Imagine it's August 14, 1945; you're twenty years old, maybe already a combat veteran and training for the invasion of Japan, then someone calls you to the radio.
I learned last night that my Pepere joined the navy in 1942 underage, at 15, and served as a cook on a named destroyer in the pacific. He was training for the 1946 planned invasion of Japan which until yesterday I never knew was a thing!!! If it had happened, I wouldn’t be here most likely. While the bombs were absolutely horrifying, they saved a LOT of lives and grandfathers. History is amazing and sobering.
That top side column stands out for me. My grandfather was assigned to the Indianapolis but got pneumonia and had to be hospitalized and missed her leaving on that final mission.
In the movie 'Jaws', the boat's owner was a survivor of the sinking and explains why he has a grudge against sharks. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-u9S41Kplsbs.html
My father served in the occupation of Japan. He never considered himself a veteran because he knew so many had given so much, even their lives. I did not agree with him, but I fully understood. RIP Dad.
These negotiations have been going on for several days. It was originally thought that the surrender would be Friday August 10. Then there was a false surrender bulletin that was broadcast over the air on Sunday August 13. A minute or so later it was retracted. It was hardly a surprise when the announcement finally came. It was a gigantic relief for everyone listening to be sure.
What I think many people today don’t understand is how this war touched everyone’s life. To see the casualty lists published daily in the newspapers puts it in perspective. Today we think five-ten killed is a tragedy, and it is, but imagine hundreds! On the homefront imagine it being illegal to buy a full tank of gas, too much sugar, coffee, shoes, tires, and the list goes on. While not all the men got home right away, it was a relief knowing that they had just gotten a tremendous chance to get home alive.
Because of surface noise on the original transcription, Bob Trout had to recreate the initial bulletin on Ed Murrow's "I Can Hear It Now: 1933-45" documentary LP. That album has been part of high school history curricula for over seven decades.
I'm a history nut and WW2 is naturally one of my favorite subjects...but it's so profound how I never thought until now how it must've felt for everyone listening to this broadcast to hear this news in real time. It's often easy to forget that this was a real war experienced by real people in a very real 4-5 years. I suppose after you hear the one-thousandth story of that time it kinda starts feeling like a fever dream almost...yet it was as real as can be.
Took a while to get all the arrangements in order. Took months for the message to get out to all the Japanese troops abandoned on remote islands. Even as late as the 1970's Japanese soldiers were still fighting alone on nowhere islands.
