PRINTER'S NO. 3691
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE RESOLUTION
No.
857
Session of
2020
INTRODUCED BY GILLEN, HILL-EVANS, PICKETT, COX, DRISCOLL,
STAATS, ROZZI, SCHMITT, MILLARD, YOUNGBLOOD, RYAN, BOBACK,
MACKENZIE, MERSKI, LONGIETTI, BROWN, JAMES, SCHLEGEL CULVER,
GAINEY, JOZWIAK, NEILSON, DONATUCCI, CIRESI, SAYLOR,
MALAGARI, READSHAW AND SCHWEYER, APRIL 30, 2020
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON VETERANS AFFAIRS AND EMERGENCY
PREPAREDNESS, APRIL 30, 2020
A RESOLUTION
Commemorating September 2, 2020, as "V-J Day" in Pennsylvania.
WHEREAS, September 2, 2020, marks the 75th anniversary of the
signing of the Japanese Instrument of Surrender aboard the
battleship USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay, ending World War II; and
WHEREAS, On August 15, 1945, Japanese Emperor Hirohito urged
his people to accept the terms of surrender set by the Potsdam
Declaration; and
WHEREAS, On September 2, 1945, the Japanese foreign minister,
Mamoru Shigemitsu, and the chief of staff of the Japanese army,
Yoshijiro Umezu, signed the Instrument of Surrender; and
WHEREAS, General Douglas MacArthur, Commander in the
Southwest Pacific and the Supreme Commander for the Allied
Powers, accepted the Japanese surrender on behalf of the Allied
Powers; and
WHEREAS, The following representatives were present for the
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Allied Powers: Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz for the United
States of America, General Hsu Yung-chang for China, Admiral Sir
Bruce Fraser for the United Kingdom, Lieutenant General Kuzma
Derevyanko for the Soviet Union, General Sir Thomas Blamey and
Colonel Lawrence Moore Cosgrave for Canada, General de Corps
d'Armee Philippe Leclerc de Hauteclocque for France, Lieutenant
Admiral C.E.L. Helfrich for the Netherlands and Air Vice Marshal
Leonard M. Isitt for New Zealand; and
WHEREAS, President Harry S. Truman received the Instrument of
Surrender on September 7, 1945; therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives commemorate
September 2, 2020, as "V-J Day" in Pennsylvania; and be it
further
RESOLVED, That local governments and communities throughout
this Commonwealth are encouraged to conduct appropriate "V-J
Day" observances to ensure that the many who sacrificed for that
day are not forgotten.
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