V-J Day party starts early in St. Louis
ST. LOUIS • In August 1945, newspapers braced readers for an invasion of Japan. More than 19,000 Americans had died taking Iwo Jima and Okinawa in the run-up to the final event. Fear of ghastly death lists sobered the yearning for victory.
“U.S. Atomic Bomb Blasts Japan,” screamed the Post-Dispatch on Aug. 6, 1945, describing the mysterious flash over Hiroshima. Inside pages spilled forth details about the top-secret bomb project, including contributions of scientists at Washington University and Monsanto Co.
After the second A-bomb blast Aug. 9 over Nagasaki, the St. Louis Tavern Operators Association planned for the victory bash surely to come. “It will be no occasion for getting drunk,” warned its secretary, J. Miles Bench.
On Aug. 14, 1941, President Harry S Truman confirmed Japan’s surrender, ending World War II. Soldiers at Jefferson Barracks, who were restricted to the base until Truman’s announcement, delivered at 5 p.m. local time, rushed downtown. Celebrations were in full force: Office workers filled the air and streets with paperwork from their desks, teenagers snake-danced down Olive Street, adults banged on washboards, and servicemen found girls to kiss. (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
