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August 14, 1945

FLASH!

WAR IS OVER!

Japan has accepted all the terms of surrender. Now the announcement is official.

Rejoicing all around. Everybody believes that we will soon be out. I was asking myself however, “What will be the next step with reference to us?” I asked myself this question since in recent years, especially during the last months, we have experienced so many disappointments that I always fear that another one is forthcoming.

When the news came, I was out of the quarters attending the Tagalog class of Alvero. He had been giving very interesting lectures on the wealth and potentiality of the Tagalog language. I regret that the lecturers will have to be discontinued. But we are more interested in our liberation than anything else.

When the Potsdam ultimatum was issued and Russia entered the war and the atom bomb was first dropped, I predicted that the war would end in a week. The prediction of Paredes was more specific. He said it will come on August the 13th. I was right and he was right for the 14th here corresponds to the 13th in Washington as we are about one day ahead. Paredes and I both predict we will be out of here before the end of the month. Jokes were traded in connection with this glad news. To the radio report, De la Rama and Paredes added that those connected with the Japanese propaganda corps and the spokesman of the Republic would have to be deported and detained in Guam for a year. The two Luz brothers come under this and they were worried for a while. Later they discovered that it was all a joke.