From: Ida To: Mrs. Dana Lawrence 1945
VJ Day 1945
Any good news of the boys since Aug. 14th?
Yesterday we drove thru (sic) Shenandoah Valley, Luray, New Market, Staunton to Natural Bridge — First holiday in 4 years except Xmas day — Return by way of Charlotteville tomorrow.
Love to all,
Ida
I’ve been waiting to post this card until September 2, which in 1945 was celebrated as “VJ” day, or “victory over Japan” day. I planned to do a post that discussed the complicated legacy of the United States’ victory over Japan which resulted in utter destruction and death in Nagasaki and Hiroshima. That message is still at the heart of this post. However, the research into this postcard took twists and turns that brought me to a second wife, a famous botanist, and even the illustrious RMS Queen Mary.
Therefore, this post will be part one of two. To honor those men and women who fought and died in World War II, as well as the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, I will discuss VJ day in today’s post. Tomorrow, I will discuss the strange and winding tale of the Lawrence clan.
September of 1945 finally brought an end to the brutality of World War II. The war remains the bloodiest conflict in human history, with the deaths of an estimated 15 million military personnel and 38 million civilians.
Although Hitler met his demise on April 30, and by May 8 of 1945, the war in Europe was over, the US and her allies were still fighting the war in the Pacific against Japan. That war continued through the Summer and in weighing the death estimates of a full land invasion, President Truman made the decision instead to drop two atomic bombs. The United States dropped “Little Boy” on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, and “Fat Man” on Nagasaki on August 9, 1945. These two bombs laid waste to the cities, and resulted in upwards of 200,000 deaths. More, if you count those who’ve died in the years since the bombings.
By August 15, Emperor Hirohito announced the unconditional surrender of Japan to the Allies. This agreement was formally signed on September 2, 1945 — hence the term “VJ Day.” This is likely the history you know, or at least partially know.
There are many conflicting opinions on whether or not the bombs should have been dropped. I, personally, am in the “should not have dropped it” camp. However, I am a cultural historian and I primarily studied the colonial United States. I can give you in depth information about the color “Haint Blue“, but if you ask me about military history I often come up short. All this to say, I’m not here to argue for or against one side. I think Truman’s decision was wrong, but I understand others may vehemently agree with me.
What’s clear is the atomic bombs not only quickly brought an end to the final stages of World War II, they also leapfrogged us into the nuclear age, cold war, and mutual assured destruction. History was forever and irrevocably changed in the few moments that it took to release those bombs on a civilian population. Humans of the world must live with those consequences, and we can’t ever go back.
The thing that strikes me about this postcard is the disconnect between Ida’s tone and the immense world changing events that are happening around her. Yes, she acknowledges that the war is over. Yes, she asks about the “boys” (at least one of whom was deployed and I will talk about tomorrow!), but then she goes straight into a discussion of her vacation. She even sends the postcard from the Natural Bridge landmark. It’s so scarily mundane.
I chose postcards for this little project specifically because they provide a small snippet of information about the life of a person. It’s like peeking into a half-lit window while you’re passing a house at 60 miles an hour. You get a small sense of their surroundings, but not intimate details. I understand that we can’t, and often don’t, get the true feelings or fears or hopes of the sender. However, it seems to me as though the atomic bombings loom much larger for us in 2024 than they did for Ida in 1945.
Instant access to news and information was not an option for Ida. Wartime propaganda and bias would have also influenced what she knew, how much she knew, and even what she thought. News of the bombings and the Manhattan Project was tightly controlled and in the aftermath of the bombings, 85% of Americans responded favorably and believed we should have dropped the bombs. They vividly remembered those lost in the storming of the Normandy beaches, and were glad the war would not claim any more American lives.
So the fact that Ida and her husband chose to take a vacation after 4 years of war was probably not that strange. They were celebrating victory, celebrating life, celebrating the end of the war and reveling in American patriotism. However, I can’t help but get the ick from it. I know this is because I have the benefit of history. But the dropping of the bombs was one thing I truly thought made the world stand still.
But it seems that some Americans went on vacation.
It’s a lot to think about, and I have to wonder what events will be momentous to our ancestors that aren’t truly hitting us yet. Or, perhaps it was too much for Ida to take in, or she felt powerless, so chose to spend time with those she loved? That, I can understand. So many things have happened in the last five years that made me feel powerless to the press of history. But, we keep living and doing what we can to maintain normalcy.
Maybe that’s all Ida wanted.
Stay tuned for part two!
Natural Bridge Virginia
Hipstory 