Sunday, August 14, 2011

Remembering VJ Day 66 years ago

I was standing double watches because some radarmen were on leave, but I finally had a liberty.  I went to a restaurant and was seated at a table with people I did not know.  There was tension, everyone expecting something to happen,  when the news came that Japan had surrendered.  I went out in the streets and saw people getting drunk and acting crazy.  To me, it should be a time for prayerful thanks.  I was disgusted with the celebration and went back to the ship,

Of course, it meant a welcome change for me.  We were taking on troops to invade Japan and I had little hope of coming back alive.  We took those troops to the Philippines, exchanged them for the experienced troops who were occupying those islands, and took those soldiers to Japan. Who knew what type of reception the Japanese people would give us?  They had been prepared to commit suicide rather than surrender.

No comments:

Post a Comment