75 years ago, Americans and the Allied forces around the globe cheered, cried, and danced with relief to celebrate the surrender of Japan and the end of World War II, the most devastating conflict in human history. But as this special edition from LIFE demonstrates in vivid detail, the road to Allied victory in the Pacific and the subsequent end to the war was tortuous and fraught with uncertainty: from the crushing blow of Pearl Harbor, through savage bloodbaths at sea and on teeming jungle islands, and culminating with an apocalyptic weapon that still casts a shadow over humanity. Told through the vivid photography that defines LIFE and accompanying text, LIFE The Road to VJ Day reminds readers of the sacrifices made decades ago, and how they still resonate today.
VJ Day: Relief, Rejoicing, and a Reckoning • World War II came to an end 75 years ago, yet the outcome, and the crucial battles waged on the islands of the Pacific, still resonate
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Dawn of the Empire of the Rising Sun: 1937-1941 • JAPAN SOUGHT CONTROL OVER BOTH EASTERN ASIA AND A VAST STRETCH OF THE PACIFIC OCEAN AND BELIEVED IT NEEDED TO CRIPPLE THE UNITED STATES NAVY AT PEARL HARBOR TO PREVENT AMERICA’S INTERVENTION
Conquering Islands to Turn the Tide: 1942-1943 • AFTER JAPAN CAPTURED A SPRAWLING AREA, AMERICA AND ITS ALLIES MADE A SLOW ADVANCE, BATTLING FORCES ON SUCH ISLANDS AS GUADALCANAL, NEW GUINEA, AND TARAWA
Casablanca East • At her Manila nightclub, Claire Phillips charmed intel out of Japanese officers and smuggled it to American and Filipino guerillas in the jungle
I Shall Die for the Emperor: 1944 • TO TAKE THE PACIFIC, U.S. FORCES STORMED REMOTE ISLANDS TRANSFORMED BY THE JAPANESE MILITARY INTO FORTRESSES WHERE TROOPS FORCED LOCALS TO CHOOSE SUICIDE OVER SURRENDER AND COMMANDERS DISPATCHED KAMIKAZE PILOTS WHO SLAMMED THEIR PLANES INTO ALLIED SHIPS
War Seen Through His Lens • LIFE photographer Carl Mydans endured imprisonment at the hands of the Japanese, and following his release he captured some of the war’s most iconic images
The American Road to Victory: 1945 • WITH MUCH OF JAPAN SMOLDERING, THE UNITED STATES PREPARED FOR AN INVASION OF JAPAN, AND FINALLY ENDED THE WAR BY UNLEASHING THE NEW AND DEVASTATING ATOMIC BOMB
The Birthplace of the Bomb • The top-secret development of the atomic weapon in the mesas of New Mexico was hidden in plain sight
The Road to Peace and Reconciliation • In the years after World War II, Japan slowly recovered from its defeat and became an ally of the United States. Yet memories of nearly four years of battle still haunt many Americans who fought there and have since tried to make peace with their experiences
Honoring the Heroes
