Ulster Unionist Leader, Steve Aiken OBE MLA, remembers those who gave their lives in the Second World War on the eve of the 75th anniversary of Victory over Japan Day, which marked the end of all hostilities.
Mr Aiken said:
“On Saturday I will be joining with my good friend, the Mayor of Antrim & Newtownabbey Jim Montgomery, to commemorate VJ Day. The war in the Far East is perhaps less remembered today, but was as brutal and as fiercely fought as that against fascism in Europe. The levels of inhumanity and the atrocious treatment of civilians and prisoners of war still resonate to this day.
“For many in Northern Ireland this anniversary is particularly poignant, remembering relatives who were prisoners on the infamous Burma railroad, those who fought with the Chindits, many who fought with the Royal Artillery in Burma and those who served at sea and in the RAF.
“I will also be remembering a great Ulsterman and fellow Royal Navy submariner, Vice Admiral Sir Arthur Hezlet, who in 1945 in Command of HMS TRENCHANT, sank the IJN cruiser ASHIGARA in the shallow and heavily mined Banks Strait off Sumatra. This will have special poignancy for me because several years ago, on the modern HMS TRENCHANT on the anniversary of that sinking, on the same waters, we toasted his memory and all those who served. VJ Day gives us all an opportunity to reflect, to commemorate, and to celebrate our greatest generation - we owe them a debt that can never be repaid. Let us remember them.”