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September 1, 2010

Portland to mark 65th anniversary of WWII's end

By David Hench dhench@mainetoday.com
Staff Writer

Portland ceremonies marking the 65th anniversary of the end of World War II are scheduled for Thursday at the USS Portland Memorial at Fort Allen Park on the Eastern Promenade.

The Harold T. Andrews American Legion Post No. 17 and Rep. Herb Adams, D-Portland, are hosting the event that will take place at 10:30 a.m.

Scheduled speakers include state Rep. Walter Wheeler of Kittery, a veteran of D-Day and the last World War II veteran to serve in the Maine Legislature, and U.S. Army veteran Espen Christensen, a veteran of the 82nd Airborne Division and the Battle of the Bulge, who was awarded the Cross of the French Legion of Honor.

The Portland event marks the 65th anniversary of the formal surrender of Japanese forces in ceremonies upon the battleship USS Missouri in Tokyo Harbor on Sept. 2, 1945, which officially ended more than five years of combat.

The USS Portland took the surrender of the Japanese military supply center at the Truk Islands on the same day as the formal Japanese surrender on the USS Missouri, Adams said.
 

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