Was it today? Or yesterday...
or was the date like the line from the fictious Col. Blake in the TV serier MASH; "I don't know what time it is in America. Is our today their yesterday" or is their today our yesterday? Or is everything here a week from tuesday there?"
That International Date Line can be a problem for celebration and recognizing "true dates". Especially when it comes to "historical accuracy" when recording the dates for text books and the young people who try and figure this stuff out by reading (fewer and fewer I regret to say)
Oddly enough, here in America the term VJ Day has been applied to both the day on which the initial announcement of Japan's surrender was made in the afternoon of Aug. 15th ,1945 Tokyo time (Aug.14th American), as well as the date the formal surrender ceremony was performed in Tokyo Bay on Sept. 2nd, 1945 Tokyo time (Sept. 1st American). So which would one mean?
The announced acceptance of the Potsdam Declaration in August when Americans danced in the streets, or September when Americans saw the ceremonies in the news reels later? And which date in each month?
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Happy Trails,
Clint.
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