V-E Day stands for Victory in Europe Day, and V-J Day stands for Victory over Japan Day. After the German surrender was signed in Reims, France (the headquarters of General Dwight D. Eisenhower [1890–1969]), in the wee hours of May 7, 1945, U.S. president Harry S. Truman (1884–1972) declared May 8 V-E Day—the end of the World War II fighting in Europe.

But it was not until the Japanese agreed to surrender on August 14, 1945, that World War II ended. September 2, 1945, was declared the official V-J Day since it was then that Japan signed the terms of surrender on the USS Missouri anchored in Tokyo Bay.