An item from our branch President, Comrade Fred Rutledge.

Good Morning!

Today marks the 75th Anniversary of V-E Day. Sadly with the COVID-19 issue we have not been able to commemorate FORTRESS SAN FRANCISCO as planned. As you can see from the article below, the rest of the world is keeping it low-key too.

Below are a couple of commemorative posters. You may be able to catch the Queen’s speech at 1300hrs our time on the internet.

Remember and commemorate! Be safe too.

Regards,
Fred Rutledge

Click to enlarge

LONDON (AP) — Europe was marking the 75th anniversary of the surrender of Nazi Germany to Allied forces following six years of war in a low-key fashion Friday due to coronavirus lockdown restrictions across the continent.

The big celebrations planned have been either cancelled or scaled back dramatically and people across Europe have been asked to mark the moment in private.

There will be no mass gatherings, no hugging or kissing, but that day of liberation is being remembered from Belfast to Berlin. For the few surviving World War II veterans, many living in nursing homes under virus lockdowns, it’s a particularly difficult time.

The “Victory in Europe” speech by Britain’s wartime prime minister, Winston Churchill, was broadcast on television. Queen Elizabeth II, at 94 a World War II veteran herself, will speak to the nation at 9 p.m., (1300hrs here) the exact time that her father, King George VI, addressed Britons 75 years ago.