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9/2/2025 11:00:00 AM
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Date: Tuesday, September 2, 2025 at 11:00 a.m.
Location: Veterans Service Building | St. Paul, Minnesota
On the 80th anniversary of the Japanese surrender in Tokyo Bay, Minnesotans are invited to a powerful dual commemoration honoring both the beginning and the end of American involvement in World War II.
At 11 a.m., the historic USS Ward gun—fired by St. Paul-based Naval Reservists in the first American engagement of WWII—will be ceremonially removed from its longtime home outside the Veterans Service Building. The artifact will be professionally restored and relocated to its new permanent home at the Minnesota Military & Veterans Museum near Camp Ripley.
Immediately following, at 11:45 a.m., the Minnesota Military & Veterans Museum will host a V-J Day Commemoration Ceremony recognizing the formal Japanese surrender on September 2, 1945. The USS Saint Paul, named for Minnesota’s capital city, was present in Tokyo Bay during those surrender ceremonies—bringing this full-circle story back home.
Ceremony Locations:
Veterans Service Building
20 W 12th St
St. Paul, MN 55155
Hosted by Minnesota Military & Veterans Museum in partnership with the Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs, The Navy League of Minnesota, and the Dr. Harold C. Deutsch WWII History Roundtable.
Members of the public and press are warmly invited to attend. Additional information, including RSVP instructions and parking details, will be released later this month.
