When Japanese forces seized Burma (now Myanmar) in WW2, it cut off a crucial Allied supply route. In response, the U.S. Army Air Force took to the skies.

Eighty years ago today, on Sept. 2, 1945, on the deck of the battleship USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay, the Allied powers gathered to witness the surrender of Imperial Japan, ending World War II.

WWII remembrance is a highly politicised contemporary global event. India doesn’t really figure in these narratives. That’s a pity because it’s Indian blood and treasure that played a consequential role in the outcome.

Amid rising communal violence and worsening law and order, the British Parliament decided that the colonial rule in India would end on August 15, 1947.

The story of Major Chint Singh of the 2nd Dogra Regiment remains one of the most striking examples of wartime comradeship between Indian and Australian soldiers.

Amid thawing ties between the Asian giants, commentators look at why the Indian leader should – or should not – visit China in September.

Object Details Author United States Strategic Bombing Survey Military Analysis Division Date 1947 Call number D767.3 .U58 1947 D767.3.U58 1947 Type Books Physical description v, 107 p., [1] folded leaf of plates : ill., maps ; 26 cm Place China India Burma Pacific Ocean Data Source Smithsonian Libraries Topic World War, 1939-1945--Aerial operations World War, 1939-1945--Campaigns

He was at the official commemoration for the 80th anniversary of VJ - Victory over Japan - Day in Staffordshire as one of the last remaining veterans. Yavar was about to give a short address about his experience on the Asian front. But he decided to go off script.