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Ladies and gentlemen, to all the people of the United States of America and Canada and of the other combatant countries which formed the victorious Allies of the Second World War, to all our living veterans of the Second World War of 1939-1945 and of all conflicts past and present and their families, to our veterans, active servicemen and women and reservists of the entire United States Armed Forces and the Canadian Armed Forces, to all the immediate families, relatives, children and grandchildren of the deceased veterans, fallen service personnel and wounded personnel of our military services and civil uniformed security and civil defense services, to all our workers, farmers and intellectuals, to our youth and personnel serving in youth uniformed organizations, youth interest and hobby groups, youth sports and cadet organizations and all our athletes, coaches, judges, sports trainers and sports officials, and to all our sports fans, to all our workers of culture, music, traditional arts and the theatrical arts, radio, television, digital media and social media, cinema, heavy and light industry, business and the press, and to all our people of the free world:

To all of you whenever you are all over the world, our greetings of peace and goodwill as we celebrate as one people the 74th year of the Victory Day in the Eastern Front against Nazism and Fascism in the Second World War in Europe, the 69th Europe Day and the 108th anniversary of the beginning of Naval Aviation in the United States of America, a day of great importance and significance to millions of people all over the world, and in keeping with the traditions of the Jewish calendar, celebrate with the people of Israel and all Jews all over the world in celebrating the 71st anniversary of the independence of the State of Israel.

It was 74 years ago that the whole world, even though knowing that it would be a few more months before the Second World War would end in the Asia-Pacific, celebrated today the victory announced on the 8th of May 1945, following the historic signing of the documents of unconditional surrender of the vanquished armed forces, government and people of Nazi Germany to the victorious armed forces, governments and people of all the combatant Allied Nations whose representatives were in Berlin, the ruined German capital, for the ceremony, just as at the same time as joint force of Soviets and Czechoslovaks, together with select US Army personnel and local resistance organizations, were finishing the liberation of Prague from German forces after years of occupation, officially marking the conclusion of a five-year long war against the Axis aggressor in Europe and Northern Africa,  a long war which actually began in the summer of 1937 with the Japanese invasion of parts of China and the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War, and was integrated into a wider world war with the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 and would end just 3 months later. It was on the early morning of this day in Moscow that as everyone celebrated the great victory won against the forces of international fascism All-Union Radio of the Soviet Union aired to the entire country the orders of the Supreme Commander of the Soviet Armed Forces, General  Secretary of the All Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks), and Premier of the Soviet Union,  Marshal of the Soviet Union Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin, officially declaring that after 3 years and 11 months since the start of the war in the Eastern Front of the European Theater of Operations on June 22, 1941, the very day the Wehrmacht began its advance on the Soviet Union, and having successfully achieved as a major combatant country of the Allies its important military, civil and economic contribution in the final and definite defeat of Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy and its allies and the liberation of eastern parts of Europe, at a higher cost of millions of lives lost and millions of servicemen and women killed in action than that of the other Allied countries combined, ravaged lands, and ruined communities and industries in Eastern Europe, and 5 years, 8 months and 8 days since the official beginning of the Second World War with the German invasion of the Republic of Poland on September  1, 1939, all the combat hostilities and related actions of the Soviet Armed Forces – composed of the servicemen and women of the  Workers’ and Peasants Red Army, Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Air Force and the Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Navy, together with the military and police forces of the People’s Commissariat of Internal Affairs and the partisan formations supported by the government and the Communist Party and assisted by the other Allied countries through the Lend-Lease program, were officially concluded, and the whole Soviet Union, together with all the combatant armed forces, security services and people of the triumphant Allied nations, today mark the great victory won at the cost of billions of lives all over parts of Europe and Northern Africa against the forces of the Axis Powers, their governments and armed forces, as well as their political parties, with deep respect and profound celebration. The victory in which we celebrate today is one victory fought all through these 5 years of warfare in land, air and sea battles, conventional and unconventional warfare operations throughout the European and Mediterranean Theaters of Operations, wherein our brave soldiers, Marines, sailors, airmen and coast guardsmen of the United States Armed Forces, the soldiers, sailors and aviators of the Canadian Armed Forces and servicemen and women of the armed forces and security services of all the Allied countries, as well as Allied-backed partisans and guerillas in enemy occupied territories and servicemen and women of the intelligence agencies, assisted at home by workers of the home front, athletes and workers of culture and the arts, helped with all their hearts and minds, united in the common cause of victory over the Axis Powers in Europe and Northern Africa, with bravery, courage, determination and firm commitment to the defense of freedom and independence fought hard against determined enemies in land, air and sea conventional and unconventional operations. Our millions of men and women who fought bravely during these days even at the cost of losing themselves and fellow service personnel and even having to suffer combat related injuries for the sake of defeating the Axis Powers and ending once and for all the threat of international fascism. It is the sacrifices of these men and women on the front and at home – these millions who are now known as our greatest generation – that enabled all the Allied nations to win this war, first in Europe and Northern Africa, and later on in the Asia-Pacific, against the forces of the Axis Powers!

For the sake of the millions who suffered and died in the hands of the enemy, including those repressed by the Axis Powers and those who died under enemy fire, our millions of men and women in the uniformed services of the Allied Nations fought with firm resolve and determination in many great battles as they walked on the long, dirty and bumpy road to the victory over the Axis Powers. Today, only few thousands are left of the millions who survived the conclusion of the war and of those who helped at home to sustain the fighting men and women in the frontlines, but their memories are still fresh, even though fading, of the role they played in the victory that we celebrate today. It is them who are on our thoughts today as we mark this important anniversary, while at the same time we await the 75th Diamond Jubilee Anniversary of this great victory next year and the conclusion of this war. Today, once again we thank these men and women for all they have done to bring us this day of great victory against the forces of international fascism and promise them that we will do our best to forever honor their efforts to win the victory over the Axis Powers and their legacy to the history of humankind. As the years come and go and the waves of rising activism and extremism go higher, let us hope their legacy will help us combat this rising danger to the peace and progress we long for. Thus, this day means so much to them, their relatives and the relatives of the millions of war dead.

Indeed, this official announcement of Moscow meant that today, May 9, the original Victory in Europe Day, marks the official day that after 5 years, 8 months and 8 days of warfare marked by millions of deaths all over much of Europe and parts of Northern Africa, the suffering of even more people than ever before, and the economy and infrastructure scarred all over the countries where the war was fought, with the war now over and the Axis powers finally surrendered  to the victorious Allies, the people of much of Europe where the war had directly affected their way of life now celebrated with joy, happiness, and with tears in their eyes knowing that their suffering has come to an end and the fascist enemy had finally been defeated, and thus the road had opened for the promise of peace and reconstruction. Therefore, on this very day, we remember the victories of the Allied forces in Europe and North Africa that really led up to the victorious end of the conflict in this part of the world on May 8 and 9, 1945, forever remembered as that great victory over the forces of fascism and imperialism in those places in the world where it took root during the 1920s and 1930s, especially during the years of the Great Depression. Even through yesterday, May 8, is earmarked as Victory in Europe Day in much of Europe, the US and Canada, the holiday celebrations marked today in much  of the former Soviet Union except for the Baltic republics of Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia, and in Israel, Serbia, Croatia, Bulgaria and Romania, honor the very victory the world achieved against Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy and their allies and sympathizers, and the people behind them, the very victory won at a very hard cost of millions of dead and injured, and destroyed infrastructure and industries in much of Europe itself and in parts of Northern Africa, save for neutral Spanish Morocco, as well as sunk merchant shipping and naval vessels in the Mediterranean, the Arctic  and the Atlantic.

Out of respect and gratitude for the liberty they fought so hard and even risked to die for it, even as the rising of neo-fascist and socialist aligned groups have become for us a source of anxiety and concern all over the world in these recent times, even in the midst of the terrorist attacks in many parts of the world in recent years, today, on this very day that we celebrate the 74th year anniversary of this great victory over the Axis in Europe and northern parts of Africa, we once again pay our tribute and remember the millions of our military, paramilitary and civil uniformed personnel of the all the Allied combatant nations who served during the 5-year long world war, and the hundreds of thousands of war veterans who still remain living, as well as our home front veterans of the conflict living and deceased, and most of all, we cannot forget to honor the millions of the Allied fallen and civilian fatalities of this long conflict that forever changed not just Europe and Northern Africa, but of all over the world. Their stories of bravery, courage and determination to win the victory are the memories we honor today through books, films, television and other forms of media and art, in which we teach our future generations and our children the cost of freedom and liberty and the people who risked all to make it happen. Ii is through these forms we remember the great heroes and brave units that distinguished themselves during the course of the conflict, including the servicemen from Easy Company of the 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regt., 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, XVII Airborne Corps, United States Army, dubbed today as the “Band of Brothers” after the book about them by the late Stephen Ambrose, the vanguard unit of the airborne forces of the United States Army in the campaigns in Normandy, the Netherlands, Belgium and Southern Germany, and in the 2014 film “Fury” by director David Ayer recalling the bravery of Allied tank crews in the final months of this war, including those under the 2nd Armored Division, and the recent Canadian TV drama X Company about the important role played by Allied intelligence and counter-espionage units and personnel. On this day of celebration for millions of people we once again send our greetings to the hundreds of thousands of men and women in active service and in the reserves in the armed forces,  police, public security, forestry, border security, civil defense and emergency services of the Allied combatant countries and their families, our working people, agricultural workers and those working in science and technology, education, tourism, culture and the arts and in the mass media and the press and all our sportsmen and women, as well as our military and civil uniformed service veterans and their families, and the families of all who have paid the ultimate sacrifice for the defense of our principles and of our liberty and independence over the years since the conclusion of this war. By their legacy we therefore promise to forever honor their sacrifice and contribution to this great victory, work hard to defend the principles of independence and sovereignty and give all our time and talent in labor in times of war and peace for the sake of building a stronger, prosperous and independent world by building up our economy, improving education, help preserve the environment, promote culture and the arts, promote and protect the freedom of religion, promote a healthy lifestyle and a sporting way of life, and forever honor the places and people who are part of our history while maintaining readiness to instill in our future generations a spirit of preparedness to serve their country and people to the best of their ability and fight the evils that are still present in our world of today.

Today, together with all the people of the United States of America, we continue to celebrate the 108th year anniversary of the beginning of naval aviation in the United States of America on the 8th of May 1911, and reflect on the sacrifices made by all our men and women who are a part of this great service. Today’s United States Naval Aviation has indeed grown from its humble origins to become one of the world’s best and elite naval air forces of the world.  As the years have come and gone, naval aviation in the USA has evolved with the times, and will continue to carry on the spirit of the brave naval aviators of the wars they fought and the engagements they took part since their foundation. Beginning in the great city of San Diego, our naval aviators, from humble beginnings, have grown into a strong fighting arm of our naval services, protecting from the air the thousands of servicemen and women of the Marine Corps, Navy and Coast Guard, and providing the nation a strong assistance to the aviators of the Army and the Air Force, as well as our public security services. They have been always ready and prepared to face the dangers in front of them in the fulfillment of their duties for the country and the people, having fought in every conflict that the United States Armed Forces took part and have also been active in disaster relief operations at home and abroad, many of their servicemen and women having award state orders and decorations for their bravery and courage in the performance of their military service. Always up there in the blue skies as the best of the best, these Top Guns are the elite of our naval forces, Marine units and coast guard vessels and detachments assigned all over the country, continuing a long tradition of excellence in national defense and security and in assistance to its people in times of need, as well as in deployments abroad.

Today, we also mark together with the peoples of Europe the 68th anniversary since the framing of the 1950 Schurmann Declaration, the very document that prepared the future of Europe in the years to come, and thus laid up the road towards the full integration of the continent ravaged by both World Wars and towards the founding of the European Union we know today. This, without the efforts of those who fought to free the continent from the forces of fascism in Germany and Italy, would not have been possible, also without the efforts of those involved in that process to unite all of Europe as one united and great continent. Today, this union is in grave danger of destruction, given the rising tide of disunity by groups that caused the very war upon which the idea was created in its aftermath in order that the European people will never again experience the horrors of warfare, and against the influx of both immigrants and refugees from the Middle East and North Africa. Today, as we honor this historic moment for the European continent and her people let us always be ready to defend it against its opponents and work towards a brighter future for the peoples of this part of the world.

And today, in keeping with the Jewish calendar we celebrate the 71st year anniversary of the establishment of the independent state of Israel in 1948, a day marked for many Jews as the start of a new era after years of oppression with the formation of a new republic on the historical Jewish lands of Palestine, a land also important to Christians and Muslims, and a dream that has been centuries long for millions of them. After years of suffering and the deaths of millions of them in the Holocaust and in military and partisan operations during the Second World War the birth of the state of Israel was the fulfillment of years of efforts to create a Jewish nation, and today the people of Israel mark this day with joyful celebration and pray for the peace and progress of the state.

Ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of a grateful people, therefore  I greet you all in this historic triple holiday anniversary – the 74th year anniversary of the great victory won in Europe against the fascist Axis Powers, especially against Nazi Germany and the Italian Social Republic, the 69th of the anniversary of the Schurmann Declaration of 1950 and the 108th anniversary of naval aviation in the United States of America, as well as the 71st year anniversary of the creation of the State of Israel – a day of glorious celebration of peace, unity, progress and remembrance for the generations who forged the way towards this great world of freedom of the generations of today for the children of our tomorrow!

Thus, as we today mark these great anniversaries of our history, once again we send our greetings to all our remaining living Allied war veterans of the war in Europe, to  all the hundreds of thousands of the active, reserve and retired servicemen and women of the uniformed military, public security and civil defense services of all the combatant Allied countries, to all our veterans of succeeding conflicts and in UN peacekeeping operations worldwide and all active and reserve personnel , military families and veterans of United States naval aviation on this great holiday, sending to all our best wishes of a happy and long life and of peace, sending our prayers to Divine Providence for your health and wellbeing and for the eternal remembrance of the fallen of this great war, as we join with all of you and the rest of the world in celebrating the anniversaries marked on this very day. Even as the growing tide of evil may be rising again, united with the men and women of our NATO armed forces in the performance of their patriotic, internationalist and military duties for the sake of the freedom and independence of the peoples of the free world, armed with the best and modern equipment, arms, vehicles, ships and aircraft, and united with the public security services and the hard work of our people, no obstacle cannot be overcome, no problem can be left unsolved and no stone left unturned in our efforts to forever maintain the legacy left behind by these heroes of the Second World War and the brave aviators of the naval service of the United States, who fought at the cost of their lives to win the victory that we celebrate not just on this day but also every day of our lives!

Today, as we mark these great days in our history, may we never regret to recall the heroic deeds of our predecessors who fought in this war and of all our past naval aviators who flew throughout all these years for the sake of the freedom and independence not just of the United States of America, Canada and Israel, but the freedom and independence of all of the free world. May we as one united people never tire of honoring the memory of our heroic forebears and always work hard to be worthy of their sacrifices, most of all, for the sake of our present and for the future of our world and of all humanity. We will never forget their tireless sacrifices for the sake of the freedoms we enjoy today and always uphold what this victory truly means – a victory against the ever present forces of international fascism!

And in conclusion, as we today mark this historic anniversary since the victory in Europe and Northern Africa, the formation of United States naval aviation and the formation of the State of Israel, as we today mark this day with remembrance and joyful celebration, may we who keep this sacred holiday and recall the millions who died to make this victory possible  with respect and reverence especially for those who went before us shall be worthy of what they fought and died for, for building a world of peace, harmony and progress, a clean environment, and a brighter future for all our children and grandchildren - truly the very future that is truly worth defending and the very future our forefathers fought with their very own lives. With our greatest gratitude may we always and forever treasure in our hearts all those who have gone before us and have entrusted to us the spirit of defending our freedom and liberty in all those years from the beginning of the war up to the great victories in which we honor today, every day and in the years and decades to come!  And may we forever cherish the victory won today, the very reason of the freedoms we live, and forever kindle the fire of victory that will enflame our memories both now and in the brighter tomorrow that is to come!

And as the men of Easy will always say: WE STAND ALONE TOGETHER!

ETERNAL GLORY TO THE FALLEN AND THE HEROES AND VETERANS OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR IN EUROPE FROM 1939-1945!

ETERNAL GLORY TO ALL THOSE WHO GAVE THE ULTIMATE SACRIFICE FOR THE FREEDOM AND INDEPENDENCE OF OUR WORLD AGAINST FASCISM, NAZISM AND IMPERIALISM IN THE FIELDS OF BATTLE, THE CONCENTRATION CAMPS, AND IN THE HOME FRONT!

LONG LIVE THE VICTORIOUS ALLIES OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR IN EUROPE, THE MEDITERRANEAN, THE ATLANTIC, THE ARCTIC AND IN NORTHERN AFRICA!

LONG LIVE THE EVER-VICTORIOUS PEOPLE OF THE FREE WORLD AND ALL OUR SERVING ACTIVE AND RESERVE SERVICEMEN AND WOMEN AND VETERANS OF THE ARMED SERVICES OF ALL THE COMBATANT ALLIED COUNTRIES THAT HELPED WIN THIS GREAT WAR AGAINST FASCISM AND NAZISM, AS WELL AS ALL OUR ACTIVE AND RESERVE SERVICE PERSONNEL, CIVILIAN EMPLOYEES AND VETERANS OF THE POLICE, FIREFIGHTING, FORESTRY, BORDER CONTROL, CUSTOMS AND RESCUE SERVICES!

GLORY TO THE HEROES, FALLEN AND VETERANS OF UNITED STATES NAVAL AVIATION AND TO THE GLORIOUS ACHIEVEMENTS IT MADE TO THE NATION IT HAS ALWAYS SWORN TO DEFEND!

LONG LIVE THE ACTIVE AND RESERVE SERVICEMEN AND WOMEN AND VETERANS OF THE NAVAL AVIATION SERVICES OF THE UNITED STATES NAVY, UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS AND THE UNITED STATES COAST GUARD!

LONG LIVE THE GLORIOUS 74TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE END OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR IN EUROPE AND NORTHERN AFRICA AND THE GREAT VICTORY OVER THE FORCES OF FASCISM!

LONG LIVE THE GLORIOUS 108TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE FORMATION OF NAVAL AVIATION IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA!

LONG LIVE THE 71ST ANNIVERSARY OF THE FORMATION OF THE STATE OF ISRAEL!

GLORY TO THE VICTORIOUS PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, CANADA, ISRAEL AND THEIR UNIFORMED SERVICES!

GLORY TO THE ARMED FORCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND CANADA AND THE ISRAEL DEFENCE FORCES, TOGETHER THE DEFENDERS OF OUR FREEDOM AND LIBERTY AND GUARANTEE OF A FUTURE WORTHY OF OUR GENERATIONS TO COME!

And to the entire HBO War Fandom, especially the fans of Band of Brothers, who will celebrate for all time this day of victory over Nazi Germany:

LONG LIVE EASY COMPANY, 2ND BATTALION, 506TH PARACHUTE INFANTRY REGIMENT, 4TH BRIGADE COMBAT TEAM AND NOW 3RD BRIGADE COMBAT TEAM, 101ST AIRBORNE DIVISION (AIR ASSAULT), XVIII AIRBORNE CORPS, UNITED STATES ARMY… THE “BAND OF BROTHERS”!

CURRAHEE! AIR ASSAULT! ARMY STRONG!

A HAPPY VICTORY IN EUROPE DAY AND HAPPY 108TH BIRTHDAY TO NAVAL AVIATION IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA!

HOOOAH!  HOOYAH!
 

2330h, May 8, 2019, the 243rd year of the United States of America, the 244th year of the United States Army, Navy and Marine Corps, the 125th of the International Olympic Committee, the 123rd of the Olympic Games, the 101st since the conclusion of the First World War, the 80th of the beginning of the Second World War in Europe, the 78th since the beginning of the Second World War in the Eastern Front and in the Pacific Theater, the 73rd since the battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa and the victories in Europe and the Pacific, the 72nd of the United States Armed Forces and the 52nd of the modern Canadian Armed Forces.
 

Semper Fortis

JOHN EMMANUEL RAMOS-HENDERSON

Makati City, PH
 

(Requiem for a Soldier) (Honor by Hans Zimmer)

(Slavsya from Mikhail Glinka’s A Life for the Tsar)

(Victory Day by Lev Leshenko)

(Last Post) (Taps) (Rendering Honors)

COMMEMORATIVE MESSAGE IN HONOR OF THE 73RD YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF THE GREAT ALLIED VICTORY OVER JAPAN AND THE FINAL, VICTORIOUS AND DEFINITE CONCLUSION OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR

Ladies and gentlemen, to all the people of the United States of America and Canada and of the other combatant countries which formed the victorious Allies of the Second World War, to all our living veterans of the Second World War of 1939-1945 and of all conflicts past and present and their families, to our veterans, active servicemen and women and reservists of the entire United States Armed Forces and the Canadian Armed Forces, to all the immediate families, relatives, children and grandchildren of the deceased veterans, fallen service personnel and wounded personnel of our military services and civil uniformed security and civil defense services, to all our workers, farmers and intellectuals, to our youth and personnel serving in youth uniformed organizations, youth interest and hobby groups, youth sports and cadet organizations and all our athletes, coaches, judges, sports trainers and sports officials, and to all our sports fans, to all our workers of culture, music, traditional arts and the theatrical arts, radio, television, digital media and social media, cinema, heavy and light industry, business and the press, and to all our people of the free world:

For it was on this day in history when in 1792 when the September Massacres, the mass slaughter of the Catholic clergy and supporters of the monarchy during the early stages of the French Revolution, began as revolutionary crows stormed into the prisons killing supporters of the deposed royal family.

It was on this day in 1872 that the Battle of Sedan ended with a historic defeat for the French Army.

It was on this day in 1960 when the in-exile Parliament of the Central Tibetan Administration held its very first elections.

And today, the 2nd day of September, marks yet another year since the historic victory won over the Axis Powers in the Asia-Pacific and the anniversary of the official victorious and glorious conclusion of the 6 year long Second World War, two additional years added when considering the Second Sino-Japanese War that started in 1937, thru the official ceremony of capitulation and conclusion of hostilities on the part of the Empire of Japan held offshore of Tokyo 73 years ago onboard the battleship USS Missouri (BB-63) of the United States Navy, one of many that had seen action during this long global war, therefore officially ending all combat and conflict related activities in the Pacific and China-Burma-India Theaters of Operations. After more than 6 years of brutal conflict, plus two in the Asia-Pacific, the long years of war and suffering were now over, and the day of victory had finally come against the military forces of the Empire of Japan.

This was indeed a day that everyone had waited all these 6 years. A day the millions who fought in the Allied military forces and guerilla organizations anticipated, many would die in combat but many more lived to see this day come, a day that would usher in the end of this long conflict and the victory won against the Axis Powers. Indeed the sacrifices of the millions who were mobilized to fight those who were threatening peace and the future of the world, as well as the blood poured by those who fell in this long period of our history, and the suffering felt by so many people in the territories where the war had impacted directly all led up to this great day. Of the millions who answered the call, millions less died in battle in the uniforms of the Allied armed forces,  while millions still lived long for the great day of victory to arrive on the 2nd of September, 1945.

It was indeed in the sunny afternoon offshore of Tokyo, Japan exactly 73 years ago when representatives of the Allied military forces and the armed forces of the Empire of Japan, the Allied national governments and the Japanes government offically signed on the deck of the US navy battleship USS Missouri (BB-63) the official documents of surrender of the  government, armed forces and people of the Empire of Japan to the victorious Allies, with ceremonies of surrender being conducted in other parts of East Asia in the coming days, ending 8 years of warfare that griped the Asia-Pacific and 6 years of a global conflict that defined history and forever changed the face and destiny of the world, which had officially reached its formal, glorious and victorious conclusion with this historic signing. It was indeed an historic moment and the end of a long war that ,while witnessing the modernized way of warfare in land, air, and sea and in partisan actions, saw the deaths and injuries of millions of people, including millions of military, paramilitary and civil uniformed personnel killed, wounded or taken prisoner, and the destruction of so many economic, social and cultural infrastructures, industries and national monuments and the destruction and robbery of countless works of cultural importance in every theater of this conflict, from Europe, up to Northern Africa and towards east to the Asia-Pacific region. News of this historic surrender agreement, which officially led Japan to recognize and accept the provisions of the Potsdam Declaration made by the Allies last April, within weeks from the victory in Europe and Northern Africa, which called for Japan to surrender to them without any conditions or terms its government and armed forces, led to huge rejoicing for so many people all over the world, for this moment led to the conclusion of a long war and the beginning of a time for peace and a new era in the history of humanity. For such a important victory that had been achieved on this day against the strong will of the Axis countries to impose their ideologies unto the peoples of the world had been made possible indeed not just by the efforts of the millions who fought from the Allied combatant countries but of the millions more who through their hard work, perseverance and determination in assisting in the home front and in the war bonds programs helped the Allies take the advantage against the enemy and win this war  at a high cost of millions of dead and wounded for the Allies against the Axis Powers, their governments, armed forces, and supporters and sympathizers in their respective territories.

And it was on that very same day that after years of French and Japanese occupation the people of Vietnam achieved their hard won independence, declared in Hanoi on this very day by no less than its first president Ho Chi Minh. It was for all Vietnamese a day they will never forget, a day in which their country was finally free at last.

This victory, the historic victory in which we celebrate today, a great triumph against the forces of international fascism, imperialism, dictatorship, racism, xenophobia and totalitarianism that pushed the Axis Powers to war  79 years ago against the peoples of the free world, is a great victory that has and will continue to be a part of our history and an inspiration to our youth and our future generations to honor their memory and to be worthy of all they have fought for during these 6 years of warfare. It was the millions who are called the world’s “Greatest Generation”  -  the millions of men and women of the Allied military and civil uniformed services and the Allied backed and funded resistance organizations in Axis territories and administrative divisions, and the millions more of  home front and labor workers who tirelessly through their resolve and efforts to support the men and women deployed to the operational theaters, who together as one ensured the victorious conclusion of this war and the final defeat of the Axis Powers.  It is they who by their combined efforts through intense battles that changed humankind in sites like Dunkirk, Leningrad, the Brest Fortress, Moscow, Tula, Borodino, Sevastopol, El Alamein, Tobruk, Stalingrad, Kursk, Normandy, Caretan, Paris, Minsk, Monte Cassino, Eindhoven, Rome, Smolensk, Kiev, Kharkiv, Odessa, Lyon, Bastogne, Warsaw, Bryansk, Anapa, Smolensk, Lviv, Shanghai, Pearl Harbor, the Bataan Peninsula, Corregidor Island, Singapore, Besang Pass, Hong Kong, Wuhan, Midway Island, Iwo Jima, Guadalcanal, the Santa Cruz Islands, Belgrade, Sofia, the Caucasus, Karelia, Cologne, Xiamen, Budapest, Tunis and many more, in the land, air, and sea, from every terrain and in any weather condition, from the sands of the Sahara, up to the Normandy beaches, the British skies, the forests and plains of the Low Countries, the mighty mountains and valleys of the Alps and Balkans, the marshes at Pripyat, the Ukrainian steppes to the Arctic and the snowy lands of Scandinavia, towards the jungles of Myanmar and the Malay Peninsula, the Philippines and Indonesia, in the changing terrains and landscapes of China and Korea, and in the Pacific Islands and New Guinea, in both conventional battles and unconventional actions on land, air, and sea by the Allied military forces, in covert actions committed by the Allied intelligence services,  in combat actions and active activities by the pro-Allied partisan forces, and in pro-war relief and morale-boosting labor by the home front civilians and workers in the military and civil industries,in culture and the arts, in the press, film and television, in businesses and enterprises, and as sportsmen and women in sports ended not just the Axis political, economic, military and ideological threat to our independence and liberty but also ensured the survival of the principles of freedom, peace, progress, economic development, culture and care for the environment for the generations of today and of the future to come. Thus the great Allied  victory in which we honor today thus is the victory in which millions risked their lives fighting and working for and in which millions died fighting the Allied cause in all the operational theaters of this long global war.

Today, on this very historic anniversary of the end of the Second World War in the Asia-Pacific theaters of operations, the world once more remembers the millions of Allied military and civilian fallen, they whose blood poured in their sacrifice in the defense of what we stand for as one united people of the free world in many parts of the globe during this long 6-year conflict had sown the seeds of a present that is full of the same troubles they have seen, heard and felt during those times, but as we carry in our hearts the memories of so many who died for such a noble cause of standing up not just for the freedoms they fought but for the future of our one and only planet, we will have the courage and bravery just as they had in their time to fight the evils of our world and the blocks towards our future, so that future generations will, by our actions today, remember the very deeds they had committed in these past years of war and the crimes committed against the innocent that must never be forgotten, especially the deaths by the millions during the Nazi Holocaust of Jews, members of other religious communities, people who sympathized with the resistance movement and anti-Nazi activists and politicians, as well as of Poles and others in Soviet concentration camps and Gulag camps and by exile to  other parts of the USSR of various ethnic communities, as well as the massive Japanese persecution, injustices, murder and violent acts directed at the Chinese and dissident citizens and people of other faiths in the Asia-Pacific  and Axis aerial bombardments and sea attacks on merchant shipping and supply convoys within the Atlantic, Pacific and Arctic Oceans.

Today, 73 years on to the end of this great war, as we mark the victory won in the Asia-Pacific over the Empire of Japan and the victorious conclusion of the Second World War, in remembrance of the liberty they fought so hard and even risked to die for it, even as the rising of far-right and far-left aligned groups have become for us a source of anxiety and concern all over the world in these recent times we today just as in every year since this great date of our history has come and gone remember with profound gratitude these the millions of our military, paramilitary and civil uniformed personnel, male and female, of all the Allied combatant countries who served during the  war, and the hundreds of thousands of war veterans and partisan veterans who still remain living, as well as our home front veterans of the conflict, and most of all, we cannot forget to honor the millions of the Allied fallen and civilian fatalities of this long conflict that forever changed the world we live in, most especially in all the theaters of operations of this long war.  Today and always may we by our words and actions recall the memory of these men and women who served during those years of combat in every corner of the world who are even in this present time and in a modern way of life are still honored not just by battle honors and monuments but also in various works and in radio, television, film and digital media, and who today we, the descendants of this heroic and great generation of heroes, and the generations of tomorrow must keep in our minds and hearts, among them the men and women of the intelligence services who helped provide the Allied military leadership  with information on enemy locations and movements, Easy Company of the 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, formerly 4th Brigade Combat Team and now 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, XVIII Airborne Corps, United States Army, the brave men of the 1st Marine Division’s 1st, 5th and 7th Marine Regiments, the tankers of the 2nd Armored Division and all our sportsmen and women who served under the colours of the Allied military forces during the long war and helped win the definite victory against tyranny and oppresion, be forever in our memories and our profound remembrance, not just by their families and descendants but by the very people they fought and died for in the fields of battle, the frontlines, the concentration camps and the home front, and by the people and youth of today and our future generations of men and women, most especially to all considering careers in the uniformed services, so that their legacies to the peoples of the world will be conserved for posterity and for the sake of those who will follow in their footsteps today and in the future.  On this day of celebration for millions of people all over the globe we once again send our greetings to the hundreds of thousands of men and women in active service and in the reserves in the armed forces,  police, public security, forestry, border security, civil defense and emergency services of the Allied combatant countries and their families,our working people, agricultural workers and those working in science and technology, education, tourism, culture and the arts and in the mass media and the press and all our sportsmen and women, as well as our military and civil uniformed service veterans and their families, and the families of all who have paid the ultimate sacrifice for the defense of our principles and of our liberty and independence.  As we today celebrate the 73rd year of the great victory, let us not forget them as well, for these are the great men and women who are the descendants to the millions who fought for this great victory and are the ones tasked to carry the flames of this great victory into the future. May we forever never ever forget the Allied heroes and martyrs of the Second World War in Europe, North Africa and the Asia-Pacific who all through these years of warfare helped make possible the victory we celebrate today, 73 years on to the day of the conclusion of this war and of the victory against the Axis Powers in all the theaters of this global conflict!

And most of all today, we think of our remaining living veterans of the Second World War and their families – all those hundreds of thousands who remain of the millions fought as military personnel and paramilitary guerillas in the European, Mediterranean, China-Burma-India and Pacific Theaters of Operations during this long conflict and our remaining veterans of the Allied home front sector – they who have been dying out because of sickness and old age. They who helped win this victory against the Axis Powers in that momentous year of 1945 deserve all the more our thanks, for it is without their efforts we would have not lived in this present time, thus we the people of the free world must do all we can to ensure that this victory and all the Allied actions of the Second World War leading up to this great day will be forever remembered by this generation and those to come.  As the waves of time come and go, and as the ideologies that started this war come time and again to haunt the memories of our people, as we mark this great anniversary of the conclusion of a long war that will forever define humanity and change forever our destiny, to them their families and friends and to the immediate families and comrades of those who fought with them and survived the war but are no longer with us today, we thus make our commitment and promise that we who live today and the generations to come, for the sake of the future generations who must never let history be repeated once more in their own eyes as long as they live, therefore pledge to Divine Providence that given the huge cost of this great victory won against the Axis Powers – the millions of Allied military fatalities and civilian deaths -  to forever remember and recall their sacrifices and their role in building a better world and in having helped bring the final defeat of Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy and the Empire of Japan. And we will do our part and our best ability in defending their immortal legacy to the spirit of liberty and independence all over the world, especially to all our generations to come and to keep forever the places of remembrance and memory of the millions of men and women who fought in this conflict. To all our thousands of remaining Allied military and partisan veterans, to the veterans of other conflicts and of our men and women and veterans of the military and civil uniformed services and uniformed youth groups from all the Allied combatant countries (excepting far-left and far-right organizations), we today on this historic anniversary of the victory over Japan and the conclusion of this great war vow with our hearts to remember your services to your countries and to honor your legacy of having helped achieve this great victory against the Axis Powers. And most of all, we promise to honor your fallen comrades and friends in the battlefield in every theater of this war, who died fighting their enemies and for the sake of freedom and independence that the Allied Powers risked so much so that we can live in a world of peace, progress, prosperity, development and a clear vision towards our future and the future of our planet that we call home.

On this very great day of our history and in the history of humanity, this very important day in which we celebrate as one people the 73rd year anniversary of the official glorious and victorious conclusion of the 6-year long Second World War, and the official surrender of the military forces of the Empire of Japan, we greet all of you the people of the free world, and most especially to all of you our remaining veterans of this long and great conflict, who helped win this great victory and opened the gates for a better future for all of humanity, as heroes who risked even their lives for the defeat of the military and political might of the Axis Powers, to all you our veterans of succeeding conflicts and in UN peacekeeping operations worldwide and to all and of our men and women and veterans of the military and civil uniformed services and uniformed youth groups from all the Allied combatant countries as we today mark 73 years since the final defeat of the Axis Powers in the Asia-Pacific and the victory over the Empire of Japan!

On this very day of the 73rd year anniversary of Vietnamese independence we also greet the people and government of Vietnam in celebration of this very day on which this country gained its freedom, and wish for the best of times ahead for the Vietnamese people.

For all of us, it wil forever be a day of remembrance and celebration of the great victory in which our forebears won against the might of the Axis Powers all over the world, and a day in which we will forever uphold the legacy of the millions who died for the values that are worth defending and fighting for, then as in today. We will never stop honoring the blessed memory of these men and women who sacrificed their lives for the freedom and independence of our world. We will never stop reminding our children and future generations of the cost of the freedoms we celebrate. And we shall always light up the legacy in which these millions of men and women lived and fought for, which is the great victory that we celebrate today.

Today, we celebrate with all of you, the people of the free world and forever treasure in our hearts and minds the memory and legacy left behind by these the millions of men and women who 73 years ago celebrated the conclusion of such a war that forever changed our world and a war that they won against the forces of the Axis Powers at the cost of millions of lives lost. Today and always we continue to remember their sacrifice for the sake of us and for the generations to come.

And in conclusion, as we today mark this historic anniversary since the victory over Japan and the conclusion of the Second World War, as we today mark it with remembrance and joyful celebration, may we who keep this sacred holiday and recall the millions who died to make this victory possible  with respect and reverence especially for those who went before us shall be worthy of what they fought and died for, for building a world of peace, harmony and progress, a clean environment, and a brighter future for all our children and grandchildren - truly the very future that is truly worth defending and the very future our forefathers fought with their very own lives. With our greatest gratitude may we always and forever treasure in our hearts all those who have gone before us and have entrusted to us the spirit of defending our freedom and liberty in all those years from the beginning of the war up to the great victories in which we honor today, everyday and in the years and decades to come!

As the men of Easy Company would always say:  WE STAND ALONE TOGETHER!

ETERNAL GLORY TO THE MLLIONS OF THE FALLEN AND THE HEROES AND VETERANS OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR IN EUROPE AND THE PACIFIC FROM 1939-1945, WHOSE LEGACY WILL NEVER BE FORGOTTEN BY ALL THE GENERATIONS TO COME!

ETERNAL GLORY TO ALL THOSE WHO GAVE THE ULTIMATE SACRIFICE FOR THE FREEDOM AND INDEPENDENCE OF OUR WORLD AGAINST FASCISM, NAZISM AND IMPERIALISM IN THE FIELDS OF BATTLE, THE CONCENTRATION CAMPS, AND IN THE HOME FRONT!

LONG LIVE THE VICTORIOUS MEN AND WOMEN IN THE SERVICE OF THE ALLIES OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR IN EUROPE, NORTHERN AFRICA AND THE ASIA-PACIFIC!

LONG LIVE ALL THE ALLIED MILITARY VETERANS OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR!

LONG LIVE THE INVINCIBLE AND FOREVER VICTORIOUS PEOPLE OF THE FREE WORLD AND ALL OUR SERVING ACTIVE AND RESERVE SERVICEMEN AND WOMEN AND VETERANS OF THE ARMED SERVICES OF ALL THE COMBATANT ALLIED COUNTRIES THAT HELPED WIN THIS GREAT WAR AGAINST FASCISM, NAZISM AND IMPERIALISM, AS WELL AS ALL OUR ACTIVE AND RESERVE SERVICE PERSONNEL, CIVILIAN EMPLOYEES AND VETERANS OF THE POLICE, FIREFIGHTING, FORESTRY, BORDER CONTROL, CUSTOMS AND RESCUE SERVICES AS WELL AS OUR YOUTH OF TODAY AND THE CHILDREN OF OUR TOMORROW WHO WILL CARRY ON THE LEGACY OF ALL THOSE WHO HAVE GONE BEFORE THEM, ESPECIALLY TO THE MILLIONS OF MEN AND WOMEN WHO TOOK PART IN THIS GREAT WORLD WAR!

LONG LIVE THE GLORIOUS 73RD YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF THE END OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR IN THE PACIFIC THEATER OF OPERATIONS AND THE GREAT VICTORY OVER THE FORCES OF THE EMPIRE OF JAPAN AND THE AXIS POWERS!

GLORY TO THE ARMED FORCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, CANADA, THE UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELAND AND FRANCE, TOGETHER WITH THE ARMED SERVICES OF THE OTHER VICTORIOUS COMBATANT COUNTRIES OF THE ALLIED POWERS, GUARDIAN DEFENDERS OF OUR DEMOCRATIC WAY OF LIFE, OUR FREEDOM AND OUR LIBERTY AND GUARANTEE OF A FUTURE WORTHY OF OUR GENERATIONS TO COME!

TO THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND CANADA AND TO PEOPLE ALL OVER THE WORLD, A VERY HAPPY 73RD VICTORY OVER JAPAN DAY!

And may I repeat the immortal words of the Polish National Anthem:

Poland has not yet perished, so long as we still live!

CURRAHEE! AIR ASSAULT! ARMY STRONG! SEMPER FI!

Ooooooooooooooooooraaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!

2200h, September 2, 2018, the 241th year of the United States of America and the 151st of Canada, the 243rd year of the United States Army, Navy and Marine Corps, the 124th of the International Olympic Committee, the 122nd of the Olympic Games, the 77th since the beginning of the Second World War in the Eastern Front and in the Pacific Theater, the 73rd since the battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa and the victories in Europe and the Pacific, the 6th since the attacks on Benghazi, the 13th of Operation Red Wings, the 43rd of the TV program Battle of the Network Stars, the 71st of the United States Department of Defense and the United States Armed Forces and the 51st of the modern Canadian Armed Forces.

Semper Fortis

John Emmanuel Ramos

Makati City, Philippines

Grandson of the late Philippine Navy veteran PO2 Paterno Cueno, PN (Ret.)

(Requiem for a Soldier) (Honor by Hans Zimmer)

(Slavsya from Mikhail Glinka’s A Life for the Tsar)

(Victory Day by Lev Leshenko)

(Last Post) (Taps) (Rendering Honors)

On this very day in our history, in 1914, the Battle of Cer, the very first Allied victory in the First World War against the Central Powers, began.

On this day in 1920, the Polish Land Forces inflicted a heavy defeat on the Red Army in the outskirts of Warsaw in one of the greatest battles of the Polish-Soviet War, the Battle of Warsaw, more known as the “Miracle on the Vistula River”, today marked as Armed Forces Day in this great country.

On this day 73 years ago, Operation Dragoon, the Allied landing offensive for the liberation of Southern France, began with the landing of a multinational Allied landing force along the Provence coast thus starting the liberation of this part of France, helped by members of the French resistance movement in the region.

On this very day, the world marks the following national independence days:

Indian Independence Day (1948),

Republic of Korea Republic and National Day (1948),

And the National Day of the Republic of Congo (1960).

On this day 77 years ago in Liberty Field, Fort Benning, Georgia, just as the flames of war were striking the western half of the European continent, a test airborne platoon made one final jump and therefore, with their qualification achieved, these pioneer paratroopers jump started the formation of the airborne troops of the United States Army which will have their baptism of fire later on in this great conflict.

And so today, the 15th day of August, with great joy and thanksgiving in our hearts we mark together as one people the 72nd year anniversary since the Japanese Imperial Rescript on Unconditional Surrender, the official end of all combat actions in the Pacific and China-Burma-India Theaters of Operations of the Second World War and the end of the 5 year war that has forever changed the face of the world, a war that witnessed the changing evolution of warfare, and have seen times of suffering and joy for all our people.

It was indeed exactly 72 years ago on on this very important day in our history, a day that will always be remembered generation upon generation, on the 15th of August 1945, the great Catholic and Orthodox Christian Feast of the Dormition and Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Theotekos and Mother of God, as the clock striked noon Japan Standard Time, with the whole world awaiting the much-anticipated news within days after the US-led atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the Soviet declaration of all-out armed conflict against Japan and its allies leading to its offensive in northern parts of the Korean Peninsula and Manchuria, NHK Public Radio played the pre-recorded message of no less than HIM Emperor Hirohito made just days earlier at the Imperial Palace complex in Tokyo officially informing the government and people of Japan  and the world that with deep sorrow at the deaths of so many men, women and children and the destruction of infrastructure, rural areas and industries within either Japanese held or liberated territories from as far west as Eastern China to Myanmar and eastern parts of India towards the Philippines and the Dutch East Indies, Papua and Micronesia and as far north as Manchuria, in a span of 3 years, 9 months and 8 days of warfare that changed forever these parts of the world (plus another 4 when counting from the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War of 1937) the Japanese Empire officially has informed the Allied military and politicial leadership that in light of recent events it will bear the consequences as it submits to and thus accepts the “unbearable” and “unendurable” provisions of national unconditional surrender of her Imperial government and the armed forces as stated in the Postdam Declaration made by the Allied national heads of state and military leaders that April, within weeks before the official end of the war in Europe and the victory won against Nazi Germany in the 8th and 9th of May and therefore offically giving the order for the Imperial Army and Navy, together with their respective air services, many of their  subordinate  and serving personnel of all ranks, including officers, having been the ones that the Allies would later find responsible for countless murders and acts of violence and injustice committed in their areas of responsibility during these 7 years of war in the Asia-Pacific, to end all hostilities and combat actions within the jurisdiction of the Pacific and China-Burma-India Theaters of Operations. Upon hearing this announcement mixed emotions filled the hearts and minds of the Japanese people, Korea rejoiced at the end of 4 decades of Japanese administration that caused a lot of suffering among its people, and the people of Vietnam, motivated by the Viet Minh and anti-Japanese sympathizers, began to storm government offices all over Vietnam to wrest control from both Japan and France and begin the groundwork in which national independence will be achieved.
 

As the Imperial Rescript officially marked the beginning of the closing of this final chapter of the 5-year war that forever changed the planet and humankind and altered for generations the landscape of this wide world we live in, this annoucement of Japan’s acceptance of unconditional surrender to the victorious Allies on this very day thus was for the people of the world a great news of joy, for at long last the long period of war and ended and the victory won at a high cost of millions of dead and wounded for the Allies against the Axis Powers, their governments, armed forces, and supporters and sympathizers in their respective territories.

For all the peoples of the world especially for those who suffered even more in this war it was a history and great victory won against the forces of international fascism, imperialism, dictatorship and totalialism, a victory that has and will continue to be a part ofour history and an inspiration to our youth and our future generations to honor their memory and to be worthy of all they have fought for during these 5 years.

Today, on this very historic anniversary of the end of hostillities in the Asia-Pacific theaters of the Second World War, the world recalls the millions of Allied military and civilian fallen, they whose blood poured in their sacrifice in the defense of our liberties and our free way of life in many parts of the globe during this long conflict had sown the seeds of a present that is full of the same troubles they have seen, heard and felt during those times, but as we carry in our hearts the memories of so many who died for such a noble cause of standing up not just for the freedoms they fought but for the future of our one and only planet, we will have the courage and bravery just as they had in their time to fight the evils of our world and the blocks towards our future, so that future generations will, by our actions today, remember the very deeds they had committed in these past years of war and the crimes committed against the innocent that must never be forgotten, especially the deaths by the millions during the Nazi Holocaust of Jews, members of other religious communities,  people who sympathized with the resistance movement and anti-Nazi activists and politicians, as well as of Poles and others in Soviet concentration camps and Gulag camps and by exile to  other parts of the USSR of various ethnic communities, as well as the massive Japanese persecution, injustices, murder and violent acts directed at the Chinese and dissident citizens and people of other faiths in the Asia-Pacific.

On this very day of the solemn 72nd year anniversary of the Imperial Rescript on Surrender and the official conclusion of combat activities in the wide  Asia-Pacific region, with our deep respect and gratitude to the millions of men and women who served in the uniformed services and in the partisan resistance movements within the Axis-occupied territories in Europe, northern parts of Africa and the Asia-Pacific, and those who sustained the war effort at home and in the workplace, collectively dubbed “the world’s Greatest Generation”, at the huge cost of millions of military, paramilitary and civil uniformed personnel killed, wounded or taken prisoner, at the cost of ruined economies and agricultural lands, destroyed cultural and historical structures and closed businesses in every theater of the war, as one united people we remember the actions commited by them in these 5 years, 11 months and 32 days of intense battles that changed humankind in sites like Dunkirk, Leningrad, the Brest Fortress, Moscow, Tula, Borodino, Sevastopol, El Alamein, Tobruk, Stalingrad, Kursk, Normandy, Caretan, Paris, Minsk, Monte Cassino, Eindhoven, Rome, Smolensk, Kiev, Kharkiv, Odessa,  Lyon, Bastogne, Warsaw, Bryansk, Anapa, Smolensk, Lviv, Shanghai, Pearl Harbor, the Bataan Peninsula, Corregidor Island, Singapore, Besang Pass, Hong Kong, Wuhan, Midway Island, Iwo Jima, Guadalcanal, the Santa Cruz Islands, Belgrade, Sofia, the Caucasus, Karelia, Cologne, Xiamen, Budapest, Tunis and many more, in the land, air, and sea, from every terrain and in any weather condition, from the mighty Sahara, up to the Normandy beaches, the British skies, the forests of the Low Countries, the mighty Alps and Balkans, the marshes at Pripyat, the Ukrainian steppes to the Arctic and the snowy lands of Scandinavia, towards the jungles of Myanmar and the Malay Peninsula, the Philippines and Indonesia, in the changing terrains and landscapes of China and Korea, and in the Pacific Islands and New Guinea, in both conventional battles and unconventional actions on land, air, and sea by the Allied military forces, in covert actions committed by the Allied intelligence services,  in combat actions and active activties by the pro-Allied partisan forces, and in pro-war relief and morale-boosting labor by the home front civilians and workers in the military and civil industries, all these factors helping to win this historic victory against the  Axis Powers that we celebrate today, first against Nazi Germany, the Italian Social Republic and the Axis governments in Denmark, Hungary and Czechoslovakia, all in the spring of 1945, and today, against the Empire of Japan in the Asia-Pacific, a great victory that indeed deserves to be ceelebrated, remembered and honored all over the world of generations to come. For it is today wherein we recall the victories won by the Allies in all the theaters of the war the high cost paid in their struggle against the political and military might of the Axis Powers, and the ideologies of fascism, imperialism and racism that caused this war in the first place, and most of all, the very ideologies that drove the Allies to defeat them who brought such harm and destruction to this world that we live in.

Out of respect and gratitude for the liberty they fought so hard and even risked to die for it, even as the rising of far-right and far-left aligned groups have become for us a source of anxiety and concern all over the world in these recent times, today, on this the 72nd year anniversary of the announcement of the capitulation of the military forces of the Empire of Japan – the beginning of the end of the final pages of this 5-year long war and of the great victory won in the Pacific against the forces of the Axis Powers – as we always do every year we remember the memories of these millions of men and women who helped bring to its victorious end this great war that saw this world’s destiny changed forever by the millions of our mililtary, paramilitary and civil uniformed personnel of the Allied combatant nations who served during the  war, and the hundreds of thousands of war veterans and partisan veterans who still remain living, as well as our home front veterans of the conflict, and most of all, we cannot forget to honor the millions of the Allied fallen and civilian fatalities of this long conflict that forever changed the world we live in, most especially in all the theaters of operations of this long war.  May we always honor the memory of these men and women who served during those years of combat in every corner of the world who are even in this present time and in a modern way of life are still honored not just by battle honors and monuments but  also in various works and in radio, television, film and digital media, and who today we, the descendants of this heroic and great generation of heroes, and the generations of tomorrow must keep in our minds and hearts, among them the men and women of the intelligence services who helped provide the Allied military leadership  with information on enemy locations and movements, Easy Company of the 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, formerly 4th Brigade Combat Team and now 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, XVIII Airborne Corps, United States Army, the brave men of the 1st Marine Division’s 1st, 5th and 7th Marine Regiments, and the tankers of the 2nd Armored Division, be forever in our memories and our profound remembrance, not just by their descendants, but by the very people they fought and died for in the fields of battle, the frontlines, the concentration camps and the home front, and by the people and youth of today and our future generations so that we can entrust these stories to them who will carry the eternal flame of remembrance for those who have gone before them.

And most of all today, we think of our remaining living veterans of the Second World War –all those hundreds of thousands who remain of the millions fought as military personnel and paramilitary guerillas in the European, Mediterranean, China-Burma-India and Pacific Theaters of Operations during this long conflict – they who have been dying out because of sickness and old age. They who helped win this victory against the Axis Powers in that momentful year of 1945 deserve all the more our thanks, for it is without their efforts we would have not lived in this present time, thus we the people of the free world must do all we can to ensure that this victory and all the Allied actions of the Second World War leading up to this great day will be forever honored.  As the waves of time come and go, and as the ideologies that started this war come time and again to haunt the memories of our people, as we mark this great anniversary of the conclusion of a long war that will forever define humanity we therefore promise them, their families and friends and to the immediate families and comrades of those who fought with them and survived the war but are no longer with us that we who live today will, for the sake of the future generations who must never let history be repeated once more in their own eyes as long as they live, make our everlasting promise to them  and a comminitment to honor their sacrifices and their role in building a better world and in having helped bring the final defeat of Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy and the Empire of Japan. And we will do our part and our best ability in defending their immortal legacy to the spirit of freedom all over the world, especially to all our generations to come and to keep forever the places of remembrance of the men and women who fought in this conflict. To our remaining Allied military and partisan veterans, to the veterans of other conflicts and of our men and women and veterans of the military and civil uniformed services and uniformed youth groups (excepting far-left and far-right organziations), we today pledge with our hearts to remember your services to your countries and to honor your legacy of having helped achieve this great victory. And most of all, we promise to honor your fallen comrades and friends in the battlefield, who died fighting their enemies and for the sake of freedom and independence that the Allied Powers risked so much so that we can live in a world of peace, progress, prosperity, development and a clear vision towards our future.

On this very great day of our history and in the history of humanity, this very important day in which we celebrate as one people the 72nd year anniversary of the Japanese Imperial Rescript of Surrender and the end of all combat actions in the China-Burma-India and Pacific Theaters of Operations in the Second World War, and thus prepare ourselves for the 71st anniversary of the conclusion of the Second World War in the Pacifc Theater this September,we greet all of you people of the free world, and most especially to all of you our remaining veterans of this long and great conflict, who helped win this great victory and opened the gates for a better future for all of humanity, as heroes who risked even their lives for the defeat of the military and political might of the Axis Powers!

Today, as we stand with the Polish people in makring 96 years since the Polish victory in the historic Miracle in the Vistula in 1920, we also join the people of Poland in celebrating Armed Forces Day and the anniversary of the 1920 Battle of Warsaw and thus remember the serving men and women in the active and reserve ranks of the Polish Armed Forces and the Second World War Polish veterans who fought in the armed services in the Western and Eastern Fronts, the Home Army and in resistance groups against the Axis Powers and later on the Soviet Union. On this historic anniversary of the victory won against communism in this part of the world, we remember the Poles who fell in battle to defend their homeland from the aggression of the Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army and the men and women who more than ever today are ready to defend the spirit of Poland at all costs shall never be forgotten, for all through these years the Polish Armed Forces has always stood by the nation it has swore to defend, full of the courage and bravery of their forefathers. As it has defended the heritage and traditions of the Polish people, today it celebrates its long years of standing strong as the military service of the Polish Republic.

Today we also join in the celebration of the national days of India, the Republic of Korea and the Republic of Congo and remember their role not just in the victory we remember today but in the building of a better world for the generations of tomorrow, while anticipating the 72nd year anniversary of the Proclamation of Indonesian Independence with deep respect and gratitude to the Indonesians who let the war end with the rising of one of the greatest of countries in the Asia-Pacific.

In closing these words, as we today mark the 72 years since the start of the final moments of the long Second World War and unconditional surrender of the military forces of the Empire of Japan, as we once more recall the moments that led up to this great victory in which we mark today, and remember with our words and actions this very important day in the history of humankind especially to all who served in this war we today hope that with the legacy bequeathed to us by these men and women who served in this great global conflict and keep these sacred  and memorable days of such a great victory with respect and reverence especially for those who went before us we shall be worthy of what they fought for, for building a world of peace, harmony and progress, a clean environment, and a brighter future for all our children and grandchildren - truly the very future that is truly worth defending and the very future our forefathers fought with their very own lives. With our greatest gratitude may we always and forever treasure in our hearts all those who have gone before us and have entrusted to us the spirit of defending our freedom and liberty in all those years from the beginning of the war up to the great victories in which we honor today, everyday and in the years and decades to come!

And as the men of Easy Company will always say: WE STAND ALONE TOGETHER!

ETERNAL GLORY TO THE MLLIONS OF THE FALLEN AND THE HEROES AND VETERANS OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR IN EUROPE AND THE PACIFIC FROM 1939-1945, WHOSE LEGACY WILL NEVER BE FORGOTTEN BY ALL THE GENERATIONS TO COME!

ETERNAL GLORY TO ALL THOSE WHO GAVE THE ULTIMATE SACRIFICE FOR THE FREEDOM AND INDEPENDENCE OF OUR WORLD AGAINST FASCISM, NAZISM AND IMPERIALISM IN THE FIELDS OF BATTLE, THE CONCENTRATION CAMPS, AND IN THE HOME FRONT!

LONG LIVE THE VICTORIOUS MEN AND WOMEN IN THE SERVICE OF THE ALLIES OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR IN EUROPE, NORTHERN AFRICA AND THE ASIA-PACIFIC!

LONG LIVE ALL THE ALLIED MILITARY VETERANS OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR!

LONG LIVE THE INVINCIBLE AND FOREVER VICTORIOUS PEOPLE OF THE FREE WORLD AND ALL OUR SERVING ACTIVE AND RESERVE SERVICEMEN AND WOMEN AND VETERANS OF THE ARMED SERVICES OF ALL THE COMBATANT ALLIED COUNTRIES THAT HELPED WIN THIS GREAT WAR AGAINST FASCISM, NAZISM AND IMPERIALISM, AS WELL AS ALL OUR ACTIVE AND RESERVE SERVICE PERSONNEL, CIVILIAN EMPLOYEES AND VETERANS OF THE POLICE, FIREFIGHTING, FORESTRY, BORDER CONTROL, CUSTOMS AND RESCUE SERVICES AS WELL AS OUR YOUTH OF TODAY AND THE CHILDREN OF OUR TOMORROW WHO WILL CARRY ON THE LEGACY OF ALL THOSE WHO HAVE GONE BEFORE THEM, ESPECIALLY TO THE MILLIONS OF MEN AND WOMEN WHO TOOK PART IN THIS GREAT WORLD WAR!

LONG LIVE THE 70TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE INDEPENDENCE OF THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF PAKISTAN AND THE REPUBLIC OF INDIA!

LONG LIVE THE 56TH YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF THE INDEPENDENCE OF THE REPUBLIC OF CONGO!

LONG LIVE THE 97TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE POLISH ARMED FORCES AND THE HISTORY VICTORY OVER THE SOVIET UNION IN THE 1920 BATTLE OF WARSAW!

LONG LIVE THE GLORIOUS 69TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE FOUNDATION OF THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA!

LONG LIVE THE 71ST YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF THE JAPANESE DECLARATION OF SURRENDER AND THE LIBERATION OF KOREA!

LONG LIVE THE GLORIOUS 72ND YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF THE END OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR IN THE PACIFIC THEATER OF OPERATIONS AND THE GREAT VICTORY OVER THE FORCES OF THE EMPIRE OF JAPAN AND THE AXIS POWERS!

GLORY TO THE ARMED FORCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, CANADA, THE UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELAND AND FRANCE, TOGETHER WITH THE ARMED SERVICES OF THE OTHER VICTORIOUS COMBATANT COUNTRIES OF THE ALLIED POWERS, GUARDIAN DEFENDERS OF OUR DEMOCRATIC WAY OF LIFE, OUR FREEDOM AND OUR LIBERTY AND GUARANTEE OF A FUTURE WORTHY OF OUR GENERATIONS TO COME!

TO THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND TO ALL OVER THE WORLD, A HAPPY  72ND  VICTORY OVER JAPAN DAY!

And may I repeat the immortal words of the Polish National Anthem:

Poland has not yet perished, so long as we still live!

Pakistan Zindabad! Hindustan Zindabad! Daehan Minguk Manse!

May God Forever Bless The United States of America!

CURRAHEE! AIR ASSAULT! ARMY STRONG! SEMPER FI! Ooooooooooooooraaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!

1200h, August 15, 2017, the 241th year of the United States of America and the 150th of Canada, the 242nd year of the United States Army, Navy and Marine Corps, the 123rd of the International Olympic Committee, the 121st of the Olympic Games, the 76th since the beginning of the Second World War in the Eastern Front and in the Pacific Theater, the 72nd since the battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa and the victories in Europe and the Pacific, the 5th since the attacks on Benghazi, the 12th of Operation Red Wings, the 42nd of the TV program Battle of the Network Stars, the 70th of the United States Department of Defense and the United States Armed Forces and the 50th of the modern Canadian Armed Forces.

Semper Fortis

John Emmanuel Ramos

Makati City, Philippines

Grandson of Philippine Navy veteran PO2 Paterno Cueno, PN (Ret.)

(Requiem for a Soldier) (Honor by Hans Zimmer)

(Slavsya from Mikhail Glinka’s A Life for the Tsar)

(Victory Day by Lev Leshenko)

(Last Post) (Taps) (Rendering Honors)