May 8, 2024
79 years ago, today, the Germans surrendered to the Allies, ending World War 2 in Europe. As the veterans – called the ‘Greatest Generation’ – steadily succumb to the ravages of time, let’s not forget the sacrifice of those living and dead.
VE – Victory in Europe DAY. Under terms of the surrender by Germany, the order for “all German military, naval and air authorities and to all forces under German control to cease active operations” takes effect.
“The western world has been freed of the evil forces which for five years and longer have imprisoned the bodies and broken the lives of millions upon millions of freeborn men. They have violated their churches, destroyed their homes, corrupted their children and murdered their loved ones. Our armies of liberation have restored freedom to those suffering peoples, whose spirit and will the oppressor could never enslave.”
— President Harry S. Truman, V-E Day Proclamation, 8 May 1945