To commemorate the 78^th anniversary of the end of WWII on Aug. 15, 1945, I’m publishing my book, “The Zigzag Road” the same day. Weaving historical events from the time of the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the “Second Pearl Harbor” in the Philippines, “The Zigzag Road” chronicles my father’s journey on foot from Baguio through the treacherous Zigzag Road of the Mountain Province to the war-stricken city of Manila and on to reach home in Batangas while trying to avoid the Japanese who were landing everywhere. It is a memoir of a member of the Greatest Generation during WWII that reads like historical fiction.

Finally, on August 14, it was announced that Emperor Hirohito would surrender under Allied terms. The Japanese Supreme War Council decided that the time had come to surrender. The Emperor’s radio broadcast did not take place till the following day. Fanatics still resisted and were now retreating to the mountains.

Great rejoicing could be heard everywhere. The American soldiers were now marching openly on the streets. However, folks everywhere were not optimistic that the Japanese would ever surrender.

The next day, August 15, 1945, the Japanese Emperor accepted the demands of the Allies, and for the first time, the emperor himself went on the radio and announced to his people that the war was over. The Japanese government formally signed the articles of surrender two weeks later, on Sept. 2, 1945, on the American battleship USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay. Afterward, by order of Emperor Hirohito, 6,983,000 Japanese soldiers laid down their arms peacefully. Only the emperor, whom the military considered a god, could have received obeisance to such an order.

The whole country was euphoric, and there were festivities everywhere. Everybody was cheering for the GIs. People were singing and dancing on the streets that the Second World War was over.

“The Zigzag Road” is now available at Amazon  and other bookstores.