Aug, 16, 1945
V-J plus 1
Fletchie dear,
At last it came, the end of the Battle, and the beginning of Peace. The news broke here about 1:00 A.M. the morning of the 15th - 7 P.M. the 14th in N.Y.C. - 5:00, Denver. There were not many people still up, so yesterday and last night was VJ day here. Reports indicated that the celebrations were riotous. For us here, things were pretty quiet. Read in the afternoon, then in the evening we forgathered at the Club - a small group - where we had a drink or two or three, chatted and sang a little, and then to bed.
Somehow, VJ day filled me with a feeling of thanks and awe that shooting and maiming was over, rather than a desire to celebrate and have fun. It also makes me more than ever impatient to be home again.
One aspect of the VJ day business is that we'll have to start sweating out our boat ride. There will be immediate changes in redeployment; high point units previously classified four and planning to wait will probably get the nod before units being routed to the Pacific via the States. Whether we are far enough along to be sure of our trip we don't know. God forbid that we get hung up again! We think we are tentatively booked for the Tizzy, now en route here, and sailing again about the 26th - Let's hope we make it.
H