King Charles has delivered an audio message to mark the 80th anniversary of Victory over Japan Day, also known as VJ Day. On 15th August 1945, the Empire of Japan surrendered in the Second World War, effectively bringing the war to an end. On the same day, King Charles’ grandfather King George VI delivered a radio broadcast declaring: “The war is over”. Report by Jonesia. Like us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/itn and follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/itn
00:00For the millions of families gathered around their wireless sets, and for their loved ones
00:13still serving far from home, it was the message a battle-weary world had long prayed for.
00:21The war is over, declared my grandfather, King George VI, in his address to the nation
00:28and Commonwealth, on VJ Day 80 years ago today.
00:34Four short words after six long years of bloodshed, fear and suffering.
00:42Seldom can a simple message have resonated with such a potent mix of relief, celebration
00:50and sorrow for those who never lived to see the glow of freedom's new dawn.
00:58On this day of profound remembrance, I speak to you in that same spirit of commemoration
01:07and celebration, as we honour anew all those whose service and sacrifice saw the forces
01:15of liberty prevail.
01:17While that final victory in the Pacific was achieved under the strategic command of our
01:25steadfast American allies, the war in Southeast Asia had reached its climax under the leadership
01:32of my great-uncle, Lord Mountbatten, from whom I learned so much about the particular horrors
01:40and heroism, witnessed in those furthest fields of combat.
01:47The forces aligned under him comprised over one million men and women, drawn from many different
01:55countries, religions and communities, but united by a common purpose and indomitable spirit.
02:05Twenty-nine Victoria Crosses bear eloquent testimony to their valour, but I know full well of
02:16the toll it took on so many, measured not only in gravestones, but in the mental and physical
02:24scars of those who survived.
02:27Despite the unyielding support of their devoted battlefield commander, General William Slim, the
02:35forces on the ground sometimes considered themselves the Forgotten Army.
02:40But as patron of the now Burma Star Memorial Fund, and having attended one of the great Burma
02:50Star reunions at the Albert Hall with Lord Mountbatten, when the hall was filled with thousands
02:58of be-meddled veterans, it has been my privilege to reassure the remaining veterans that they and
03:06their fallen comrades shall never be forgotten.
03:09Nor are they alone in our thoughts today, for high above those monsoon-lashed jungles, Allied pilots
03:19displayed their own fearless bravery, flying fighters, bombers and transport aircraft into enemy fire and
03:29nature's fury.
03:29We recall, too, the prisoners of war who endured years of brutal captivity, the starvation, disease
03:39and cruelty that tested the very limits of human endurance.
03:44Innocent civilian populations of occupied territories faced grievous hardships, too.
03:53Their experience reminds us that war's true cost extends beyond battlefields, touching every
04:00aspect of life, a tragedy all too vividly demonstrated by conflicts around the world today.
04:11On this landmark anniversary, we should also pause to acknowledge that in the war's final act, an immense
04:19price was paid by the citizens of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, a price we pray no nation need ever pay again.
04:30But in recalling so much suffering, we must not lose sight of how great was the cause and how sweet the victory.
04:41For those heroes of VJ Day gave us more than freedom.
04:46They left us the example of how it can and must be protected.
04:52Countries and communities that had never before fought together learned to coordinate their efforts across vast distances, faiths and cultural divides.
05:04Together they proved that in times of war and in times of peace, the greatest weapons of all are not the arms you bear, but the arms you link.
05:19That remains a vital lesson for our times.
05:23So, to the families of all those who served, and to that sadly dwindling band of veterans among us still, please know that the courage and camaraderie displayed in humanity's darkest hour is a flame that shall blaze for eternity.
05:44A beacon that honors our past and guides our future.
05:51Let us therefore pledge to be vigilant guardians of the values they bequeathed to us.
05:58And let us, above all, remember the epitaph in the Commonwealth Wargrave Cemetery on the battlefield of Kohima.
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