Celebrating VJ Day With Western Slope Honor Flight

August 14 and 15 mark the days we celebrate VJ Day, and the end of World War II. Take a look back Western Colorado World War II vets with images from three of the five flights to Washington DC with Western Slope Honor Flight.

Why the two days? Depending on where you were on the planet, the announcement of the end of the war came down on the August 14 or 15.

There is also the matter of September 2. While August 14 marks Japan's surrender, and the 15th in the anniversary of the announcement to the world, the formal surrender took place on the second day of September.

Why is referred to as VJ Day? For those of us in the 40+ crowd, V-J's (or VeeJays) were the designation given to "disc jockeys" who work in the budding music video industry in the early 1980's. V-J's were "video jockeys," while the radio crowd remained DJ's. When it comes to this holiday, V-J  stands for "Victory over Japan."

The video above includes photos from the first, third, and fifth Honor Flight to set out from Grand Junction.