VJ-Day

In the summer of 1945, what most Americans on duty in the Pacific dreaded was the upcoming invasion of Japan. The atomic explosions at Hiroshima and Nagasaki canceled that operation when the Japanese quickly surrendered. There was initial suspicion in some quarters that the surrender was a trick; Marines waited two weeks after VJ Day before actually landing. But when American occupiers saw the devastation that bombing had caused and were greeted by deferential Japanese civilians, the knowledge that the war was finally over could sink in.

Featured Story: Raymond Brittain

Photograph of Raymond Brittain

"We were in Manila Bay, and that entire bay was completely full of sunken Japanese ships."

(Audio Interview, Part 2, 14:45)

“Serving for the duration” perfectly describes Raymond Brittain’s World War II experience. Already in the Navy for 15 months when his ship was attacked in Pearl Harbor (he provides a riveting eyewitness account of December 7th), he saw subsequent action in the Aleutians and on Tarawa. After retraining in the U.S. to become a Fire Controlman, he was on his way back to the front when the war concluded. But his ship continued onward, to Japan for repairs, allowing Brittain a closeup look at postwar devastation.

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    Robert Frank Augur Collection Captain, Army, World War, 1939-1945 - Fort Vancouver, Washington; Fort Lewis, Washington, Fort Stevens, Oregon; Fort Mills, Philippines; Bilibid Prison, Philippines; Pacific Theater.
    • Contributor: Augur, Robert Frank - Charnquist, Carol
    • Date: 1939
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    Robert Llewellyn Balfour Collection Lieutenant Commander, Navy, World War, 1939-1945 - Pacific Theater. Lieutenant Commander, Navy, Korean War, 1950-1953 - Pacific Theater.
    • Contributor: Balfour, Robert Llewellyn - Balfour, Robert
    • Date: 1942
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    Raymond Albert Brittain Collection Fire Controlman Second Class, Navy, World War, 1939-1945 - San Diego, California; Pearl Harbor, Hawaii; Attu Island (Aleutian Islands); Coral Sea; Midway; Tarawa Atoll (Gilbert Islands); Kwajalein Island (Marshall Islands); Washington, DC;...
    • Contributor: Brittain, Raymond Albert - Reed, Helen - Hammond, Janet - Park County Veterans History Project
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    Gilmon Brooks Collection Corporal, Marine Corps, World War, 1939-1945 - Pacific Theater; Iwo Jima. Chief Warrant Officer, Army, Korean War, 1950-1953 - Korea. Civilian, Navy, Vietnam War, 1961-1975.
    • Contributor: Brooks, Gilmon - Zigo, Paul - Brookdale Community College, Brookdale Center for World War II Studies
    • Date: 1943
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    Robert Wyatt Granston Collection Captain, Navy, World War, 1939-1945 - United States; Philippines; Pacific Theater.
    • Contributor: Jeanne Strand - William P. Ryan - Granston, Robert Wyatt - Kent, Judith - National Court Reporters Association (NCRA) - Flagler County Public Library
    • Date: 1940
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    Frank Hosendove Collection Carpenter's Mate Second Class, Navy, World War, 1939-1945 - Great Lakes, Illinois; Hampton Institute, Virginia; Honolulu; Okinawa Island (Ryukyu Islands).
    • Contributor: U.S. Senate/Richard Lugar - Walter Chiriboga - Lugar, Richard - Ordner, Larry - National Court Reporters Association (NCRA) - Hosendove, Frank
    • Date: 1944
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    Melford K. Jarstad Collection Corporal, Marine Corps, World War, 1939-1945 - Johnston Island; Hawaii; Iwo Jima, [UF Nako Iwo, Sulpher Island]; Camp Pendleton, San Diego, California.
    • Contributor: Osborn, Oakley - Jarstad, Melford K.
    • Date: 1942
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    Yukio Kawamoto Collection Staff Sergeant, Army, World War, 1939-1945 - Camp Robinson, Arkansas; Camp Crowder, Missouri; Savage-Snelling, Minnesota; Angel Island, San Francisco, California; New Caledonia; Bougainville Island (Solomon Islands); Luzon (Philippines); Pacific Theater.
    • Contributor: Shima, Terry - Kawamoto, Yukio - Ninomiya, Calvin - Japanese-American Veterans Association (Java)
    • Date: 1942
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    Merle Korte Collection Boatswain's Mate Second Class, Navy, World War, 1939-1945 - San Diego, California; Pearl Harbor, Hawaii; Tarawa Atoll, Makin Atoll and Abemama (Gilbert Islands); Majuro, Roi Island, Kwajalein Island and Enewetak Atoll (Marshall...
    • Contributor: Wayne Williams - Va Medical Center, Denver, Colorado - Langer, Ron - Korte, Merle
    • Date: 1943
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    Robert G. Mackey Collection Lieutenant, Navy, World War, 1939-1945 - Pacific Theater.
    • Contributor: National Court Reporters Association (NCRA) - Mackey, Robert G. - Mathes, Robert - Va Oak Park Vet Center Readjustment Counseling Service - Barbara J. Ulrich
    • Date: 1942
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    Joseph Jefferson Mickey Collection Technical Sergeant, Army, World War, 1939-1945 - Camp Wolters, Texas; Leyte Island (Philippines); Manila (Philippines); Tokyo, Japan.
    • Contributor: Ferris, Dorothy - Mickey, Joseph Jefferson - Mason Area Historical Museum
    • Date: 1944
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    Frank Hamilton Morrison, II Collection Captain, Army, World War, 1939-1945 - Ann Arbor, Michigan; Camp Van Dorn, Mississippi; Philippines; Japan; Pacific Theater.
    • Contributor: Morrison II, Frank Hamilton - Morrison, Margaret
    • Date: 1942
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    Glenn Walter Nelson Collection Captain, Marine Corps, World War, 1939-1945 - Boulder, Colorado; Quantico, Virginia; Pearl Harbor, Hawaii; Okinawa Island (Ryukyu Islands); Guam (Mariana Islands); North China; Sasebo, Japan; Pacific Theater.
    • Contributor: Nelson, Glenn Walter - Shima, Terry - Japanese-American Veterans Association (Java)
    • Date: 1942
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    Alfred K. Newman, Sr. Collection Private, Marine Corps, World War, 1939-1945 - San Diego, California; New Caledonia; Guadalcanal (Solomon Islands); Bougainville Island (Solomon Islands); Guam (Mariana Islands); Iwo Jima; Pacific Theater.
    • Contributor: Dahl, Nancy - Newman Sr., Alfred K. - Talking With a Life Remembered
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    George Washington Pearcy Collection Second Lieutenant, Army, World War, 1939-1945 - Fort Sheridan, Illinois; Fort Leavenworth, Kansas; Camp Robinson, Arkansas; Fort Mills, Corregidor, Philippines; Clark Field, Philippines; Nichols Field, Philippines; Fort McKinley, Philippines; Cabanatuan, Philippines; Bilibid...
    • Contributor: Pearcy, Glen - Pearcy, George Washington
    • Date: 1940
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    Charles Summers Stevenson Collection Lieutenant Commander, Navy, World War, 1939-1945 - Camp Lejeune, North Carolina; Boston, Massachusetts; New York; Tinian (Northern Mariana Islands); Saipan (Northern Mariana Islands); Japan.
    • Contributor: Stevenson, Charles Summers - Stevenson, Frances
    • Date: 1943
  • personal narrative
    Lester Irwin Tenney Collection Staff Sergeant, Army, World War, 1939-1945 - Philippines; Japan; Pacific Theater.
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    Glen Harold Wallace Collection Captain, Navy, World War, 1939-1945 - United States.
    • Contributor: Wallace, Glen Harold - United Daughters of the Confederacy, Chapter 21 - Collins, Ella
    • Date: 1942
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    Charles E. Warford Collection Steward Third Class, Navy, World War, 1939-1945 - Atlantic; English Channel; European Theater; Iwo Jima; Japan; Pacific Theater.