Community remembers VJ Day on 70th anniversary

On August 15, 1945 news spread across the United States and abroad that Japan had surrendered signifying the end to World War II.  The announcement began a domino effect of celebrations for Allied forces around the world. 

Friday afternoon veterans, families and members of the community gathered at the Sarasota Bayfront to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Victory over Japan also known as VJ Day. 

The emotional tribute began with the crowd joining in to sing the Star Spangled Banner together. American Legion Post #129 Chaplain Emeritus Loren Pittman addressed guests and asked those who lived the day to remember it. 

“This day is recorded in history as the day the world had peace,” Pittman said.  

Among the voices in the crowd was Sarasota resident Edward Reynolds who served during World War II as a B-17 pilot. During a flight between Casablanca, Morocco and Marseille, France, Reynolds recalls receiving a radio call that Japan had surrendered.

“I asked him to call the base in Marseille and ask them they knew the war with Japan had ended,” Reynolds said. 

When he returned to the United States a year later, his mother had kept an article that credited Reynolds with being one of the first to spread the word to Europe that World War II had ended. 

Sarasota City Commissioner Suzanne Atwell was in attendance to read a proclamation from the City of Sarasota to commemorate the 70th anniversary of VJ Day.