V-J DAY. Times Square has, throughout most of its history, served as a gathering place where New Yorkers have celebrated events ranging from prizefight outcomes to election results to the annual New Year’s Eve celebration. Although the V-E Day celebration on May 9, 1945, was enormous, by far the largest and most flamboyant outpouring of shared emotion was the V-J Day celebration, marking the Japanese surrender and the end of the World War II.
For most of these mass gatherings,...