VE Day 75th anniversary: Friday May 8th

[Tiki Tom]

Friday, May 8th, marks the 75th anniversary of VE Day.

Although I’m still under social distancing guidelines, I will attempt to mark it by dressing in period clothing, playing my 1940s music playlist, and offering a toast to all those who sacrificed to make my current lifestyle and freedoms in Europe possible. (And I will attempt to bring the anniversary to the attention of at least one young person who is only vaguely aware of those bye-gone days.)

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...elieved-yearning-for-change-britain-on-ve-day

https://www.northantstelegraph.co.u...liday-socially-distanced-street-party-2841645

 

[GHT]

Well done Tom, we are doing much the same. All the plans, all the parties, they have all been put on ice, hopefully we might still be able to party in August when VJ day comes around.

Later today, my wife Tina and I will dress up and have a quintessentially English cream tea, served on the patio table in our garden. In the evening our jukebox will be playing Glenn Miller and a host of Big Band sounds, we might let Vera Lynn sing "Whale Meat Again," the title, I'm reliably informed, came about when the acute meat shortages during WW2 were often made up for by whale meat. "It's like fish flavoured chewing gum," my late mother-in-law said, screwing her face in a grimace.

 

[LizzieMaine]

I'll be observing VE Day standing in line at the grocery store and shaking my head as I listen to people complain about "how much they're sacrificing." Oh how quickly people and nations forget.

 

[EdwardM]

“Good Morning America” on ABC marking the day as the end of WWll. Apparently they need a refresher course in history.

 

[GHT]

We have had quite a fascinating day of VE Day on television. Some facts that emerged, The United States military was concerned that British hospitality toward black soldiers would make postwar segregation difficult. The liberties enjoyed by the black GI in Britain, including to some extent, the freedom to associate with white women, was seen by black soldiers as unusual, while for many white (GI's) it was a threat.

Whilst the general public were more than happy to embrace, and accept, anyone who was prepared to help them win the war, the British establishment wasn't so generous. Black soldiers from the British Empire who also fought in WW2, only received one third of the pay that white soldiers earned.

The majority of the Americans left Britain in 1945. They left an enduring legacy and are fondly remembered by those they met. Hundreds of volunteers across East Anglia still help preserve these memories. They look after war graves and memorials in village squares, on corners of former airfields, or at crash sites.

A school named after a heroic pilot, Flying Officer Raimund Sanders Draper, known as "Smudge", was an American volunteer World War II Royal Air Force (RAF) pilot of No. 64 Squadron, who gave his life to save hundreds of pupils. The Sanders Draper School in Hornchurch, Essex, was named after Raimund Sanders Draper - whose RAF fighter was heading for the building when his engine suddenly cut out at 200ft. He heroically crashed his Spitfire into the school's playing fields - and only its wing hit the building. Draper, 29, who'd just taken off from nearby RAF Hornchurch airfield, died to save over 650 pupils and staff at the school. The crash happened just before 11am on March 24, 1943, at the height of the Second World War - and Draper's noble sacrifice has never been forgotten locally.



It was estimated that up to 75 thousand British women became GI brides, but I was surprised to learn that as many as ten thousand GI's remained here and settled in the UK.

There was at least 25 thousand German POW's who stayed, the most famous one was Bernhard Carl "Bert" Trautmann. He joined the Luftwaffe early in the Second World War, serving as a paratrooper. He fought on the Eastern Front for three years, earning five medals, including an Iron Cross.

Trautmann played football for Manchester City until 1964, making 545 appearances. After his playing career, he moved into management, first with lower-division sides in England and Germany, and later as part of a German Football Association development scheme that took him to several countries, including Burma, Tanzania and Pakistan. In 2004, he was appointed an honorary Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for promoting Anglo-German understanding through football. Trautmann died at home near Valencia, Spain, on 19 July 2013, aged 89.

 

[crawlinkingsnake]

On this day (May 8th) 75 years ago my father was somewhere near Salzburg, France. Needless to say I'm very proud of him as he was an infantryman in the Third Division United State Army. After landing in North Africa (French Morocco) the Third Division was involved in every battle from there to Sicily (Palermo and Messina), Italy (Anzio), southern France (St Tropaz), Colmar Pocket to the end of the war. After discharge he returned home and married my mother in 1947. I love you dad.

 

[Tiki Tom]

On VE Day in 1945, my dad was in a British prisoner of war camp (Up-Park Camp) in Kingston, Jamaica. I miss sitting in my mom’s backyard in Southern California with him and listening to his stories and talking about life with him.

 

[Tiki Tom]

My wife just pointed out to me that, on VE Day, Hawaii News Now is playing the following tribute; (The program actually begins at the 8:20 mark, oddly enough.)

I will watch it this evening with her. BTW, during the war, her step-father was a Marine Corps, carrier-based Corsair pilot in the Pacific. He settled in Hawaii after the war. Great guy.

 

[GHT]

More from VE Day celebrations:

 

[Peacoat]

The majority of the Americans left Britain in 1945. They left an enduring legacy and are fondly remembered by those they met. Hundreds of volunteers across East Anglia still help preserve these memories. They look after war graves and memorials in village squares, on corners of former airfields, or at crash sites.

A friend of mine who lives in East Dereham, west of Norwich, and I believe in East Anglia, is in charge of one of the memorials at an airfield in that area. When I was there, he took us to the memorial. It was quite impressive. Looked to be a granite monument about 5 feet tall and 4 feet wide with all of the names of the US airmen who had died flying out of that airfield. There were a lot of names. Even though it has been 75 years and most of the ones who lived through those times are gone, they still care. Those Brits are special people.

What most Americans don't realize is that the runways are still there and visible. I was stunned when Tom pointed out the asphalt and told me what it was. He knew I had been a military pilot and would be interested in that. The buildings had all been removed, but the runways remained. I believe this particular airfield had been converted into a turkey farm. Although, there were no turkeys anywhere near the monument, the drive into the area or the parking area. It was all well maintained.

Thank you Great Britain for remembering.