Posted on 06/16/2009 9:32:54 PM PDT by skydancer506
On May 6, 1945, Edward Kennedy, chief of the Associated Press western front staff dispatched the scoop of a lifetime. At General Dwight Eisenhower's headquarters at Reims, France, General Gustaf Jodl, German army chief of staff, signed the terms of surrender at 7:41 p.m. central war time. The European Theater of World War II was officially over.
Less than 12 hours later, at 8:35 a.m. central war time on May 7, Kennedy's dispatch was released by the New York desk of the Associated Press, and the world went wild with joy.
The Minneapolis Morning Tribune ran the headline, "Announcement Due at 8 A.M.: Today Will Be VE-Day" in its May 8th edition, while it's cross-town rival, the St. Paul Pioneer Press ran with the headline, "City Set To Mark V-E Today." Hundreds of other newspapers, like the Rochester Post-Bulletin in Minnesota, ran with a simple headline declaring, "President Announces Victory."
President Harry Truman joined British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Russia's Marshal Josef Stalin in issuing a simultaneous joint proclamation of Germany's unconditional surrender.
After 16 years of depression and war, the announcement sparked celebrations worldwide including thousands gathering at Trafalgar Square in London and New York's Times Square. At the celebration in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, revelers were so excited that a riot broke out.
(Excerpt) Read more at minneapolis.afrc.af.mil ...
A riot broke out in Canada?A couple of pancake houses were looted.
It’s ALFRED Jodl.
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