HCR158 - Commemorating the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.

  89R32831 EME-D     By: Lowe H.C.R. No. 158       CONCURRENT RESOLUTION          WHEREAS, September 2, 2025, will mark the 80th anniversary of   the end of World War II; and          WHEREAS, Although the Allies celebrated Victory in Europe Day   on May 8, 1945, war continued to rage in the Pacific Theater; Japan,   which had never surrendered to a foreign power, inflicted horrific   carnage during ferocious battles for Iwo Jima and Okinawa; and          WHEREAS, In the summer of 1945, U.S. President   Harry S. Truman met with British Prime Minister Winston Churchill   and Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin at the Potsdam Conference; their   discussions extended from the occupation of postwar Germany and the   future of Eastern Europe to the still-grinding war with Japan; and          WHEREAS, Following the fall of Okinawa in June 1945,   U.S. forces began to prepare for an invasion of Japan; however,   President Truman feared even heavier casualties than the U.S. had   suffered at Iwo Jima and Okinawa and decided to use the fearsome   weapon developed during a top-secret operation code-named the   Manhattan Project; and          WHEREAS, The United States dropped the first atomic bomb on   Hiroshima on August 5, 1945; it followed with a second over Nagasaki   two days later; finally acknowledging that defeat was inevitable,   the Japanese government agreed to unconditional surrender; Japan   issued a statement declaring its full assent to the terms of the   Potsdam Declaration; and          WHEREAS, On September 2, U.S. General Douglas MacArthur   accepted Japan's formal surrender aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo   Bay, and Victory over Japan Day, popularly known as V-J Day, was   officially celebrated across the United States; crowds rejoiced and   waved flags from New York City's Times Square to San Francisco and   Honolulu, as marching bands, parades, and confetti filled the   streets; and          WHEREAS, The conclusion of World War II brought peace and the   triumph of freedom over tyranny, and the anniversary of V-J Day   provides an opportunity to reflect on the patriotism and valor that   defined the Greatest Generation; now, therefore, be it          RESOLVED, That the 89th Legislature of the State of Texas   hereby commemorate the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.