5 years ago
STATEMENT ON VICTORY IN THE PACIFIC DAY
SHAYNE NEUMANN MP
Today is VP (Victory in the Pacific) Day, also referred to as VJ (Victory over Japan) Day, marking 74 since the Second World War ended in the Pacific.
VP Day commemorates the unconditional surrender of Japan to the Allied Forces on 14 August 1945. The following day, 15 August, is celebrated as VP Day.
On this day in 1945, the great Labor Prime Minister Ben Chifley announced the end of the war:
“Fellow citizens, the war is over… Let us remember those whose lives were given that we may enjoy this glorious moment and may we look forward to a peace which they have won for us.”
For Australians, this meant that the war was finally over. The joy and relief felt across the nation was palpable.
Who can forget the iconic image of the Dancing Man filmed on the street in Sydney on that day.
The Pacific War was important as it was the first time the nation experienced an existential threat through attacks on home soil.
It was in response to this that Chifley’s predecessor, the great wartime leader John Curtin, brought Australian troops back from Europe to fight with US Forces in the Pacific.
On this day, we remember our Australian service men and women who served in the Pacific, such as Papua New Guinea, Malaya, Bougainville and New Britain, and honour the more than 17,000 who lost their lives fighting against Japan.
VP Day commemorates the unconditional surrender of Japan to the Allied Forces on 14 August 1945. The following day, 15 August, is celebrated as VP Day.
On this day in 1945, the great Labor Prime Minister Ben Chifley announced the end of the war:
“Fellow citizens, the war is over… Let us remember those whose lives were given that we may enjoy this glorious moment and may we look forward to a peace which they have won for us.”
For Australians, this meant that the war was finally over. The joy and relief felt across the nation was palpable.
Who can forget the iconic image of the Dancing Man filmed on the street in Sydney on that day.
The Pacific War was important as it was the first time the nation experienced an existential threat through attacks on home soil.
It was in response to this that Chifley’s predecessor, the great wartime leader John Curtin, brought Australian troops back from Europe to fight with US Forces in the Pacific.
On this day, we remember our Australian service men and women who served in the Pacific, such as Papua New Guinea, Malaya, Bougainville and New Britain, and honour the more than 17,000 who lost their lives fighting against Japan.