In May we marked the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day. However, we must never forget that for those stationed in the Far East, fighting continued on for another three months until 15th August – Victory over Japan Day.
Countries including India, Burma, Malaya, Philippines, Hong Kong, China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and countless Pacific Islands had witnessed ferocious fighting throughout World War II.
The Allies faced resolute Japanese forces who were determined to fight to the very last man. The inhospitable terrain and jungle in many of these theatres of war greatly added to the intensity of the conflict.
Many servicemen succumbed to death through disease and illness, particularly those who found themselves in prisoner of war camps. Here they faced the harshest of conditions and were tasked with hard labour such as the building of the Burma ‘Death Railway’ which alone claimed the lives of almost 7000 men.
Sadly it took the horrors of atomic bomb attacks on Hiroshima on 6th August, and after Japan’s continued defiance, Nagasaki on 9th August, to bring hostilities to an end with the formal surrender ceremony taking place aboard the U.S. Navy battleship USS Missouri on 2nd September 1945.
Due to it being far removed from our nation, this aspect of World War II is often dubbed ‘The Forgotten War’. May we always be mindful of those who left their homes and loved ones to fight for our freedom, often in horrendous conditions, at the very farthest corners of the globe and see to it that their names are not forgotten.
‘When You Go Home, Tell Them Of Us And Say,
For Your Tomorrow, We Gave Our Today.’
