Yesterday I found this article on the conclusion of World War II by Ed Fulwider of the China Marine Association. Of course, most American students learn that the war ended on V-E Day or V-J Day. I was in Hawaii when the 50th anniversary of V-J Day was observed.
Fulrider is correct that one important anniversary was not widely observed. That was the 50th anniversary of the surrender of over a half-million Japanese troops in Tianjin (spelled Tientsin in 1945) on October 15, 1945. My father was there in the middle of it all with the other members of the 1st Marine Division and 6th Marine Division.
Fulrider points out:
"On that day, the United Sates Marine Corps accepted the surrender of more than 500,000 Japanese troops in mainland China. The majority of these Marines were members of the 1st and 6th Marine Divisions who had just completed the long and bloody campaign on the island of Okinawa. They were among the hundreds of thousands of American serviceman preparing for the final assault to end the war and were scheduled to land on the Japanese homeland on November 1st. Had this invasion actually taken place, it would have made Valley Forge, Gettysburg, the Marne and even Iwo Jima look like Boy Scout Camporees. President Truman's difficult and courageous decision to drop the Atomic Bomb not only saved a million American casualties, it undoubtedly saved 10 million Japanese casualties."
Go to this link to read the entire text.
As I have continued my research and analysis it's also become clear to me that the seeds of what we knew as 'The Cold War' were in the process of being planted. The immediate postwar period was a far more complicated and dangerous time than many people realize.
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