What was the official V-J Day date in the United States in 1945?

The official V-J Day date in the United States in 1945 was September 2, 1945.

President Harry S. Truman connected the official American observance to the formal signing of Japan's surrender terms. That ceremony occurred aboard USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay on September 2, making the date the United States' official V-J Day.

The date can be confusing because Japan's surrender was announced earlier. Hirohito's radio broadcast aired in Japan on August 15 and in the United States on August 14 because of the international date line and time-zone differences. Newspapers and public celebrations therefore used both August 14 and August 15 in different places.

Other countries use different conventions. August 15 is the official V-J Day in the United Kingdom, while Australia commonly uses the term V-P Day, meaning Victory in the Pacific. These variations refer to related milestones: the public announcement, the effective end of fighting, and the formal signing of the surrender document.