{"id":1876,"date":"2020-05-08T09:45:00","date_gmt":"2020-05-08T13:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/azadkinsiii.com\/blog\/?p=1876"},"modified":"2021-03-03T10:29:26","modified_gmt":"2021-03-03T15:29:26","slug":"29-may-8-1945-75-years-ago-today","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/azadkinsiii.com\/blog\/29-may-8-1945-75-years-ago-today\/","title":{"rendered":"#29 \u2013 May 8, 1945: &#8220;Ours is a Quiet Celebration&#8221;"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Today is Friday, May 8, 2020. Normally, I post a &#8220;<strong>Navy Friday Funny<\/strong>&#8221; to help blast you into the weekend. But today, I&#8217;m changing things up. There&#8217;s a reason&#8230; stay with me here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Today is &#8220;VE-Day,&#8221; otherwise known as Victory in Europe. 75 years ago on May 7, 1945, Germany surrendered to the Allies, bringing an end to a devastating war. The next day, May 8, 1945, &#8220;Victory in Europe&#8221; was declared. There were celebrations all over Europe and the United States. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Celebrations <em>were <\/em>planned this year (2020) all over Europe to commemorate the end of World War II in Europe. But because of COVID-19, those celebrations have been postponed; understandably so. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I wanted to honor my dad and the courageous men who fought and also those who died during WWII. I can&#8217;t help but think about what my dad wrote in a letter to his parents on this day, 75 years ago. &#8220;<strong><em>Ours is a quiet celebration.<\/em><\/strong>&#8221; The letter (and the text) is included below. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So perhaps you can take a few moments to <em>quietly <\/em>celebrate this day, this &#8220;Victory in Europe&#8221; day, to honor your fathers, grandfathers, brothers, uncles, cousins, and family members who fought in World War II. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">From, \u201c<strong><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"http:\/\/www.azadkinsiii.com\/book_closer.html\" target=\"_blank\">You Can\u2019t Get Much Closer Than This: Combat with the 80th \u2018Blue Ridge\u2019 Division WWII-Europe<\/a><\/strong>,\u201d by A.Z. Adkins, Jr., and Andrew Z. Adkins, III. Published by Casemate Publishers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The following are my dad&#8217;s words&#8230;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignright size-large is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/azadkinsiii.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/1945-MAY-7-1400-Austria-Slingshot-and-I-read-Gen.-Eisenhowers-Peace-Proclamation.jpg?ssl=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/azadkinsiii.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/1945-MAY-7-1400-Austria-Slingshot-and-I-read-Gen.-Eisenhowers-Peace-Proclamation.jpg?resize=221%2C370&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1873\" width=\"221\" height=\"370\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/azadkinsiii.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/1945-MAY-7-1400-Austria-Slingshot-and-I-read-Gen.-Eisenhowers-Peace-Proclamation.jpg?w=573&amp;ssl=1 573w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/azadkinsiii.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/1945-MAY-7-1400-Austria-Slingshot-and-I-read-Gen.-Eisenhowers-Peace-Proclamation.jpg?resize=180%2C300&amp;ssl=1 180w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 221px) 100vw, 221px\" \/><\/a><figcaption>May 8, 1945 &#8211; Austria<br>Lt. A.Z. Adkins, Jr. &amp; Slingshot<br>reading Gen. Eisenhower&#8217;s Peace Proclamation<br><em>(Click to enlarge)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>During the middle of the morning on <strong>May 8<\/strong> we held up in a little country town in the vicinity of <strong>Spital, Austria<\/strong>, and got the men into billets. It was a beautiful day and the grass in my yard was green and soft. Slingshot (the company dog) and I were sitting under a tree and I was cleaning my rifle. Slingshot had oil all over him. I took my shoes off. It really felt good to wiggle my toes in the grass.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em><strong>Sergeant Albert Melcolm<\/strong> came out and said there was a conference called for all COs. He read a message to us and said that an order would be down in a few minutes. I prayed to God. I asked <strong>1st Sgt Ed Turner<\/strong> to assemble the company. When the men came in, I told them to sit down. Then I read General Eisenhower&#8217;s order announcing the end of the war.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Forces<br>Eisenhower\u2019s General Order<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\" type=\"1\"><li>A representative of the German High Command signed the unconditional surrender of all German land, sea, and air forces in Europe to the Allied Expeditionary Force, and simultaneously to the Soviet High Command at 0141 Hours, Central European Time, 7 May 1945, under which all forces will cease active operations at 0001 Hours, 9 May 1945.<\/li><li>Effective immediately all offensive operations by Allied Expeditionary Forces will cease and troops will remain in their present positions. Moves involved in occupational duties will continue. Due to the difficulties of communication there may be some delay in similar orders reaching the enemy troops, so full defensive precautions will be taken.<\/li><li>All informed, down to and including Divisions, Tactical Air Commands, and Group and Base Sections and Equivalent. No release will be made to the press pending an announcement by the heads of the three Governments.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><em>Eisenhower<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">No one said a word for several minutes, then one of my men got up and said, \u201cLieutenant, read us that again, please.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Letter from my dad, Lt. A.Z. Adkins, Jr. to his parents in Starke, Florida.<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-right wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Austria<br>8 May 1945<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Dearest Mom &amp; Dad,<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Shortly after I wrote to you day before yesterday I received the cease fire order. At that particular time I had my shoes &amp; shirt off &amp; was playing with a little dog on the grass of some Austrian\u2019s yard. My men were all in houses taking it easy. My battalion had momentarily stopped in a little mountain village. I told the first sergeant to assemble the company.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignleft size-large is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/azadkinsiii.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/May8_1945_letter_pg1.jpg?ssl=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/azadkinsiii.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/May8_1945_letter_pg1.jpg?resize=211%2C280&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1875\" width=\"211\" height=\"280\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/azadkinsiii.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/May8_1945_letter_pg1.jpg?w=723&amp;ssl=1 723w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/azadkinsiii.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/May8_1945_letter_pg1.jpg?resize=226%2C300&amp;ssl=1 226w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 211px) 100vw, 211px\" \/><\/a><figcaption>May 8, 1945 Letter from Lt. A.Z. Adkins, Jr. to his parents (pg 1)<br><em>(Click to enlarge)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignleft size-large is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/azadkinsiii.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/May8_1945_letter_pg2.jpg?ssl=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/azadkinsiii.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/May8_1945_letter_pg2.jpg?resize=211%2C280&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1878\" width=\"211\" height=\"280\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/azadkinsiii.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/May8_1945_letter_pg2.jpg?w=723&amp;ssl=1 723w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/azadkinsiii.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/May8_1945_letter_pg2.jpg?resize=226%2C300&amp;ssl=1 226w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 211px) 100vw, 211px\" \/><\/a><figcaption>May 8, 1945 Letter from Lt. A.Z. Adkins, Jr. to his parents (pg 2)<br><em>(Click to enlarge)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>As my men came marching up a big lump formed itself in my throat because many familiar faces were missing from the files of men who were to hear me read to them General Eisenhower\u2019s order that hostilities had ceased. I told my men to sit down &amp; take it easy &amp; that I had something to tell them.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Then I read to them General Eisenhower\u2019s order telling of the unconditional surrender. When I finished no one said a word. Finally, one man said, \u201cLieutenant, read that again please.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>The day that we had died &amp; bled for so long had finally arrived. No one knows what the word peace means except those who have been at war. As yet I feel no great emotional change. But gradually I am beginning to realize that there will be no more suffering &amp; no more dying &amp; the sensation is truly wonderful.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Tonight I am in another mountain village high in the Bavarian Alps. I have a radio &amp; can listen to the celebrations that the people in England &amp; America are having. Here, we are having a different type of celebration. Ours is a quiet celebration. We still have to maintain order, but we are so happy &amp; it\u2019s hard for us to realize this mess is over.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>I love you both dearly.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Devotedly,<br>Andy<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignleft size-large is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.azadkinsiii.com\/blog\/never-forget\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/azadkinsiii.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/NeverForgetCover-AZA-NEWLabel.jpg?resize=74%2C110&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"NEVER FORGET Book Cover with &quot;New&quot; Label\" class=\"wp-image-3452\" width=\"74\" height=\"110\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/azadkinsiii.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/NeverForgetCover-AZA-NEWLabel-scaled.jpg?resize=683%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 683w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/azadkinsiii.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/NeverForgetCover-AZA-NEWLabel-scaled.jpg?resize=200%2C300&amp;ssl=1 200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/azadkinsiii.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/NeverForgetCover-AZA-NEWLabel-scaled.jpg?resize=768%2C1152&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/azadkinsiii.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/NeverForgetCover-AZA-NEWLabel-scaled.jpg?resize=1024%2C1536&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/azadkinsiii.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/NeverForgetCover-AZA-NEWLabel-scaled.jpg?w=1707&amp;ssl=1 1707w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/azadkinsiii.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/NeverForgetCover-AZA-NEWLabel-scaled.jpg?w=1600&amp;ssl=1 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 74px) 100vw, 74px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-cyan-bluish-gray-background-color has-text-color has-background wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#000030\">Andy Adkins is a US Navy veteran (\u201973-77) and the author of several books. His newest novel, NEVER FORGET, is the story of A Vietnam Veteran\u2019s Journey for Redemption &amp; Forgiveness. NEVER FORGET is FREE (eBook, PDF) for all veterans. Download your <strong>FREE<\/strong> copy <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.azadkinsiii.com\/blog\/never-forget\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">HERE<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Today is Friday, May 8, 2020. Normally, I post a &#8220;Navy Friday Funny&#8221; to help blast you into the weekend. But today, I&#8217;m changing things up. There&#8217;s a reason&#8230; stay with me here. Today is &#8220;VE-Day,&#8221; otherwise known as Victory&#8230; <a href=\"https:\/\/azadkinsiii.com\/blog\/29-may-8-1945-75-years-ago-today\/\" class=\"readmore\">Read more<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">#29 \u2013 May 8, 1945: &#8220;Ours is a Quiet Celebration&#8221;<\/span><span class=\"fa fa-angle-double-right\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[60],"tags":[20,140,4,5],"class_list":["post-1876","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-army","tag-80th-infantry-division","tag-austria","tag-veteran","tag-wwii","content-layout-excerpt-thumb"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>#29 \u2013 May 8, 1945: &quot;Ours is a Quiet Celebration&quot; &#8212; A Veteran&#039;s Journey<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"75 years ago (today), May 8, 1945, is now known as VE Day (Victory in Europe). To the men who fought in WWII, it meant the beginning of the end of the war.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/azadkinsiii.com\/blog\/29-may-8-1945-75-years-ago-today\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"#29 \u2013 May 8, 1945: &quot;Ours is a Quiet Celebration&quot; &#8212; A Veteran&#039;s Journey\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"75 years ago (today), May 8, 1945, is now known as VE Day (Victory in Europe). To the men who fought in WWII, it meant the beginning of the end of the war.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/azadkinsiii.com\/blog\/29-may-8-1945-75-years-ago-today\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"A Veteran&#039;s Journey\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/andyadkinsiii\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/andyadkinsiii\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-05-08T13:45:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-03-03T15:29:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/azadkinsiii.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/1945-MAY-7-1400-Austria-Slingshot-and-I-read-Gen.-Eisenhowers-Peace-Proclamation.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Andy Adkins\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@azadkinsiii\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@azadkinsiii\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Andy Adkins\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/azadkinsiii.com\\\/blog\\\/29-may-8-1945-75-years-ago-today\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/azadkinsiii.com\\\/blog\\\/29-may-8-1945-75-years-ago-today\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Andy Adkins\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/azadkinsiii.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/3cbf38c3ae372859df51574b46563a4a\"},\"headline\":\"#29 \u2013 May 8, 1945: &#8220;Ours is a Quiet Celebration&#8221;\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-05-08T13:45:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-03-03T15:29:26+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/azadkinsiii.com\\\/blog\\\/29-may-8-1945-75-years-ago-today\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":970,\"commentCount\":2,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/azadkinsiii.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/3cbf38c3ae372859df51574b46563a4a\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/azadkinsiii.com\\\/blog\\\/29-may-8-1945-75-years-ago-today\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/azadkinsiii.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/05\\\/1945-MAY-7-1400-Austria-Slingshot-and-I-read-Gen.-Eisenhowers-Peace-Proclamation.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"80th Infantry Division\",\"Austria\",\"Veteran\",\"WWII\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Army\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/azadkinsiii.com\\\/blog\\\/29-may-8-1945-75-years-ago-today\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/azadkinsiii.com\\\/blog\\\/29-may-8-1945-75-years-ago-today\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/azadkinsiii.com\\\/blog\\\/29-may-8-1945-75-years-ago-today\\\/\",\"name\":\"#29 \u2013 May 8, 1945: \\\"Ours is a Quiet Celebration\\\" &#8212; A Veteran&#039;s Journey\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/azadkinsiii.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/azadkinsiii.com\\\/blog\\\/29-may-8-1945-75-years-ago-today\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/azadkinsiii.com\\\/blog\\\/29-may-8-1945-75-years-ago-today\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/azadkinsiii.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/05\\\/1945-MAY-7-1400-Austria-Slingshot-and-I-read-Gen.-Eisenhowers-Peace-Proclamation.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-05-08T13:45:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-03-03T15:29:26+00:00\",\"description\":\"75 years ago (today), May 8, 1945, is now known as VE Day (Victory in Europe). 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