VJ DAY 75: ‘Forgotten’ sacrifice of Far East soldiers honoured as NI marks end of WWII (plus what is happening and when today)

That is according to the manager of the Northern Ireland War Memorial in Belfast, which today will hold a closed 11am service to honour what was the de facto end of Second World War, following the surrender of Nazi Germany just over three months earlier.

The News Letter lists here a number of the events happening to commemorate it.

Meanwhile Jenny Haslett, the manager of the war memorial (which, despite its name, is a museum rather than a monument) described what the mood was like on this very day in 1945 – for both soldier and civilian alike.

She said the milestone “certainly was celebrated” by people in Belfast (photos from the time show a street party off the loyalist Shankill Road, and a conga line at Belfast City Hall) – but that “the mood was very different” to VE Day.

“Obviously in everyone’s minds were the atomic bombs and Hiroshima and Nagasaki,” she said. “In a lot of the stories we’ve collected, people were mindful of that and aware of that, and felt it wasn’t appropriate to celebrate as much.”

Meanwhile relatives of servicemen in the far east felt they could not celebrate while their loved ones were still posted so far away.

“With the German enemy, the Belfast Blitz and the loss of nearly 1,000 lives, people could relate to that more,” she added.

“Whereas with Japan, the soldiers that served in the Far East always felt like ‘the forgotten army’ because it just wasn’t as visible an enemy.”

This included outfits such as The 8th (Belfast) Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment – a unit which earned the nickname “The 12-Mile Snipers” for their deadly accuracy against the Japanese in Burma.

Boris Johnson has penned an open letter to all Far East veterans today, noting that 50,000 Commonwealth and UK citizens died in the war against Japan – around half in prison camps.

But he said this “immeasurable sacrifice helped to change the course of history”, and that “the lights of the glittering capitals” across Asia are today are testament to the peace and prosperity they made possible.

Ex-Royal Navy submarine commander Steve Aiken, now UUP leader, meanwhile said whilst the Asian war is “perhaps less remembered today”, it had been “as brutal and as fiercely fought as that against fascism in Europe”.

~ From 9.30am to 11.30am today, BBC1 will show ‘The Nation Remembers’. It will cover the Prince of Wales leading the UK in a two minute silence at 11am at the National Memorial Arboretum, Staffordshire.

~ At noon today, the US States Navy will stage a flypast over Enniskillen by a Boeing P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft (subject to weather).

~ The Red Arrows will be performing a flyover of Belfast; it is thought it will be at roughly 1.58pm today.

~ At 8.30pm to 10pm, another BBC1 show ‘The Nation’s Tribute’ will see Joanna Lumley and guests celebrate the end of the war, including what the BBC dubs “a spectacular event on Horse Guards Parade, London”.

~ There are some localised events too:

~ A shared history event to mark the 75th anniversary of the end of WWII is due to be broadcast on social media on Saturday 15 August, Victory over Japan (VJ) Day.

The online event, hosted by Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council, was pre-recorded earlier this week in front of a small invite-only audience, in strict compliance with Covid-19 restrictions. The online nature of the event means that an unlimited number of people can join to watch from home.

The online commemoration event will be broadcast live on Facebook on Saturday 15 August from 11-11:30am, including a lecture from renowned historian Dr Éamon Phoenix, poetry reading by Richard Edgar and musical accompaniment from piper Ian Burrows. To watch the event from home, visit Facebook.com/armaghbanbridgecraigavon.

~ In Antrim and Newtownabbey, beacons were lit last night, and today a full programme of events including wreath layings has been sketched out. See the full programme here: https://antrimandnewtownabbey.gov.uk/vjday75/ , and the council’s Facebook page here.

~ Mid and East Antrim Borough council willshow a short video of commemoration and remembrance for the Victory over Japan Day’s 75th Anniversary at 11am on. See the council’s Facebook page here.

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