65th Anniversary End of World War II

August 14, 1945

Victory in the Pacific

This weekend, ceremonies across the world are being held to commemorate the 65th Anniversary of the end of World War II.   On Aug. 14, Emperor Hirohito made an announcement over Japanese radio that the empire had accepted the terms of the Potsdam Declaration, effectively ending World War II.

This photo was taken at the National Liberation Museum outside Arnhem during our Tulip Time River Cruise (AMA Waterways).   This museum, close to Arnhem, Nijmegen, and the German border, is a place where you can experience history.

1941 - 1945 were dark years in the history of the world.  Sadly many young men and women were killed on foreign soil or even in their own homelands.   For those that survived, vivid pictures remained.   Many of the veterans would not even speak about the war.  My father was one that wouldn't talk about it.

That generation is slowly fading away, and with them the information about what they endured during the war years.    Museums are our only hope of keeping this memory alive, for despite it being a terrible memory, it is a part of our history.

A cruise to Europe is a fabulous opportunity to explore more about World War II.    We've written about some of our experiences in past columns.   It's back to school time now and many children will be studying history out of a book.   Why not bring that to life for them by planning a cruise to Europe?    Contact me for help planning a trip.

Sadly, there still are wars going on in our lives - I can only imagine the joy of August 14, 1945, as peace was declared.   Hopefully history will repeat itself in a positive way - by ending war.   

I won't try to report on all the 65th Anniversary celebrations here in this column.  If you are interested, do a search on the web for more articles commemorating this day in history.