August 15th commemorates the day that news broke that Imperial Japan would surrender, thus ending the gruelling and devastating world war. The actual peace treaty (named the Japanese Instrument of Surrender) was signed on September 2nd of 1945, thus beginning the celebration of V-J Day. The war began in 1939, and the United States joined in 1941 after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Victory over Japan was announced on August 14th of 1945, August 15th in Europe.

National V-J Day (Victory over Japan Day) is celebrated on September 2nd of every year.

The formal signing of the Japanese Instrument of Surrender took place on board the battleship USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay. President Truman then declared September 2nd to be the official V-J Day. However, over the years, many citizens of the United States began to celebrate August 14 as V-J Day, the day on which the surrender was originally announced.