Armed Forces – Page 9

Victory over Japan Day

On Friday, August 10, 1945, Emperor Hirohito urged Japan’s War Council to submit a formal declaration of surrender through ambassadors to the Allies. Even though Japan’s war causalities had been great, most of their fleet destroyed and their people were starving, it took a second atomic bomb, dropped on Nagasaki, three days after Hiroshima, for Japan to finally make the decision to surrender. However, the surrender was not formally announced to the land of the Rising Sun until August 14, 1945. And over that four day time period, east of Okinawa, a Japanese submarine sank the U.S. landing ship, the Oak Hill, and a destroyer the Thomas F. Nickel.

When the announcement hit the air waves the afternoon of the 14th, that the Emperor had already accepted and recorded the terms drafted in the Potsdam Declaration for unconditional surrender, which had been submitted by the U.S., Britain, and the Nationalist Government of China on July 26th 1945 after Germany surrendered, the reaction by many Japanese was anger. The Imperial Palace was stormed by over 1,000 Japanese soldiers seeking to destroy the proclamation. Faithful warriors, loyal to Emperor Hirohito, repulsed the attackers.

However, it did not stop General Anami, the member of the War Council greatly opposed to the surrender, from committing seppuku, a warrior’s suicide ritual.

On the American homefront President Harry S. Truman declared, “This is the day we have been waiting for since Pearl Harbor. This is the day when Fascism finally dies, as we always knew it would.”

Alfred Eisenstaedt’s iconic photo for Life Magazine of a sailor kissing a nurse in New York’s Time Square captured the overwhelming sense of relief and joy of the Allied nations emerging from the turbulent years of a long and bloody war.

While August 14th and 15th are the actual “V-J Days”, September 2nd 1945 is also considered “Victory over Japan Day” as it marked the formal signing of the official Japanese surrender which took place on the U.S.S. Missouri while anchored in Tokyo Bay.

Save

“I don’t talk about it much.” Dr. Dan Raleigh spoke softly, his voice mellowed by his 97 years. “Not many people are alive anymore when it happened.”

USS Maryland capsized at Pearl Harbor

The “it” Raleigh refers to so humbly was Pearl Harbor Day. On the morning of December 7, 1941, he had just taken his post as officer on deck aboard the U.S.S. Maryland at promptly 7:45 a.m. Hearing engines above Ford Island, he lifted his field glasses and caught the image of about nine planes flying in “V” formation high above in the blue morning sky.

He explained he had not been trained on identifying Japanese aircraft, and when he saw the bombs drop from the craft, he thought, No one is supposed to be practicing this morning.

Then the first bomb exploded on Ford Island.

“So I told the bosun of the watch to sound general quarters. He came over the bullhorn and said, ‘All hands man battle stations. This is no shit.’”

Hustling to action, Raleigh cut the small wire that locked the ammunition to disperse the much-needed weapons. He coaxed the black sailors, who at that point were only allowed to be cooks, to perform their wartime duty of going down below deck and bringing up more ammo. And by the time his captain arrived on deck wearing just his skivvies topped with his “scrambled eggs” hat—his hat with captain’s insignia—Raleigh was firing nonstop.

“The captain put his hand on my shoulder and said. ‘Slow down, son, we might be at this for weeks.’ But I just couldn’t stop firing.”

Raleigh spoke of the day clearly, with sad eyes, recounting his vision of Japanese pilots’ faces and their smiles as they whizzed by, bringing death and destruction. He remembers the mayhem, staying on deck into the night, the palpable fear that hardened their hearts, adding to the nervous reaction of so many of the men.

Orchids of War by Denise Frisino. Interview with Dr. Raleigh Tension filled the black night. When four US planes sent from their aircraft carrier appeared over Ford Island preparing to land, the night lit up like the 4th of July. Before anyone could stop the explosive response from the ground, two of the US aircraft were shot from the sky.

“They called that friendly fire. It was terrible. But I’m proud that no one from the Maryland fired on those poor guys.” He smiled bleakly and quickly added that the U.S.S. Maryland was credited with downing four enemy planes.

And though there are few of us who were alive when this world-changing day broke bright and beautiful across the calm, sandy beaches of Hawaii, we must cherish the memories of all who served so bravely.
I for one am ever grateful not only for Dr. Raleigh’s service, but that he shared his stories of his ship, his turning point in life, his memories that burn deep.

Check out Denise’s interview with Dr. Raleigh right here..