Originally known as World War II Memorial Day, the day is now known as Victory over Japan Day or V-J Day. It was a nationally recognized holiday, but it has since been removed because of the nature of the war's ending, following the dropping of the atomic bomb on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima on Aug. 6 and Nagasaki on Aug. 9, 1945. Due to the devastating ending of the war, critics argue the name is insensitive to the Japanese.
WWII officially ended Aug. 15, 1945 when Japan surrendered, but because of the time zone difference, the United States was informed of the victory on Aug. 14. There was quite a celebration all over the country as you can see on this Archive Newsreel August 14, 1945 Newsreel V-J Day
Photo:
Each of the 4,048 gold stars represents 100 Americans who died during the war
used with permission by flickr user dbking
To read more click the following links:
Dad's Story August 6th, 1945 60th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima
