X-Nico

3 unusual facts about Victory over Japan Day


Mare Island Naval Shipyard

Mare Island's military and civilian workforce raised almost $76M in war bonds; enough to pay for every one of the submarines built at MINSY prior to VJ Day.

Namdaemun Market

The management of the market went over to the Japanese in 1922, but after liberation in 1945 the merchants established the Namdaemun Merchant Organization and took over management.

The United States Army Field Band

The Kennedy Center Honors, the 1995 Presidential Commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of V-J Day, the 40th Anniversary of D-Day in Normandy, the National Memorial Day Concert, the state funerals of Presidents Reagan and Ford, and the 2002 Winter Olympic Games are some examples of high-profile appearances by the Army Field Band.


Consolidated Vultee XP-81

While 13 YP-81 pre-production aircraft had been ordered, the capture of Guam and Saipan removed the need for long-range, high-speed escort fighters and, then, just before VJ Day the contract was cancelled, after 85% of the engineering was completed.

Constitutional Assembly of Indonesia

The next day, a meeting of the Committee for Indonesian Independence chaired by President Sukarno officially adopted the Constitution of Indonesia, which had been drawn up by the Agency for Investigating Efforts for the Preparation of Independence in the months leading up to the Japanese surrender.


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