We Will Remember Them: VJ Day at Holy Trinity Church, Penn
While VE Day—Victory in Europe—is widely commemorated as the moment Nazi tyranny was defeated, VJ Day, which falls on August 15, marks the true end of the Second World War. It was on this day in 1945 that Japan surrendered, bringing six years of global conflict to a close. Yet, this pivotal moment in history is often overshadowed in Western narratives by the European theatre.
The Pacific war saw immense suffering—millions of lives lost, including many from Asia and the Allied forces. The atomic bombings, the brutal fighting in places like Burma, and the long imprisonment of servicemen in harrowing conditions all left deep wounds. The cost was staggering, and for too many, the war did not truly end until that August day.
That is why it is especially important that at 12 noon on Thursday, 15 August, at Holy
Trinity Church, Penn, we will gather for a service which shall start with an Act of Remembrance to mark VJ Day, to which all are welcome.
In small villages like ours, remembrance is deeply personal. Every name on the memorial is part of someone’s family history—someone’s neighbour, someone’s friend. During the war, fathers, sons, and brothers were lost in battles far from home. Families endured years of grief, rationing, and worry. When peace finally came, it did so at a cost we must not forget.
We will remember particularly those from Penn and Tylers Green, who served and died in the Far East campaign:
• Leonard Bone, Royal Navy
• Lewis Galsworthy, Royal Army Service Corps
• Ronald Keen, Royal Army Service Corps
By gathering on this date, we keep the memory of VJ Day alive—not as distant history, but as shared experience. We honour the resilience of those who came before us, and we pass on to future generations the lesson that peace is precious and never guaranteed.
In the quiet stillness of the village at noon, we will remember and recommit to a future where such sacrifice is never again required.
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