18 Vintage Photos of VJ Day Celebrations on the Streets of Hollywood, Los Angeles in 1945

When Harry S. Truman announced, on August 14, 1945, that the war with Japan was over, the nation went wild Hollywood went wild. Rushing from offices, stores and homes, thousands of people poured onto Hollywood Boulevard. In the midst of sirens, whistles, auto horns and screaming, the streets were snowed with confetti scraps of paper of every sort that floated down over the jammed sidewalks which a moment before had been sanely trod with quiet shoppers.

Servicemen, and civilians snake danced through the jumbled crowd while singing, "Hail, Hail, the job's all done." An impromptu parade formed that paralyzed traffic. Clanging streetcars tried to fight their way through the masses of humanity but to no avail. Good humored celebrants amused themselves by jerking trollies from he wires. If a streetcar moved more than twenty feet through the throngs without having their power shut off, they were lucky. In the carnival spirit that swept over Hollywood, strangers slapped one another on the back. Servicemen kissed every pretty girl they met, and the girls kissed back.

The famed Hollywood Canteen, on Cahuenga Ave, jumped for joy. Displaying flags of all the allied nations, the Canteen was packed with servicemen who had a wonderful time kissing every motion picture star (feminine, of course) who was present and other girls in the place. The party was still blaring in the wee small hours. Through the night, more than 3,000 joyous servicemen visited the Canteen. Theaters emptied quickly when the announcement of peace came. But after a while, cashiers reported that they were selling a few theater tickets to people who said they had to get away from the noise.

(via Historic Hollywood Photographs)