Victory celebrations, Times Square, August 15, 1945. Department of Sanitation Collection, NYC Municipal Archives.
When Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia received word of the Japanese surrender late in the day on Tuesday, August 14, 1945, he rushed home to Gracie Mansion where he delivered a fifteen-minute broadcast on WNYC. Anticipating the end-of-war news, WNYC equipment had been installed at the Mayor’s residence the preceding Friday.
According to the report in the next day’s Herald Tribune, LaGuardia, “his voice hesitant and choked with emotion,” said that the “Japanese capitulation had thrust upon the United States the greatest responsibility that has ever come to any people.”
The Mayor’s clerical staff pasted the Tribune news story, along with several others into a scrapbook. Preserved in the Municipal Archives, the news clipping scrapbooks have served as an important research resource for topics in mayoral administrations from Mitchel to Koch.
Mayor LaGuardia scrapbook 282, p. 24. NYC Municipal Archives.
Mayor LaGuardia’s scrapbook also includes the complete text of his “Victory Day Proclamation” printed by The New York Times on August 15, 1945. “Whereas the President of the United States has announced the cessation of hostilities in the Pacific, … and whereas the World War which was thrust upon us by the attack on Pearl Harbor Dec. 7, 1941, … has now completely ended… Now, therefore, I, Mayor of the City of New York, do hereby declare and proclaim Aug. 15 as Victory Day, and order all departments of the city government except services necessary for the protection of life, health and property, and the care of the sick and infirm to be closed on said day, and on Aug. 16, and to call upon all public places, stores and offices to display the national colors, and call on all citizens to repair to their respective places of worship and there give thanks to Almighty God for his divine guidance, and for his will that such complete victory has come to the forces of democracy in this world.”
Mayor LaGuardia scrapbook 282, p. 23. NYC Municipal Archives.
“Celebrate and be happy,” the Mayor told his fellow-citizens, the New York Times noted in their report of the day’s events. And celebrate they did. The Archives collection of photographs from the Department of Sanitation provides engaging illustrations of the revelry. Or, more precisely, its aftermath. As these examples attest, the Sanitation photographer captured jubilant scenes in Times Square and mid-town, and the equally dramatic clean-up work.
Victory celebrations, Times Square, August 15, 1945. Department of Sanitation Collection, NYC Municipal Archives.
Other clippings in the Mayor’s scrapbook add details to the Victory Day story. Perhaps Victory Days would be a better description. On Thursday, August 16, the Times reported, “New York gave an encore last night of the delirious performance it staged Tuesday night.” The article continued, “Following the now familiar pattern Times Square again was the heart of the celebration.... police estimated 100,000 persons... the merrymakers tooted horns, service men exacted kisses from strolling girls as tribute for their part in the victory, the inevitable showers of confetti and streamers fell in abundance... those celebrating on the streets were noisy but for the most part orderly.”
Seeking other references to Victory Day in New York City brings researchers to Mayor LaGuardia’s Sunday radio broadcasts on WNYC. Typed transcripts of the programs can be found in the Mayor LaGuardia subject files preserved in the Archives. On Sunday, August 12, 1945, two days before his victory proclamation, LaGuardia began his remarks by saying “We all had to exercise patience this morning. I had so hoped that by this time the last word in the Pacific would have been received.” He continued on about the war, and then announced, “This war is going to end with the new bomb.” He then launched into a lengthy discussion about the “new,” i.e. atomic, bomb.
Victory celebrations, Times Square, August 15, 1945. Department of Sanitation Collection, NYC Municipal Archives.
In typical fashion his speech covered wide-ranging topics such as gambling, poultry, rabies, and the new East River Cooperative housing development. He warned listeners about a “scam” in Times Square where photographers preyed on tourists, servicemen and women in particular, taking their picture for a dollar and promising to mail the print. And of course, according to the Mayor, the print never materialized.
Victory celebrations, Times Square, August 15, 1945. Department of Sanitation Collection, NYC Municipal Archives.
The radio broadcast transcripts have served researchers in the Archives for years. What may be less well known, are the supporting “correspondence” files the Mayor and his staff assembled for each broadcast. On August 12, when LaGuardia spoke about the “new” bomb he went on to say, “It is not the first time that a new weapon has won a war in a short time.” The Mayor told the story of a war between Prussia and Austria, and “certain minor German states” in 1866. Turning to the “correspondence” file for the August 12 broadcast, researchers will find detailed notes and sources to support everything in his talk. For the section on the 1866 war, the Mayor’s staff reached out to the Municipal Library. The file contains a detailed two-page, typed summary of the war prepared by a librarian.
The following Sunday broadcast, on August 19, the Mayor began his talk with a prayer of peace. He then said, “This is the first Sunday that I broadcast to you in peacetime. My first broadcast I shall never forget. It was on December 7th – Pearl Harbor Day. Yes, we were unprepared. It was around five or six o’clock in the afternoon. I have been talking to you every week ever since.”
Victory celebrations, Times Square, August 15, 1945. Department of Sanitation Collection, NYC Municipal Archives.
His talk continued in a very personal fashion. “I think we have come to know each other better, and you know, it is nice to visit with you every Sunday. But now that the War is over, as I said the other day, we cannot afford to relax or to be idle any more. We must get back to work. There has been a load lifted, the strain is over. I know how you feel. I know all of a sudden I feel tired – so tired.” But he rallied and moved on to talk about the future, describing all the work that needs to be done. Finally, he concluded: “Now, please remember, a great responsibility has come to us. We now have the leadership of the world, and that is a great responsibility. And here in New York City, the biggest City in the world, we have the leadership of the entire country. We worked so well together during the war and we must continue to do so now with the problems ahead of us. And remember, it will still require a great deal of Patience and Fortitude.”
Victory celebrations, Times Square, August 15, 1945. Department of Sanitation Collection, NYC Municipal Archives.
Victory celebrations, Times Square, August 15, 1945. Department of Sanitation Collection, NYC Municipal Archives.
Victory celebrations, Times Square, August 15, 1945. Department of Sanitation Collection, NYC Municipal Archives.
With thanks to WNYC Archivist (retired) Andy Lanset. For more on WNYC’s reporting from that day, https://www.wnyc.org/story/v-j-day-wnyc-behind-scenes-look/
