How do people feel about Rhode Island celebrating Victory Day?
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — Rhode Island celebrated its 76th annual Victory Day on Monday, honoring the end of World War II and the veterans who served in it.
It’s recognized on the second Monday of August every year and it’s a state holiday so some state, city and town offices are closed, but some Rhode Islanders may not know why they have the day off.
“We just looked that up, and I wasn’t entirely sure,” said one resident.
The holiday has sparked controversy and debate for years.
“Victory Day, I’m a little conflicted on,” resident Carissa Morales said. “I think it’s nice to celebrate the end of something so tragic and gross as WWII.”
One person visiting Providence from out of state said he just learned Rhode Island is the only place in the country that celebrates it.
“It’s something that we need to celebrate more in America,” said Peter Pery. “Need to treasure more, maybe build more monuments or spectacles about or celebrate kind of like we do on the Fourth of July.”
Hundreds of thousands of American soldiers died serving in WWII and in short, the holiday commemorates the anniversary of Japan’s surrender, ending WWII in 1945.
“But at the same time, the way it ended, Victory Day was sort of an applause like ‘Japan dropped out, hooray’ but the reason Japan dropped out was because we did such an awful thing to them too,” said Morales.
Some people told ABC 6 News on Monday that there should be more education on the day so people can understand why they have it off from work and reflect on an important moment in American history.
“A lot of people I know have artifacts or sand that their family has passed down through generations,” Pery said. “So it’s a lot of those things that need to be brought into a local shop or something that has national treasures that people can bring and donate so people can look at and study.”
State Rep. Jennifer Stewart has introduced legislation in the past to change the name from ‘Victory Day’ to ‘Peace and Remembrance Day’.
