V-E 75

Our Fathers

"On the 75th anniversary of V-E day, deepest respect for the heroes who won the last war against fascism, and prayers that the current one can be won without so much horror and loss. May we be as resolute and courageous as our forefathers were."--Doc Zero

President Truman's Broadcast to the American People Announcing the Surrender of Germany

May 08, 1945

"THIS IS a solemn but a glorious hour. I only wish that Franklin D. Roosevelt had lived to witness this day. General Eisenhower informs me that the forces of Germany have surrendered to the United Nations. The flags of freedom fly over all Europe.

For this victory, we join in offering our thanks to the Providence which has guided and sustained us through the dark days of adversity.

Our rejoicing is sobered and subdued by a supreme consciousness of the terrible price we have paid to rid the world of Hitler and his evil band. Let us not forget, my fellow Americans, the sorrow and the heartache which today abide in the homes of so many of our neighbors-neighbors whose most priceless possession has been rendered as a sacrifice to redeem our liberty.

We can repay the debt which we owe to our God, to our dead and to our children only by work--by ceaseless devotion to the responsibilities which lie ahead of us. If I could give you a single watchword for the coming months, that word is--work, work, and more work.

We must work to finish the war. Our victory is but half-won. The West is free, but the East is still in bondage to the treacherous tyranny of the Japanese. When the last Japanese division has surrendered unconditionally, then only will our fighting job be done.

We must work to bind up the wounds of a suffering world--to build an abiding peace, a peace rooted in justice and in law. We can build such a peace only by hard, toilsome, painstaking work--by understanding and working with our allies in peace as we have in war.

The job ahead is no less important, no less urgent, no less difficult than the task which now happily is done.

I call upon every American to stick to his post until the last battle is won. Until that day, let no man abandon his post or slacken his efforts. And now, I want to read to you my formal proclamation of this occasion:

"A Proclamation--The Allied armies, through sacrifice and devotion and with God's help, have wrung from Germany a final and unconditional surrender. The western world has been freed of the evil forces which for five years and longer have imprisoned the bodies and broken the lives of millions upon millions of free-born men. They have violated their churches, destroyed their homes, corrupted their children, and murdered their loved ones. Our Armies of Liberation have restored freedom to these suffering peoples, whose spirit and will the oppressors could never enslave.

"Much remains to be done. The victory won in the West must now be won in the East. The whole world must be cleansed of the evil from which half the world has been freed. United, the peace-loving nations have demonstrated in the West that their arms are stronger by far than the might of the dictators or the tyranny of military cliques that once called us soft and weak. The power of our peoples to defend themselves against all enemies will be proved in the Pacific war as it has been proved in Europe.

"For the triumph of spirit and of arms which we have won, and for its promise to the peoples everywhere who join us in the love of freedom, it is fitting that we, as a nation, give thanks to Almighty God, who has strengthened us and given us the victory.

"Now, therefore, I, Harry S. Truman, President of the United States of America, do hereby appoint Sunday, May 13, 1945, to be a day of prayer.

"I call upon the people of the United States, whatever their faith, to unite in offering joyful thanks to God for the victory we have won, and to pray that He will support us to the end of our present struggle and guide us into the ways of peace.

"I also call upon my countrymen to dedicate this day of prayer to the memory of those who have given their lives to make possible our victory.

"In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States of America to be affixed."

MT: (AP)WASHINGTON -- "Eight World War II veterans -- the youngest of them age 96 -- will join President Donald Trump at a wreath-laying ceremony Friday to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the end of the war in Europe. Their hopes to mark the day in Moscow were dashed because of the novel coronavirus pandemic.

White House officials described the veterans as “choosing nation over self" by joining Trump at the World War II Memorial ceremony.

“These heroes are living testaments to the American spirit of perseverance and victory, especially in the midst of dark days," White House spokesman Judd Deere said.

The veterans joining Trump include Gregory Melikian, 97, of Phoenix, who sent the coded message to the world that the Germans had unconditionally surrendered.

Participants in the D-Day invasion that turned the tide in the war include Steven Melnikoff, 100, of Cockeysville, Maryland; Guy Whidden, 97, of Braddock Heights, Maryland; Harold Angle, 97, of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania; and Frank Devita, 96, of Bridgewater, New Jersey.

Other veterans joining Trump are Donald Halverson, 97, of Minnesota, who fought in some of the war's fiercest fighting in Italy, John Coates, 96, of Maryland, who fought in the Battle of the Bulge, and Jack Myers, 97, of Hagerstown, Maryland, was part of a unit that liberated the Dachau concentration camp."

"They Conquered the World"

Our President today: "Seventy-five years ago today, the last remnants of the Nazi regime unconditionally surrendered to the Allied Powers, marking the end of World War II in Europe.  Today, we celebrate the forces of freedom who defeated tyranny and emerged victorious in that monumental struggle.  We pay tribute to those who served for their service and pause to remember those who gave their last full measure in defense of the flames of liberty.

The campaign to end fascism in the European Theater is a somber reminder of the price of freedom.  More than 30 million lives were lost and tens of millions more were shattered in the war.  Most of those who perished in Europe were civilians, including 6 million Jews and millions of others from Poland and the former Soviet Union.  The United States also suffered incredible losses.  Of the more than 2 million Americans who deployed to Europe and the Mediterranean or patrolled the Atlantic Ocean, more than 186,000 paid the ultimate sacrifice, and more than twice that number were wounded.

Most of these selfless and heroic warriors had never known life in a prosperous America.  They grew up during the Great Depression, when America’s economic prospects seemed bleak.  Yet, they answered our country’s call of duty because they believed in the principles that lie at the foundation of our Nation.  They came from the plains of the Midwest, industrial and manufacturing towns, the sprawling farmlands of rural America, and our country’s up-and-coming cities.  Many had never traveled outside of their home states, but they would trek thousands of miles around the world to meet their tyrannical enemies on the beaches of France, in the forests of Belgium, on the hills of Italy, and on hundreds of other battlefields of Europe and North Africa.  These American heroes would not relent in their noble efforts until they had liberated all of Europe from the abhorrent Nazi regime.

Today, as we reflect on the 75th anniversary of the end of the World War II in Europe, we are reminded that no challenge is greater than the resolve of the American spirit.  Over the past months, our Nation has faced remarkable adversity during the coronavirus pandemic.  But just as we have so many times before, America will triumph, and we will emerge from this a stronger and more united country.

I join all Americans in honoring our brave warriors for their gallant service and sacrifice in World War II.  Fewer than 400,000 of the 16 million Americans who served in our Armed Forces during World War II remain with us today.  Their generation—the Greatest Generation—will never be forgotten.  We are forever grateful for their immeasurable contributions to the success and prosperity of our Nation."

Video Here.

Honor

Esther 4:11-16 The Message Bible

“Everyone who works for the king here, and even the people out in the provinces, knows that there is a single fate for every man or woman who approaches the king without being invited: death. The one exception is if the king extends his gold scepter; then he or she may live. And it’s been thirty days now since I’ve been invited to come to the king.”

^12-14 When Hathach told Mordecai what Esther had said, Mordecai sent her this message: “Don’t think that just because you live in the king’s house you’re the one Jew who will get out of this alive. If you persist in staying silent at a time like this, help and deliverance will arrive for the Jews from someplace else; but you and your family will be wiped out. Who knows? Maybe you were made queen for just such a time as this.”

^15-16 Esther sent back her answer to Mordecai: “Go and get all the Jews living in Susa together. Fast for me. Don’t eat or drink for three days, either day or night. I and my maids will fast with you. If you will do this, I’ll go to the king, even though it’s forbidden. If I die, I die.”

Amen and Amen.