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King Charles has recorded a message to mark VJ Day (Image: PA)<\/p>\n
King Charles<\/a> will say \u201cforgotten\u201d VJ Day warriors showed the world how freedom \u201ccan and must be protected\u201d. The monarch will pay a deeply personal tribute to those who continued to serve as Europe celebrated the end of the Second World War.<\/p>\n In a stirring speech broadcast to mark exactly 80 years since the end of the conflict tomorrow morning, he will describe how heroes fighting in the Far East and Pacific \u201cgave us more than freedom; they left us the example of how it can and must be protected\u201d. On Victory over Japan Day, Charles, 76, will say triumph was made possible by close collaboration between nations, \u201cacross vast distances, faiths and cultural divides\u201d.<\/p>\n His message of hope on a landmark anniversary will end with a poignant message for the future, saying: \u201cIn times of war and in times of peace, the greatest weapons of all are not the arms you bear but the arms you link.\u201d<\/p>\n Read more:<\/strong> Kensington Palace releases new video of Princess Kate as she issues statement <\/a><\/p>\n Read more:<\/strong> King Charles prepares to give major statement within days <\/a><\/p>\n Later on Friday, he will be joined by the Queen at a Royal British Legion service of remembrance at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire where they will personally thank the last of the few.<\/p>\n There they will meet 33 VJ Day veterans, each aged between 96 and 105, who fought in what has become known as The Forgotten War. The guests of honour will be told their service and sacrifice will always be remembered.<\/p>\n Charles’s six-minute international radio broadcast bore striking similarities to the emotional words of his grandfather George VI who, exactly eight decades earlier, declared “the war is over”, adding: “From the bottom of my heart I thank my peoples for all they have done, not only for themselves but for mankind.”<\/p>\n In his address Charles, Colonel-in-Chief of the Parachute Regiment, will also reference the horrors experienced by prisoners of war and innocents in occupied territories whose suffering \u201creminds us that war’s true cost extends beyond battlefields, touching every aspect of life\u201d.<\/p>\n He is also expected to pay tribute to his beloved great-uncle Lord Mountbatten, the Supreme Allied Commander in South East Asia, who oversaw the recapture of Burma from the Japanese.<\/p>\n The King and Queen marked VE Day in May (Image: Getty)<\/p>\n Among the heroes he will personally thank on Friday are Donald \u201cBill\u201d Redston, 100, from Wolverhampton, saw action on D-Day before sailing 7,500 miles around India to fight the Japanese in Burma.<\/p>\n The former First Lieutenant, a great grandfather-of-six said: \u201cI had escaped death on D-Day and avoided being shot at by Japanese in the jungle, so it was a huge relief to be going home.\u201d<\/p>\n The warrior will join fellow sailor Albert Lamond, 99, from Renfrewshire, Scotland, who also served on D-Day before fighting in the Pacific in the lead up to VJ Day when Imperial Japan surrendered to the Allies.<\/p>\n He said: “Sometimes it feels like yesterday. I can still see it so clearly – from D-Day to the long months that followed in the Pacific in the run-up to VJ Day. Those memories never leave you.<\/p>\n \u201cAfter years of horror, that was it, the war was finally over. I remember feeling an enormous sense of relief, but also a deep sadness for those who didn’t make it home. We had seen the cost of war up close, the lives lost, the suffering endured, and I knew that for many families, the relief of peace was mixed with grief that would never fade.\u201d<\/p>\n Duchess Sophie met a 105-year-old veteran on Tuesday (Image: PA)<\/p>\n The Signalman, whose job was to evacuate prisoners of war he described as \u201cliving skeletons\u201d, said: \u201cYou never forget the war, never mind VJ Day, and you never forget the people you served with. The horrors should never be forgotten.”<\/p>\n Thousands who continued to fight long after Victory in Europe Day on May 8, 1945, lived for decades without what they felt was due recognition of their service or sacrifice.<\/p>\n For the relatives of those who perished, either fighting or as prisoners of war, the fanfare of VE Day has always overshadowed the \u201cForgotten War\u201d in the Far East.<\/p>\n They have campaigned for years for soldiers serving as part of what they call The Forgotten Army to be treated with the same respect as those who are revered for defeating the Nazis in Europe.<\/p>\n After VE Day the fight against the Japanese continued for three weary months with around 130,000 Allied soldiers enslaved in prisoner of war camps throughout the Far East.<\/p>\n The Japanese capitulation happened on August 15, 1945 – now known as VJ Day – with the official surrender signed by Foreign Minister Mamoru Shigemitsu and General Yoshijiro Umezu on September 2 on board the USS Missouri.<\/p>\n Stay up-to-date with the latest Royal news <\/strong> Join us on WhatsApp<\/a><\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/king-charles-news-6361276.jpg\" "\\"The")
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