--- description: Seventy years ago on August 15, 1945 the Japanese Emperor, Hirohito, announced his country's surrender to the Allies, effectively bringing the Second World War to an end. Because of the time difference, President Harry Truman announced the surrender on August 14, from Washington DC. Here are some of the men and women who took part in the war, pictured then, and now title: The 70th Anniversary of VJ Day: Survivors Then and Now image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta3aec7bf26d4e84c/69885eaa3c16390cf345934d/vj-day-2.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [History](/section/history/) ## History Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # The 70th Anniversary of VJ Day: Survivors Then and Now by [TIME Photo](/author/time-photo/) ## TIME Photo Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 11, 2015 12:47 PM CUT  WWII veteran Harold Robinson as a young Royal Marine and at his home, age 95, wearing his campaign medals and Royal Marine beret on Aug. 4, 2015 in Otley, England. WWII veteran Harold Robinson as a young Royal Marine and at his home, age 95, wearing his campaign medals and Royal Marine beret on Aug. 4, 2015 in Otley, England.Christopher Furlong—Getty Images by [TIME Photo](/author/time-photo/) ## TIME Photo Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 11, 2015 12:47 PM CUT  WWII veteran Harold Robinson as a young Royal Marine and at his home, age 95, wearing his campaign medals and Royal Marine beret on Aug. 4, 2015 in Otley, England. Christopher Furlong—Getty Images  WWII veteran Ken Watson in Japan when he was 20 and at his home, age 89, on Aug. 6, 2015 in Kingston Upon Thames, England. Christopher Furlong—Getty Images  WWII civilian internee Mildred Tunbridge photographed in the 1940's on her arrival in Britain and at her home, age 90, on Aug. 6, 2015 in London. Christopher Furlong—Getty Images  WWII veteran Jack Gordon as a young sailor during WWII and at his home, age 92, wearing his campaign medals and Burma Star beret on Aug. 3, 2015 in Ashton-in-Makerfield, England. Christopher Furlong—Getty Images  WWII bomber crewman Peter Andrews, aged 21, posing in 1944 and at his home in Kent age 90, on Aug. 7, 2015, in Tonbridge, England. Christopher Furlong—Getty Images  WWII veteran Bill Caster posing as a young RAF airman during WWII and at his home, age 93, wearing his campaign medals on Aug. 4, 2015 in Redcar, England. Christopher Furlong—Getty Images  WWII veteran Brian Carter standing on the bridge of his ship during WWII and at his home, age 90, on Aug. 5, 2015 in Huntingdon, England. Christopher Furlong—Getty Images  WWII wireless operator Marsali Wood photographed aged 18 when she joined the war effort in 1944 and at her home, age 89, on Aug. 7, 2015 in Codicote, England. Christopher Furlong—Getty Images ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3992266/the-70th-anniversary-of-vj-day-survivors-then-and-now/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3992266/the-70th-anniversary-of-vj-day-survivors-then-and-now/"},"headline":"The 70th Anniversary of VJ Day: Survivors Then and Now","datePublished":"2015-08-11T12:47:49.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:02:05.624Z","description":"Seventy years ago on August 15, 1945 the Japanese Emperor, Hirohito, announced his country's surrender to the Allies, effectively bringing the Second World War to an end. Because of the time difference, President Harry Truman announced the surrender on August 14, from Washington DC. Here are some of the men and women who took part in the war, pictured then, and now","url":"https://time.com/3992266/the-70th-anniversary-of-vj-day-survivors-then-and-now/","keywords":["History","war","england","World","photography","World War 2"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta3aec7bf26d4e84c/69885eaa3c16390cf345934d/vj-day-2.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Photo","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-photo/"}],"articleSection":"History","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta3aec7bf26d4e84c/69885eaa3c16390cf345934d/vj-day-2.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"VJ Day Portraits 2015","caption":"VJ Day Portraits 2015","creditText":"Christopher Furlong—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/history/","name":"History"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3992266/the-70th-anniversary-of-vj-day-survivors-then-and-now/","name":"The 70th Anniversary of VJ Day: Survivors Then and Now"}}]}] ```