Japan Surrenders! 70 Years Later Are the Wounds Healed?

(Newswire.net — August 14, 2015) Lyndhurst, NJ — Friday, August 14, marks the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II.

On August 14, 1945, Japan surrendered unconditionally to the Allies, thus ending the war.

For Americans, the day is remembered in a decidedly different way than in Japan. On U.S. soil, tributes are paid to those who lost their lives. In Japan, due to the time difference, the day is actually observed on August 15, and the country’s leaders have historically acknowledged and apologized for the country’s aggression during that bitter time.

While America and Japan may commemorate the day in decidedly different ways, it is without a doubt those who fought in the battled on both sides, are the ones who suffered tremendously.

“As 70 years pass by, everything will be gone. But what cannot disappear, is the hatred towards war,” those are the words spoken by 99-year-old Kaname Harada, a former Japanese fighter pilot.

In an interview with CNN, Harada reveals he and his fellow pilots paid the ultimate price in the brutal war – as Japan became more desperate, the pilots adapted “kamikaze” operations, known otherwise as suicide missions. These missions would see pilots fly their bomb-laden planes directly into Allied ships.

“Until the war, I had never experienced feelings of wanting to put an end to people I had nothing against,” Harada recalls with remorse. “They had families. They had children. They did not want to die. This is my most painful past.”

He adds: “There is nothing more miserable in this world than war. We should raise our voices to let the next generation become aware of this, and ask them to maintain peace. This is the least I can do to atone for the bad feelings I have.”

For American, Master Sgt. William (Bill) J. Stanley his remorse and the price he paid for his service, was an entirely different one.

Stanley is no longer with us to reveal the true extent of what he lost during his 17 years of military service – he died alone, in 1991 without a military funeral and without honors, no recognition whatsoever for his almost two decades of service to his country.

What Stanley lost, however, aside from the honors, was the most important of all — the love of his life, but not in the way you might imagine. He didn’t lose his beloved wife Dee to war, he lost her to a fellow member of service, albeit one with a famous last name – Vernon Presley, Elvis’ dad.

William’s tale is now only coming out, thanks to his son, David E. Stanley, who took his father’s memoirs and turned them into the already-buzzed tome, Restoring My Father’s Honor.

The book details how William and Vernon developed a friendship and the repercussions of which, would haunt William until his dying days: Vernon embarked on an affair with Dee in an act that can only be deemed as the ultimate betrayal.

And if the grief of losing your loved one wasn’t enough, William was derided as Vernon unleashed a flurry of untrue accusations and even William’s fellow soldiers believed what the Presley entourage span in their web of deceit.

Dee and Vernon went on to wed, with Dee taking the children, and at the end of his life, William could only think of a war he never had a chance of winning.

“My father faced a battle waged not with guns, tanks and military might; but with greed, power and money,” says David. “While greed, power and money are the general elements that motivate war, this was a fight over love, and one he could never win. My father died without the respect he deserved, so in writing this book and bringing his story to light, I hope he will rest in peace with dignity. That, at the very least, is what he deserves.”

While Elvis Presley’s funeral drew hundreds of thousands, only a few people visited William’s gravesite in the small suburb of Jacksonville, Florida. The contributions he made toward securing the freedoms of America have seemingly been forgotten.

Neither of these stories from different continents, unfortunately, had a happy ending. But the book may inspire others to cherish the most timeless things we have…family, honor and love.