The official day that Japan announced their surrender effectively ending WWII was August 15, 1945 in Japan. It was the 14th in the USA since there is a time difference but the war was over either way you look at it. The day is commemorated here in the USA on September 2 and in the UK on August 15.
Today, August 9, is the day that Nagasaki was bombed. August 6th was the day Hiroshima was bombed. These bombs as well as the Soviet Union declaring war on Japan on August 9th were what led the Japanese toward surrender. I always wondered why Stalin left it so late to declare war on them but maybe he knew it was all over after those atomic bombs so it wouldn’t hurt to climb aboard the war wagon with us.
In the USA, the end of the war is celebrated on September 2nd as that is the day of the official surrender ceremony which occurred on the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay but the war was pretty much done in August. President Truman declared September 2nd officially V-J Day.
Here’s the iconic photo from Times Square.
Jillian Chantal 
How many stories have been written based on that photo? A lot, I imagine. This time in 1945 is one of both profound sadness and extreme relief. At least, in my mind it is. I appreciate the clarification on the dates. I never remember the sequence of events well.
By: Laurie Ryan on August 9, 2013
at 11:31 am
I bet there have been a TON of stories written on that photo. It’s a very cool picture. It was a sad time and a glad time. What a horrific thing to have lived through those times of loss and war. Dates is one of my things- I always liked those in history class. For some reason, my head holds that stuff. Sometimes I wish not. LOL!
By: Jillian Chantal on August 9, 2013
at 11:39 am
We went from Wordless Wednesday to me being almost speechless for Friday Facts. Those bombings….shudder! One wonders if they could not have done it off-shore,(which would have caused enough damage and radiation), and seen if that alone would not have persuaded them to surrender.
Ya gotta love that picture!
By: Tonette Joyce on August 9, 2013
at 1:06 pm
I really don’t think the off-shore thing would have worked. Look at how committed they were to killing us and not caring about themselves- Kamikazis and the Bataan death march. I think Truman did what he had to in order to stop the madness. Now, I think also that they really didn’t realize it would totally vaporize people. They tested it with no humans nearby. I think they were stunned to see the effect. I could be wrong, but that’s always been my opinion of it.
By: Jillian Chantal on August 9, 2013
at 1:32 pm
I have always loved that picture. And, can spin my own stories in my head when I look at it. War is always tragic but this one and how it ended seems to make the tragedy stand out.
By: Lavada Dee on August 9, 2013
at 11:06 pm
I’m with you in that picture, Lavada. Love it. And yeah, the tragedy of those bombs is absolutely stark.
By: Jillian Chantal on August 10, 2013
at 8:09 am