Tag Archives: VE day

Happy VE-Day +75 years

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Victory in Europe, or V-E Day, of course, celebrates the formal acceptance by the Allied nations of Nazi Germany’s surrender of its armed forces. German military leaders signed the surrender documents at various locations in Europe on 8 May 1945.

The signings detailed below in period newsreel, complete with the ceremonial destruction of the Swazi at Nurneburg.

A more British take on the matter, from the Imperial War Museum:

And from The Queen, who was in uniform on VE Day.

For us, we should all tip our hats to the men– and women– of the Greatest Generation, whose ranks are all but exhausted these days.

It wasn’t just the Western Allies that broke Hitler’s back

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On this VE Day, remember those East of the Oder who gave their all as well.

Colonel Zheludov Andrey Vasilievich (1922-2010) saying goodbye to his past.Order of Glory IIIrd Class, Order of the Red star, two medals of Military Merit and at least three wounds.

Colonel Andrey Vasilievich Zheludov  (1922-2010) saying goodbye to his past. His jacket contains the Order of Glory, Order of the Red Star, two Military Merit medals of  and at least three wound metals among other chest candy. Regardless of the politics of Stalin and the war crimes of Berlin, the Katyn and others, the Red Army in the end still accounted for more Axis soldiers in the ground than those of the West.

 

The Greatest Generation

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William R. Wilson (right) and brother Cpl. Jack Wilson (left) standing by a German 88 mm gun at Verdun, France on VE Day] via LOC

Update: above caption was from the LOC, as sharp-eyed Roger noted, its actually a “captured French Model 1930 AA gun on a 1917 wheeled mounting. The 3 rings on the barrel denote Allied aircraft shot down by this effective weapon.”

The Arsenal of Democracy

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AAVEDayIn honor of the 70th Anniversary of VE-Day today, there will be a 50-plane flyover of the Nation’s capitol by WWII-era military aircraft that range from B17s to P-40E War Hawks to TBF Avengers and C-53 transports.

The flyover – scheduled to begin at 12:10 p.m. ET – is open to anyone who can get to a viewing spot as the planes head down the Potomac River, turn inland at the Lincoln Memorial, and fly past the WWII Memorial (where 500 World War vets will be on hand), Washington Monument, White House and Jefferson Memorial. Planes will fly to the U.S. Capitol before heading back toward the river.

So if you are in DC today, look up at lunch time, it will be a sight you unlikely to ever see again.