Gainesville-Hall County had its share of news the week of Aug. 16, 1945, when the now-defunct Gainesville News published its weekly edition.

A Superior Court judgeship was up for grabs and U.S. Census reports showed that Hall County had 2,809 farms.

But the most prominent headline in Gainesville News read: “Youngsters go wild; oldsters go to church as victory over Japan is announced Tuesday evening.”

In other words, the bloodiest conflict in the history of the world had come to an end.

The Japanese surrendered on Aug. 15 their time, with news hitting the U.S. shores on Aug. 14 because of the time difference.

Joe Terrell, who worked as a lifeguard at the Green Street public pool, remembers the celebration in Gainesville.

“The (downtown) square was full of people and cars were going around and around, horns blowing and flags waving,” said Terrell, living in Gainesville with his wife, Allie. “People were screaming and having a big time.”

The Terrells had been high school sweethearts, with Allie working as a counselor at a summer girls camp operated by Brenau College (as it was known then), about where Brenau’s tennis courts are now.

“I was not able to go down on the square and celebrate because I had responsibilities with some 8-year-old girls,” said Allie, a rising Brenau senior at the time. “I’m sure I was glad it was over because ... almost my entire college years were during the war years.

“... We were certainly glad it was over and hopeful the country could get back on solid footing, which it did.”
Joe Terrell remembers how he felt upon hearing the news.

“It was a great relief. It’s hard to describe, really,” he said. “During the years of the war, everybody was hanging on to every bit of information they could get about what was going on. It was such a relief when it was over that it’s just something you can’t hardly put in words.”

Gainesville newspaper reports confirm sentiments and reactions of the time, noting that celebrations took place “without any serious mishap.”

“A check with the sheriff and the city police department following Tuesday night’s exuberant celebration revealed that only two persons were thrown into the clink — one for breaking windows and the other for reckless driving,” according to the Gainesville News.

Ray Williams, an instructor at the Navy training school at what is now Lee Gilmer Memorial Airport in Gainesville, remembers those days well.

“The end of the war came quickly, with no one knowing about the atomic bomb until we heard rumors of a secret weapon that was used to convince Japan to surrender,” he said.

According to the Gainesville News, a dinner party and dance was held at the Officers Club after the announcement, and base personnel “was given a two-day holiday.”

Also, on Aug. 17, a party was planned for the entire base personnel on the tennis courts.

Williams celebrated the night of Aug. 14 on the base, at a small club called Guadalcanal, but he went home early because of wedding plans the next day.

“After the wedding, our friend drove us to Atlanta and we stayed at the Biltmore Hotel the first night,” he said. “There was a lot of celebration going on in Atlanta and practically all businesses were closed.

“It took a long time in a taxi to find a place to eat and we finally found a Howard Johnson restaurant, but the only thing they had was chicken a la king,” Williams said.

After honeymooning in Miami Beach, Ray and Elsie Williams returned to the Navy base in Gainesville where he had been stationed since April 1945.

Gainesville “supplied a lot of food to the government — mostly chicken — and military inspectors lived in the town,” he said.

Allie Terrell remembered that “everybody was terribly patriotic.”

“You just didn’t hear any complaining about the rationing or not being able to get sugar or gasoline,” she said. “Everybody ... just pitched in and did their duty.”

For many, such as Sylvia Mayfield of Gainesville, the end of the war was a big personal relief.

“I was engaged at that time and he was stationed on a destroyer escort,” she said of her fiance, Leon, or “Blondy,” who had been serving the Atlantic Theater and was being transferred to the Pacific.

“He got on a ship and they didn’t know where they were going,” Mayfield said. “When they got to Honolulu, they got the news that the war was over. They stayed a couple of days (there) and came home.”

She was working for a building materials company in Gainesville at the time.

Lounette Hood remembers hearing about the Japanese surrender at her parents’ North Hall home.

“I recall having the radio on and when the announcement came, they interrupted every program,” she said. “Of course, me and my family started crying out loud what a wonderful thing that was.

“There was a lot of jubilation going on — everybody was celebrating. We had something to celebrate.”