VJ Day

[Onkel Neal]

Salute to all Allied war vets :ping:

[STEED]

Indeed. http://www.langkawi.dk/smileys/a1115.gif


http://www.langkawi.dk/smileys/j7.gif http://www.langkawi.dk/smileys/j8.gif

[August]

Rhode Island. The last state in the Union to celebrate VJ day. :yep:

[Sailor Steve]

I'll ask my special question here again (I already asked on the SHIV board):

World War Two officially began on September 1, 1939.

When did it officially end?

[Bort]

I'm going to say September 2nd, 1945.

Do I get a cookie?:arrgh!:

EDIT: I'm not sure of my answer, it could also be September 9th of the same year.

[Sailor Steve]

Not even close.

[Bort]

Ah, I remember hearing of a Japanese soldier who surrendered in a Phillippine jungle in 1974.

Now do I get a cookie?:arrgh!:

[WutWuzDat]

S!

All gave some, but some gave all.

[kiwi_2005]

I read that it actually ended a year later 1946, the fighting stopped 1945. But other things had to be completed.:hmm:

[Yahoshua]

Japan surrendered on Aug. 15th but the war was not officially over until Sept. 2nd when the Japanese signed the Potsdam Declaration aboard the USS Missouri.

The war ended on Sept. 2nd.

[JSLTIGER]

Incorrect. President Harry S. Truman declared an official end to hostilities on December 31, 1946. That is why some vets earned a WWII victory medal without actually being WWII vets (all vets who served during the war or started before this date were eligible).

[Subnuts]

If I were to consider the fact that my brother in law never shuts up about the Nazis, keeps telling horrible jokes about France, and acts like Germany is still some sort of evil fascist nation...

I'd say World War II never actually ended. :damn:

[Yahoshua]

Just because a husband declares he's "Finally Divorced" 2 years after he signed the papers, doesn't mean that the divorce actually took place right then and there when he said it.

Legally, the divorce was final when the papers were signed.

The war ended both legally and officially on Sept. 2nd 1945. What Truman may have been referring to is the cease of guerilla tactics used by die-hard SS troopers in Europe, and Imperial Japanese Soldiers in the Far-East.

If viewed in that sense, then the war did end in 1946 as you say. But I'd like to see the text of Trumans' declaration in order to clarify the issue.

Otherwise the war ended in '45. :p

[Sailor Steve]

Japan surrendered on Aug. 15th but the war was not officially over until Sept. 2nd when the Japanese signed the Potsdam Declaration aboard the USS Missouri.

The war ended on Sept. 2nd.
Nope.

[Sailor Steve]

Incorrect. President Harry S. Truman declared an official end to hostilities on December 31, 1946. That is why some vets earned a WWII victory medal without actually being WWII vets (all vets who served during the war or started before this date were eligible).
Nope. A declaration is not a treaty.

[Sailor Steve]

Just because a husband declares he's "Finally Divorced" 2 years after he signed the papers, doesn't mean that the divorce actually took place right then and there when he said it.

Legally, the divorce was final when the papers were signed.

The war ended both legally and officially on Sept. 2nd 1945. What Truman may have been referring to is the cease of guerilla tactics used by die-hard SS troopers in Europe, and Imperial Japanese Soldiers in the Far-East.

If viewed in that sense, then the war did end in 1946 as you say. But I'd like to see the text of Trumans' declaration in order to clarify the issue.

Otherwise the war ended in '45. :p
Yes, the war ended with the surrender. BUT, like a declaration, a surrender is not a treaty.

[Oberon]

Well, IIRC Russia and Japan never signed a formal peace treaty after WW2 or anything like that, due to the desputed 'Northern territories' (Kurile Islands) so for them, I guess WW2 has never ended, it's just not so active at the moment.

[Yahoshua]

So technically it is the longest running cold-war to date?

[Sailor Steve]

Okay, time to let you off the hook.

The Second World War officially ended on April 28, 1952. That's when the Treaty Of San Francisco went into effect. The treaty was actually signed on September 8, 1951, so that could be claimed as the official date.

And Oberon, you recall correctly: the Soviet Union was represented, but refused to sign, along with Czechoslovakia and Poland (who of course were controlled by the Soviets at that time).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_San_Francisco
See the bottom of the page for the treaty text and speeches by major players.

Here is another copy of the text, and the 1945 surrender document:
http://www.isop.ucla.edu/eas/documents/peace1951.htm

[Oberon]

So technically Russia is still at war with Japan? :o

[Godalmighty83]

technicly yes.

the japan vs russia war has been raging for 65 years and is ww2's longest and probably least deadly battle.

[joea]

That explains why a Japanese fisherman was shot the other day by a Russian patrol boat. :-?

[Godalmighty83]

i say 'least deadly' but politcal relations in that area are really twitchy. yet compared to ww2's other battles its a different story.