Japanese Surrender 1945

By June Hogue 

Because this event happened during my own growing up years it was a very important event to me…exciting! I remember those war years so well….they are so deeply embedded in my memory…..the many sad good-byes…the joyous news when a loved one that was missing in action was reported to be still alive…the cruelty inflicted on our soldiers….the rationing and lack of items we had had plentifully before the war…the unspoken fears that each harbored in his heart…yes, how well I remember. We all suffered and when Japan agreed to an armistice it was such a joyous day for all of America.

Me in my WAC uniform

If you are not interested in history, this may have no appeal to you, but I must claim it as a milestone of American history that happened when I was in the 5th grade and General MacArthur and General “Ike” were my heroes! I saluted them, prayed for them, and celebrated each victory they won. I am glad to have this video in my archives of American history.

1944: My younger brother Jimmy in his army uniform and me in my nurses’ coat and hat…we played war by the hour! I am sure that I fed hundreds of candy “pills” to the “wounded soldiers” who played war games with us.

Jimmy in his Army Uniform; June with Nurse'sCoat and Hat

We lived across the street from the small county hospital that got the overflow of wounded soldiers from the Pyote Air Base hospital. I wore my “nurses’ outfit” when I helped out at the hospital and it cheered up the wounded guys who were so hungry for any attention they got. I read to them, fanned them when their room was hot and their bandages were uncomfortable (no air conditioning in those days), wrote letters for them, just talked to them when they were so lonesome for human companionship…sometimes fed them when they could not move their arms and hands to feed themselves…I did many tasks at the hospital. It seemed like the war would never end and when the day came that an armistice was signed we celebrated that “V-J” Day for years afterward. I will never forget this historic event for it was a part of my own history!

June Harper Hogue

---

---

SOME GREAT FOOTAGE OF HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE

1945 News Reel Hi, Some of you are history buffs, others lived at the time, but you may find it very interesting.

Lest we forget!

---

A great historical clip worth keeping. Japanese surrender, pt. 2, 1945 This film is believed to have never been seen before, only shots of the surrender were known.
If you are a history buff, you will enjoy this. General MacArthur's voice is a rarity in this old film clip.

ACTUAL VOICE OF GENERAL MACARTHUR NEVER BEEN SHOWN TO GENERAL PUBLIC BEFORE

Japanese Surrender- Amazing Footage Sept 2, 1945....
Interesting the other signers to the document, from New Zealand/Australia to Europe/Russia.
This is an actual film made of the surrender ceremony of the Japanese to MacArthur in Tokyo Bay in September 1945.
We always saw the "stills" but never the film itself.

 

---

Click on June Hogue for bio and list of other works published by Pencil Stubs Online.