A resounding sigh of relief

By Joe Rigby

Special to Burleson-Crowley-Cleburne UpClose

VE Day (Victory in Europe), May 8, 1945, was long awaited and celebrated by a war-weary world, but a war still raged with the Japanese in the Pacific arena. Celebrating was muted by the reality of our fighting men dying still on the islands of the Pacific Ocean. The leaders of the United States were aware that the Japanese were determined to fight to the last man. An invasion of the Japanese mainland would entail the loss of a multitude of lives and a host of mutilations – both ours and theirs.

Then President Harry Truman made one of the most courageous decisions ever made by an American president – maybe the most courageous. He decided to sue a super secret weapon, the atomic bomb, with the hope it would bring an early end to the war with Japan. He knew an invasion of Japan’s mainland would be defended to the last man. A prolonged campaign would lead to an unacceptable number of American lives lost as well as Japan’s warriors and civilians.

On Aug. 6, the first bomb was dropped on Hiroshima with massive destruction and loss of life. Yet that was not enough to bring Japan to their knees. A second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki on Aug. 9. The devastation was as horrendous as that done at Hiroshima and finally convinced the enemy that all was lost. On Aug. 14, the Allies received a message from Japan accepting unconditional surrender.

A resounding sigh of relief circled the earth and unfettered celebrations began, worldwide.

My senior year at French High School in Beaumont was about to begin, and the sense of relief can be seen on the faces in the picture shown here. Two young men – me the tall one and Buddy Wilson, my best friend the other – without a care in the world now that the war was over. Well, that look might be partly due to the normal lack of concern present in youthful ignorance. Free of the angst experienced during the war – the worry facing us as 18-year-olds and the possibility of being drafted and shot at with real bullets. Buddy later joined the Marines, and I was drafted when I was 27 with a wife and two kids (but that’s another story). Both our tours of duty were in peacetime and neither of us was shot at nor did we shoot at anyone.

My memory of celebrating remains vividly stamped in my mind. Buddy and I went downtown to join in the celebration. Unparalleled elation was vented by multitudes, beginning before sundown and reaching a crescendo during early night.

The scene was unbelievable. The streets were a mass of traffic jams, but who cared? Convertibles crept by filled with screaming girls and shrill whistling. We screamed back at them. The pent-up agony of wartime worry, uncertainty and anticipated grief were released in shared jubilation. Laughter and vigorous back slapping with hugs all around were observed everywhere.

Bands were on almost every corner – Army band at one location, Navy band at another and a Marine band at yet another spot. A Salvation Army band joined in, but with more somber praise and prayerful sounds than the blaring marches of the others. All blended well as a thankful nation continued to noisily release its joy. No one was making a speech. That would follow at more formal gatherings.

When school began, male teachers – some with medals for bravery– returned to the classrooms, freeing some of the women to return to their prewar duties along with Rosie the Riveter, WACS, WAVES and WAFS. However, the face of the workforce in America would never be the same as it was before the war. The nation had discovered that women can function in jobs other than motherhood, and function well.

School began and we enjoyed the football season, the basketball season, struggled with our schoolwork as usual and continued our weekly dates with our "steadies." The return of real ice cream to the soda fountains and ice cream parlors was a welcome reality.

Some things did not return to normal as we expected. New tires were not readily available, and it was a while before new cars began to roll off the assembly line.

Prosperity was fueled by the demands of newlyweds needing homes and the baby boom occurred.

As graduation approached, I began to worry about college and having to compete with returning veterans with four or five years of maturity under difficult conditions and the financial aid of the GI Bill. It was wasted effort because the war, as horrible as it was, opened up avenues for me which would never have been had the war not been. That will be explored in another article.

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