John Franklin Sprague Post 6796 of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States pays honor tonight at 6:00 p.m. to America’s Greatest Generation of veterans as we mark the 79th anniversary of V-J Day, Victory over Japan Day, when Japan formally surrendered and officially ended World War II.

On Sept. 2, 1945, Gen. Douglas MacArthur, along with the Japanese foreign minister, Mamoru Shigemitsu, and the chief of staff of the Japanese Army, Yoshijiro Umezu, signed the official Japanese surrender aboard the USS Missouri.

VJ Day is in remembrance of the more than 400,000 Americans and 60 million people killed worldwide during the deadliest military conflict in human history. We thank the more than 16.1 million American service members who answered the call to protect freedom and democracy. Our nation will be forever grateful for their honor and sacrifice.

Tags: VPR, VJ Day, Remembrance