Headlines in August 1945 declared end of World War II, and noted local sacrifice

This headline was gladly welcomed in the Albion Advertiser on August 16, 1945.

By Catherine Cooper, Orleans County Historian

“Illuminating Orleans” – Volume 6, No. 23

ALBION – President Truman officially announced Japan’s unconditional surrender to the Allied Forces at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, August 13, 1945.

The announcement of the ending of this war which had begun on December 7, 1941, when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, was a welcome one. In Albion, factory whistles and bells sounded out the celebration.

Events on the world stage invariably have a local impact.

In that same issue of the Albion Advertiser, an article titled “Medina Man Gives Life in Pacific War” told of the death of Sgt. Stanley W. Dunn, killed in action over the Ryukyus Islands in the Pacific on July 18, 1945. He had served as a top turret gunner on a B-25 with the 405th Bomber Squadron, Fifth Air Force.

The son of Mr. & Mrs. William Dunn of Fletcher Chapel Road in Shelby, Sgt. Dunn was awarded the Purple Heart Medal and the Distinguished Flying Cross. His monument is in the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines, the largest of the American overseas military cemeteries, it honors over 17,000 American servicemen

An unusual event, which occurred at the First Methodist Church in Medina on Sunday, August 12, just days before the announcement of the end of the war, was also reported in that issue of the Albion Advertiser. During a service which was being led by Rev. Webb Ayres, the congregation was startled by the sudden appearance of a white dove flying through the church. It perched on an organ pipe at the front of the church and later flew to another part of the church where it remained for the duration of the service. A white dove is generally recognized as the symbol of peace.