Japan’s formal World War II surrender in the Pacific War will be remembered in a special event at Footscray RSL sub-branch next Tuesday.
On September 9, 1945, the Japanese forces formally surrendered to Australia’s highest-ranking commander, General Thomas Blamey, on the island of Morotai in northern Indonesia.
To mark the 69th anniversary of the occasion, Footscray RSL sub-branch will hold an afternoon event from 1.45pm called “We Must Be Friends”.
Organiser Geoff Fox said Morotai artworks would be displayed and a panel would discuss the theme “Wartime experiences – what do they mean to us now?”
Speakers will include adjunct professor Mark Williams of RMIT and Dr John Green.
“The freedoms we enjoy in Australia today were secured in the war that ended in 1945,” Mr Fox said.
“In order to maintain our freedoms now, we must never stop talking with each other and our neighbours about how to maintain that liberty. And that means we must stay friends with Indonesia.”
Footscray RSL sub-branch is at 48 Geelong Road, Footscray.
