Saturday 15 August 2020 VJ Day which marks 75 years since victory over Japan and the moment that finally brought World War II to an end.
To commemorate this anniversary and remember those who served in the Far East, events will take place to highlight the significance of this anniversary and those who remember leaving home for an unknown country and an unknown enemy and how it feels to be known as the ‘forgotten army’ at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire, where a remembrance commemoration is taking place.
With a national two minutes silence led by HRH The Prince of Wales the commemorations close at Horse Guards Parade in London where the story of all those that served in the Far East is told.
Victory over Japan 75 years ago brought mixed emotions for those fighting in the malaria ridden jungles of the Far East. With the end of the war finally arriving relief, joy and sadness (at the human cost) was in abundance.
Those who had fought on through the final three months, largely forgotten by people at home, could finally look forward to returning to their loved ones, and some sort of normality.
But for many who had toiled for years in the brutal battlefields, or been prisoners, the end of the war didn’t mean the end of their suffering. The memories of what they endured and the loss of their comrades would live with them forever.
