The Waterbury Democrat., 1945-08-15


 not be denied. The victory roar that beat upon the eardrums through the long hours of the night grew and grew until it left one slightly dizzy and numb. Crowds danced in the street, tossed hats and flags into the air, and threw shredded paper into everywhere until it is covered the ankles of the celebrants.
 Crowd Gathers Swiftly
 When the first factory whistle blasted the glorious news to a tense Waterbury last night at 7:02, the downtown streets were singu- larly devoid of people. But as church bells and automobile horns 8 moment thereafter joined the whistles in announcing the long, awaited word of surrender, people dashed out of buildings and buses and just stood for a moment won- dering what to do. About 7:10 the steady stream of merry-makers planned from every section and twenty minutes later the Center was flooded with happy, smiling throngs who could not restrain their wild joy.
 The devout immediately went to their respective churches to offer prayers of thanks to their God that the bitter years of war had come to glorious end.
 And everywhere people were thinking about the loved ones that would soon be home from far-f1tng fronts and the valiant Waterbury men wnb rested under white crosses around the globe.
 Many GIs
 Servicemen too, were thinking of the buddies who had fallen beside them on the battlefield and had been denied the joy of last nights celebration.
 A Marine wearing four battle stars marked every detail of the celebration in the center shortly be- fore 8 o'clock. Though with 8 group of friends, he seemed rather pen- sive and silent. T can't help think ing" he said, ''how wonderful 1t would be if two of my buddies from Waterbury who fell beside me at Guadalcanal could have known this moment. They were Pvt. rhvid Healey and Pfc. John Pandolfi. They were such great guys-gosh! he said as he turned away with a nod of the head.
 Sgt. Bruno Ferrari, 791 East Main street. with pretty girl in tow, said sinilingly: Its great moment But we must give 8 thought to the men who made this great day pos sible-those who have died and those who are in hospitals and far away"
 Seaman Erwin Slatnick declared: :: 'It's wonderful news. But the big moment for me will come when I shed this uniform"
 Comments A pretty brunette in WAC uni- form, Pfc. Hazel Birdsall, 130 North Main street, home on furlough from Denver, Colo, asserted: I'm too happy for words, because I know how much our boys and girls want to come home. They've been through a lot. But I ctlnt help thinking at this moment how much the peo- pie on the home front have contrib uted to this hard-won victory. Our men could not have come through without their long and unfailing effort"
 The crowds in the downtown street began to thin slightly around 10 o'clock. Many showed signs of weariness from many hours of cele- bration and days of waiting. They were also hungry and were forced to go home for food since all restau- rants closed their doors simultane- orisly with the surrender announce ment. At midnight those who were reluctant to leave the scene of cel- ebration just sat on benches on the Green and thought about what a memorable night it had been and of the many wonderful things to come.