VE Day 70th Anniversary Celebration
Remembering Victory In Europe: An Evening of Reflection, Thanks and Fun
REIMS, FRANCE (May 7, 1945) – At 2:41 a.m., the German High Command, in the person of General Alfred Jodl, signs the unconditional surrender of all German forces, east and west. Fighting continues in the east for another day. On May 8, 1945, all fighting ceases on the European continent in the conflict today we call World War II. From that time forward, May 8, 1945 has been known as “Victory in Europe Day” or simply “VE Day.”
ROYAL OAK (May 8, 2015) – At 4:30 p.m., The Michigan WWII Legacy Memorial High Command welcomed the people of Michigan to Memorial Park at 13 Mile Road and Woodward Avenue to celebrate the 70th Anniversary of VE Day and pay their respects to the citizens from our state both on the war front and the home front who helped deliver freedom to the people of Europe and hasten the end to the largest conflict of the twentieth century.
The highlight of the event was a flyover of the Yankee Lady B-17 bomber from the Yankee Air Museum while students from Berkley High School, veterans, home front workers and other attendees held a massive America flag along with a large state of Michigan flag. WWII veteran Harold Lanning sang the national anthem as the flags were unfurled.
But that was just the beginning. We were thrilled to start the festivities with a surprise visit from Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson who addressed the crowd.
The excitement built through out the late afternoon and evening. Al Muskowitz, Board Member, The Michigan WWII Legacy Memorial hosted the program. Debi Hollis, President of The Michigan WWII Memorial painted a picture of the future memorial for the crowd and shared her personal perspective on what the memorial means. Russell Levine, Vice President of The Michigan WWII Memorial spoke about the historical meaning of VE Day. That address is available here. To cap off the speaking program, we were privileged to have Henri Nussbaum, member of French Forces of the Interior, F.F.I., part of the French Resistance, participant in victory parades in Paris regale us with his own first hand remembrance of the actual events in France 70 years ago today followed by an unforgettable rendition of La Marseillaise, the French national anthem.
Click here to see more pictures of the event.
We are grateful to WROK, Royal Oak’s Municipal Access Cable operation, for producing this special broadcast of the event.
We would also like to extend a special thanks to all who made this event possible. Click here to learn about the outstanding support we received.
In addition, the local media provided outstanding coverage of the event before and afterwards. Click here to see the coverage. So, thanks to all those outlets as well.
Click here to visit our Facebook page for more comments and pictures posted by those in attendance.
Click here to learn about taking a ride in the B-17 Yankee Lady.