Just after midnight on August 14, 1945, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer hit the streets with the news that the Japanese would accept the allied peace terms. As sirens announced the end of World War II, merrymakers in a "rooting, tooting, honking mass" spilled onto the streets of downtown Seattle. Civilians and servicemen, including several Navy men from Bremerton, came together in a joyous and uninhibited crowd. One sailor leaped onto a lamppost and waved as the photographer caught the moment. Many years later, O.F. "Ole" Scarpelli, Sergeant-at-Arms for the State Legislature, identified himself as that sailor, claiming he was "just showing off" on that remarkable day.

Signs in image: Clothiers. Foreman & Clark. Originators of [...ade] Upstairs and Save $10. Prescriptions.
Handwritten on sleeve: World War II - Seattle - V-J Day.
Date photograph was filed at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer (date of photograph and file date may differ by a month or more): August 15, 1945.