[Homer_J_Simpson]

Free Republic University, Department of History presents World War II Plus 70 Years: Seminar and Discussion Forum
First session: September 1, 2009. Last date to add: September 2, 2015.
Reading assignment: New York Times articles and the occasional radio broadcast delivered daily to students on the 70th anniversary of original publication date. (Previously posted articles can be found by searching on keyword “realtime” Or view Homer’s posting history .)
To add this class to or drop it from your schedule notify Admissions and Records (Attn: Homer_J_Simpson) by freepmail. Those on the Realtime +/- 70 Years ping list are automatically enrolled. Also visit our general discussion thread.

[Homer_J_Simpson]

Selections from West Point Atlas for the Second World War
The Far East and the Pacific, 1941: Areas under Allied and Japanese Control, 15 August 1945
The Western Pacific: Japanese Homeland Dispositions August 1945 and Allied Plans for the Invasion of Japan (Operation Downfall)

[Joe 6-pack]

Thanks again Homer, for your diligent posting of these articles. It has been amazing to follow these events in, “real time.” Your efforts are greatly appreciated.

[ArtDodger]

Thanks to Homer Simpson for a most enjoyable and informative series of posts. Well done!

[chajin]

Foreign Minister Shigemitsu had lost his right leg in 1932 when his delegation was watching a Japanese parade in Shanghai and a Korean threw a bomb at the delegation; this was why he hobbled, the perfect symbol of a hobbled Japan.

The man on the far right of the page 1 picture is Toshikazu Kase, Shigemitsu's assistant. Kase later would admit that he was moved by MacArthur's opening remarks, particularly the second found in the penultimate paragraph of the second column on #4, concerning "freedom, tolerance, and justice," and said that at that moment he thought to himself about what the Japanese would have said if the roles were reversed, and was grateful.

A good collection of surrender pictures are here, a newsreel of the surrender is here, and silent color film here.

[GeronL]

Stuff about Korea, India and “Palestine” in the news, but everyone is too busy celebrating the end of WW2 to notice.

[wagglebee]

As everyone else has said, I cannot thank you enough for the tremendous task you have undertaken these past six years. This has been such an informative lesson for so many of us.

[stoneyhll]

Homer, thank you for an enjoyable time. It renewed my interest in that time period when my father served and traveled the Burma Road to South China. I am in your debt and have lost part of my daily routine.

[exit82]

Homer, you, and we, made it to September 2, 1945.

You are to be commended for this six year long labor of love, which stands as a testament to those Americans that fought and won this war and the peace that followed.

Your documentation each day helped us to understand the complexities of world and military affairs, by those in the midst of struggles we only today know as “history”.

I know I have enjoyed this series. My sister was born in 1944, and on her birthday last year I sent to her the thread that showed what happened in the world on the day she was born. She was delighted!

I hope this series can now be entered into some kind of searchable database, as it is an important trove of historical importance that has not been done before.

Thank you again Homer for your faithfulness in this endeavor.

We are all the richer because of it.

[KC_Lion]

Thank You Homer, I am so Sad this project has reached it's inevitable end :'(

2009 seems so long ago.

The War must have felt like an eternity.

[montanajoe]

This has been a daily must read for the last six years whether first thing in the morning here or last thing in the evening while in SE Asia.

Bravo Sir Bravo!!!!!

[mowowie]

Amazing work Homer!
THANK YOU for all of these posts.
Stay well.

[HOYA97]

Thank you so much for your dedication and commitment to this project. I have learned so much and am so appreciative of your hard work. Thanks again!

[fso301]

I guess this must mean the fat lady sang but the Fat Man has to be given a lot of the credit.

[central_va]

Thanks again Homer.

[fso301]

I understand what Jack Churchill must have felt like when he lamented, "If it wasn't for those damn Yanks, we could have kept the war going another 10 years"

Now what will I do with my life?

[Poser]

Wow. It’s over..I will miss the daily posts. Thank you for your excellent work.