Today and tomorrow is V-J Day. What? V-J Day is commemorated on August the 14th, but actually happened on the 15th. V. J. Day is the day Japan surrendered and ended WWII. It happened on the 15th at noon in Japan, but because of the time zone difference, it happened here on the 14th. So, today and tomorrow is V-J Day.

It is not uncommon for it to be called V-P Day for Victory in the Pacific instead of Victory over Japan. In Japan, August the 15th is known as Shusen-kinenbi which means "Memorial day for the end of the war."

My grandfather, Walter Hodges, served aboard the U. S. S. Sabik during WWII. He was on his way to Tokyo when Japan surrendered. Recently, and I do mean recently as in two weeks ago, my mother found a typed letter to him from James Forrestal, the Secretary of the Navy. Here's what it said:

October 20, 1945

My dear Mr. Hodges:

     I have addressed this letter to reach you after all the formalities of your separation from active service are completed. I have done so because, without formality but as clearly as I know how to say it, I want the Navy's pride in you, which it is my privilege to express, to reach into your civil life and to remain with you always.

     You have served in the greatest Navy in the world.

     It crushed two enemy fleets at once, receiving their surrenders only four months apart.

     It brought our land-based airpower within bombing range of the enemy, and set out ground armies on the beachheads of final victory.

     It performed the multitude of tasks necessary to support these military operations.

     No other Navy at any time has done so much. For your part in these achievements you deserve to be proud as long as you live. The Nation which you served at the a time of crisis will remember you with gratitude.

     The best wishes of the Navy go with you into civilian life. Good luck!

Sincerely yours,
James Forrestal

I am aware of the irony of me posting the above letter about my grandfather fighting against Japan on my site, a site where I've tried to make it look Japanese influenced. While I never had one conversation with my grandfather about the war, I am sure he would not have liked the "Japanese influence" nor would he like me studying the Japanese language. It is hard to justify the two things or make sense of them in my head. On one hand, I am extremely proud of my grandfather for what he did and what he had to do to do it. He was not a young man when he was drafted. Many times he nearly died but luck and his stubbornness was with him when he needed them. And on the other hand, I have a grand interest in Japan, their culture, their people, and one day hope to visit and maybe even live there.

It is no doubt that my interest in WWII in general comes from my grandfather or rather when I was a child hearing stories about what he did during the war. He died when I was very young. Not long after his death, I spent a great deal of my childhood building WWII model planes. I even took to heating needles to put bullet holes in the planes. It's obvious to anybody who knows me that I obsess about WWII video games, books, and movies. And every few months, I go looking online for memorabilia. Sadly, the money has never been in my pocket when I find an US paratrooper helmet on eBay. I imagine in time I'll eventually get one and hopefully a working M1 Garand that I can display along side my grandfather's Navy medals. He was awarded several. He never did get one for his part in the liberation of the Philippians. I have a letter from the government that say they own him one because they're currently out of stock. I guess that says a lot about our Armed Forces back then; there were so many heroes, they ran out of medals. I probably should write them about it and see if they ever got any more in.  ¶ 4:35 PM