V-E Day in Chicago Cause for Celebration and Worry-- Part 3: Not As Big a Celebration

Surprisingly, however, the mood on State Street, where it was figured the biggest celebration would take place, was quite subdued.  "It was a street of families -- men and women and their children plodding up and down," a Tribune reporter observed on May 8.

Though thousands of people milled about, it was not a joyous riot.  "As the hours wore on, the spontaneous good fellowship, the dancing in the street of Nov. 11, 1918, never materialized."  On that occasion, a million people had poured into Chicago's Loop to celebrate the end of World War I, and the authorities were expecting a similar crowd to mark the end of World War II in Europe.

However, the war continued on in the Pacific with thousands more deaths expected with the planned invasion of Japan.

--GreGen