š¦šŗ VP Day: What We Fought For, What We Forgot
š¦šŗ VP Day: What We Fought For, What We Forgot
By SocialSpaceBlog.au ā Co-authored with Copilot. Attribution reflects lived experience, ethical storytelling, and collaborative public voice.
On 15 August 1945, Australians poured into the streets to celebrate the end of World War II in the Pacific. Japan had surrendered, and after nearly six years of conflict, the war was over. My grandfather, like nearly one million Australians who served, believed he was fighting for more than victoryāhe was fighting for a future built on fairness, dignity, and collective care.
Eighty years later, we still commemorate VP Day. But what do we really remember? And what have we quietly let slip?
šļø Then: The Cost of Peace
Nearly 990,000 Australians served in WWII, with over 39,000 deaths and thousands more wounded or held in captivityĀ¹.
Women and children carried the war at home, stepping into industry, caregiving, and rationingĀ².
Post-war reconstruction promised housing, education, and social security, guided by the Department of Post-War Reconstruction (1942ā1950)Ā³.
The social contract was clear: those who sacrificed would be supported. Veterans returned to a nation that invested in public housing, vocational training, and universal health reforms. My family believed in that promise. They built homes, raised kids, and contributed to a society that honoured serviceānot just with medals, but with opportunity.
š§ Now: What Freedom Demands
Today, āfreedomā is invoked in slogans and budget debates. But freedom from what? And for whom?
Freedom from poverty? Not if you're a carer living below the poverty line. Primary carers are nearly twice as likely to be in the lowest income quintileā“.
Freedom to age with dignity? Not if aged care is underfunded and reform delayedāµ.
Freedom to participate? Not if disabled Australians face bureaucratic burnout and NDIS neglectā¶.
Freedom of speech? Not if whistleblowers face jail while wrongdoing goes unpunishedā·.
We honour the dead, but sideline the living. We celebrate sacrifice, but undervalue invisible labour. We speak of mateship, yet tolerate systems that isolate and exhaust.
š§ Legacy Isnāt Just a Ceremony
VP Day should be more than a historical bookmark. It should be a moral checkpoint. Are we living up to the values our families fought for? Or have we outsourced remembrance to nostalgia and pageantry?
Iām proud my grandfather went to war to make us free. But Iām also angry that freedom has been hollowed out by selective memory and economic neglect. The war was wonābut the peace is still contested.
āļø What We Can Learn
Freedom is collective. Itās not just about individual rightsāitās about shared responsibility.
Memory is political. Who we honour, and how, shapes our future.
Care is patriotic. Supporting carers, veterans, and vulnerable communities is nation-building.
Accountability is legacy. We owe it to past generations to demand better from the present.
VP Day isnāt just about victory. Itās about vigilance. Letās remember what was fought forāand fight for it still.
