SHOULD WE NOT REMEMBER, TOO, WHAT HAPPENED AT HIROSHIMA AND NAGASAKI?

                                                  

Cllr Hasthorpe - his speech will be short

IT is probable that  public recognition tomorrow  of the 75th anniversary of Victory over Japan (VJ Day) will be a low-key affair.

This is entirely appropriate.

A short ceremony will take place at 11am to mark the occasion  at the Remembrance Gate in Cleethorpes.

While VE Day (Victory in Europe) marked the end of the war in Europe in May 1945, thousands of Armed Forces personnel were still fighting in the Far East.

But why is the event called Victory over Japan Day? We do not call VE Day Victory over Germany Day.

To show respect to Japan and its people, surely VJ Day should be renamed VFE Day - Victory in the Far East?

Particularly give the uniquely awful circumstances, why seek to remind Japan, a proud nation, of its defeat fully 75 years ago?

Tomorrow, deputy mayor of the borough Cllr David Hasthorpe, with 'dignitaries' and veterans, will come together for a brief speech and a two-minute silence.

It is not known if any clergyman will be present. Or anyone from Japan.

Councillor Ron Shepherd, portfolio holder for safer and stronger communities, says: “It is right that we remember those who served in the Far East."

Alex Baxter, chief executive of the Armed Forces Major Events Team, adds: “On this anniversary, we wish to remember what we owe the veterans of the Far East campaign. 

"They brought an end to the Second World War."

The Grimsby News says: It is right - totally right - to remember our  fallen heroes, but has Mr Baxter forgotten what else happened in the Far East 75 years ago? Has he forgotten of the devastation and suffering brought about by the Allies' use of atomic weapons in Japan? That, surely, was what brought about the end of the war. Let him not forget, either, that  we are now longstanding friends and partners with Japan. We drive their cars and have their appliances in our homes. We can learn much from their civilisation - not least, how they venerate the elderly. We should reflect, too, on the ordeal of their 200,000 citizens, including totally innocent women and children, who perished at Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The  Armed Forces team in Cleethorpes stand ever ready to celebrate militarism with all that it entails. But when it comes to expressing words  of reconciliation and friendship to former enemies, nothing is ever spoken.