THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, August 13, 1995 TAG: 9508130633
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: By PATRICK K. LACKEY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PORTSMOUTH LENGTH: Medium: 57 lines
The first V-J Day celebration was boisterous and loud, with ferry horns blasting and fire sirens wailing. In contrast, the encore celebration at Veterans Riverfront Park last night was calm and quiet - but still fun.
Although the few hundred celebrants were 50 years older, their memories of the relief and joy they felt when Japan surrendered remained strong.
``That was the happiest day of my life,'' recalled Beverly Henkel, 75, of Portsmouth, as she listened to The Red Coats play 1940s hits. ``I was in Portsmouth,'' she said, ``living letter to letter.''
Her husband, Jim, wrote every day, but sometimes the mail arrived in bunches a month late. He was overseas in the Army Air Force, awaiting assignment to Japan, when victory over Japan was announced. Jim's life was saved, she felt, and soon her life would return to normal.
There was a celebration dance on V-J Day and another one Saturday night in the park.
The Red Coats' drummer, Donald Ogdon, 72, of Norfolk, was a B-29 radar bombardier in Guam, who figured to be part of the attack on Japan. He remembered thinking, upon hearing Japan was surrendering: ``Thank God, I'll be going home.''
To take the celebrators back in time, three couples from the Tidewater Chapter of the U.S. Amateur Ballroom Dancers Association jitter-bugged to old big band tunes.
There was a 42-foot model of the 680-foot battleship Alabama, which was built in Portsmouth and served ably in the war.
``I never think of this as an antique,'' said John R. Thompson, 75, of Chesapeake, pointing to the 1941 Special Deluxe Chevrolet coupe. A pilot, he was on orders to fly to Japan when the war ended. ``If they hadn't dropped the bombs,'' he said, ``I'd have gone over there.''
As part of the encore celebration, all Portsmouth churches have been asked to ring their bells for 5 minutes beginning at 9:15 a.m. today.
The celebration will conclude at 4 p.m. as the United States Army Continental Jazz Ensemble performs at the waterfront. ILLUSTRATION: Photos
VICKI CRONIS/Staff
Merritt Horne, from Norfolk, was one of several hundred people at
Veterans Riverfront Park Saturday night. Here he looks over the
various military vehicles that were on display during Ports-
mouth's 50th anniversary of the V-J Day cele- bration.
Lindsay Boone, in a WWII Army uniform, smokes a pipe that is a
carved replica of himself wearing a helmet. Boone was there
displaying his 1943 jeep.
by CNB