Honor Flight San Diego, in partnership with the San Diego Air & Space Museum, hosted the “Spirit of `45 – A Celebration of the 80th Anniversary of the End of WWII” in the Museum’s Pavilion of Flight on Sunday August 10.

The San Diego “Spirit of ’45” event was the largest gathering of WWII Veterans in the nation - with 46 WWII veterans aged 96 to 109 years young, plus four Rosie the Riveters!

Each year, the official end of World War II is a nationally recognized event that is held the second Sunday of August. It is known as VJ Day, or Victory over Japan Day, when President Truman officially announced the war had ended 80 years ago.

The event was open to all local WWII Veterans and Rosie the Riveters, as well as Honor Flight San Diego Korean War and Vietnam War Veterans and their guests and the media. The program included remarks from Holly Shaffner of Honor Flight San Diego and Jim Kidrick, President & CEO of the San Diego Air & Space Museum. There was also a singer and trumpeter, an Old Glory presentation, and a video of WWII veterans sharing where they were when they heard their war was over on August 14, 1945. Special parts of the program included all WWII Veterans receiving a WWII Victory Medal and Rosie the Riveters receiving their Congressional Gold Medal that was awarded in 2024.

In addition to celebrating the 80th Anniversary of the End of WWII, the event also was a reunion for Korean War and Vietnam War Veterans who have been on their Honor Flight from San Diego. A capacity crowd of 550 people attended this historic event.