Victory in Pacific Day: PM reflects on Australia's WWII sacrifice
Japan unconditionally surrendered on August 15, 1945, the message making its way to Australia via the broadcast of a code word: Neon.
The Daily Telegraph reported 'Neon' was the perfect combination of a short word, few Morse code signals and easily understood.
After dispatching the message of Japan's surrender from London to Canberra, the paper reported, High Commissioner Stanley Bruce went out for a 'much-needed drink'.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Opposition Leader Sussan Ley attended the 80th Victory in the Pacific Day commemoration at Martin Place on Friday. Picture: NewsWire / Nikki Short
Mr Albanese, speaking at Sydney's Cenotaph, paid tribute to veterans and those who fell in conflict.
'Part of the debt that we owe to all who served our nation is to remind ourselves how close history came to taking a very different path, and to remember and honour every Australian – and every friend and every ally – who gave everything to ensure that it did not,' Mr Albanese said.
'We think of all the stories of courage. Of resilience and exhaustion, of fear and elation, and an endless longing for the home that so many never saw again.
'These are not stories rendered in bronze or marble, but written in flesh and blood.'
Anthony Albanese paid tribute to WWII veterans at the 80th Victory in the Pacific Day commemoration at Martin Place on Friday. Picture: NewsWire / Nikki Short
Mr Albanese added the 'nightmares made real' of the war was a weight, but that Australians stood against 'human beings in a grotesque perversion of humanity' lifted hearts.
'Amid the shadows of war, the power of their courage and the strength of their character is a light that is a beacon to us still.
'They showed us what it is to remain true to ourselves, no matter what.
'They showed us what it means to stand shoulder to shoulder with friends and allies. And together, they turned the tide.'
Shadow Minister for Defence, Angus Taylor said Victory in the Pacific showed Australia could play a role on the world stage. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman
'Fear was real'
The surrender of Japan came days after the US dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killing thousands.
News of the surrender, and the end of the war, came at 8.44am with then Prime Minister Ben Chifley starting a speech less than an hour later: 'Fellow citizens, the war is over.'
The formal surrender of Japan took place on 2 September.
Opposition defence spokesman Angus Taylor said victory in the Pacific showed Australia 'could play a pivotal role on the world stage'.
'In those early days of 1942, fear was real,' he said.
'A full-scale Japanese invasion was not just imagined, it was planned for. Australians dug trenches, volunteered for civil defence, and braced for the worst.
'But over the course of the war, our servicemen and women stood firm.
'Victory in the Pacific was not just a military triumph. It was a national achievement.
'It proved that even as a small nation, we could play a pivotal role on the world stage.
Australia did not choose this conflict.
'But when the threat came to our shores, we met it with determination and resolve. We stood with our allies, and we did so not out of obligation, but out of conviction.
'Today, we reflect on the legacy of those who served in the Pacific and recommit to the values they defended.'
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