"Rhode Island is the only state in the nation that observes a holiday to commemorate the victory over Japan in World War II. Now there’s a fierce debate about the holiday.Victory Day, the second Monday in August, honors the estimated 92,000 Rhode Islanders who served in the war and the more than 2,200 of them who were killed. Rhode Island first adopted the holiday in 1948. Arkansas adopted Victory Day as a state holiday in 1949 but abandoned it in 1975, choosing to give state workers a day off for their birthdays instead.A Democratic state lawmaker in Rhode Island, Jennifer Stewart, introduced legislation this year to change Victory Day to Peace and Remembrance Day. She has been accused of dishonoring World War II veterans. “I think this is an atrocity that you’re taking away the honor and bravery that those men and women deserve,” state Representative Patricia Morgan said at a State House hearing. “What they did was honorable and not something that should be criticized.”Stewart counters that she wants to honor the sacrifices of the past while establishing a more peaceful future. The holiday’s association with victory over Japan “belies the harsh truth that military victories are often built on civilian injury and death,” Stewart says."
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| Boston Globe: "Monday is Victory Day in Rhode Island — a holiday worth reconsidering" |
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