the Unknown Soldier returned here for burial after being exhumed from a cemetary in France where he was killed in WW1.

Dave

[tom d. friedman]

thanks for update, we should take any toe hold of progress we can lay our hands on worldwide in relation to appreciating history. in regard to ww 2 which most of us can relate to, it is especially important, as it is the most recent worldwide event with the greatest cost to mankind & had the broadest impact in shaping our current world. great job & hat's off to who ever coordinated your effort to enlighten the kids of new zealand!! best, tom

[Forgotten Field]

You can hype VE/VJ day all you want, but the world turning points were not on those days. They were days celebrated by the people of the times to commemorate the immediate sense of change felt by all, but there are more important days which I fell will live longer in history.

Guernica April 26, 1937

Anschluss 13 March 1938

Invasion of Poland September 1 1939

D-Day June 6, 1944

Hiroshima August 6th, 1945

I think these were the real dates of note from the times

[mjanovec]

I would find room to add December 7, 1941 to that list. The day not only holds significance to the United States, but also signifies the day the Japanese chose to expand their war to include many more nations. Also, since it precipitated the US's entry into the war with Germany, it also signified a turning point of the war in Europe.

December 7, 1941 was the day that it truly became a "world war," linking the war between several continents.


>Guernica April 26, 1937
>Anschluss 13 March 1938
>Invasion of Poland September 1 1939
>D-Day June 6, 1944
>Hiroshima August 6th, 1945
>
>I think these were the real dates of note from the times

[dhfan]

That sounds more than fair to me.