News on this May 7th in 1945 was confusing at best. In what began at 9:45 EWT (Eastern War Time) on Monday May 7th as flashed bulletins that Germany had unconditionally surrendered sent a wave of excitement throughout Europe and the U.S., was reversed less than an hour later with reports from Allied Headquarters that no "Official" surrender announcement had been made. And there would be no more news regarding the surrender until further notice (which turned out to be the next day).

The culprit, it was later learned, was someone at Associated Press who had witnessed the surrender signing, got the scoop on the rest of the world and, as you would say if it happened today, the whole thing went viral.

This broadcast, part of those first few hours of May 7th 1945, starts at 11:00 am in New York. Roughly twenty minutes in comes (during a Jimmy Fidler's Hollywood Program) a bulletin cautioning people getting ready to celebrate that it wasn't quite a done-deal yet and the brakes were quickly put on declaring it VE Day.

Listening back to this broadcast, it's clear something was potentially amiss, as there was no word from The White House regarding the surrender and there was a wait for confirmation from Supreme Allied Headquarters which, as it came to pass, hadn't come yet.

But everyone was still excited, and this half-hour glimpse into that May 7th from 1945, via WOR in New York, gives some indication.

News on this day in 1941 was grim for the Balkans. As of 9:00 pm the previous night, the Yugoslav Army signed surrender terms with Germany, ending Yugoslavia's defense against German invasion and ending Yugoslavia. The surrender was carried out by the remaining Yugoslav military leaders, acting on behalf of King Peter, whose whereabouts was unknown. Berlin then announced a New Order for the Balkans would be announced soon and all eyes were on Greece, which was next in line and continuing the resistance.

But the war went on in other parts of Europe. RAF bombers staged another raid on Germany, hitting targets in Berlin and, it was later revealed, targets in Cologne and the occupied Dutch city of Rotterdam. 8 British planes were lost and it was the first time the new Sterling Bomber was used in raids.

While downplaying damage reports, the Germans staged their own raids on Britain, primarily hitting port cities.

Public opinion in Britain was running against the Government's handling of the War so far. Most Britons felt the problem lay on the Political/Diplomatic side with the "wait-until-attacked" policy having disastrous results, and what was needed was an overall Aggressive/Offensive Policy.

Meanwhile, on Capitol Hill - it was learned a number of Senators were using their influence to try and get draft deferments for their sons and constituents with most claiming family members being actively involved in important defense work. It wasn't sitting well with the public and many were called out for their actions.

The Soft Coal miner's strike was continuing. The Senate commenced arguments on the Vincent Bill which would legally prevent unions from going on strike in the Defense Industry. And a heated argument was anticipated over the newly introduced Convoy Bill and our increasing participation in the European conflict.

And that's what happened on this particular April 18th in 1941 as reported by the NBC News Of The World.

(August 10, 1945 - where even a rumor got the presses rolling)

(still pitching)
With the second Atomic Bomb dropped on Nagasaki the day before, all ears were turned in the direction of Japan for any word regarding a surrender.

On August 10th, listening posts picked up broadcasts from the NHK (the Japanese Broadcasting service) reporting that the Emperor (Hirohito) had agreed to a surrender proposal first made in Potsdam on the 26th of July.

The stipulation was the Emperor had to stay in place.

Well . . no, that wasn't the deal and there was no official confirmation of either the report or the Allies agreement to those terms.

But that didn't stop people from assuming the war was over as of August 10th, as this breathless set of bulletins from the Mutual Network (via WOR in New York) attested to. Needless to say, the White House quickly issued a statement that no such agreement was made and by the end of the day, the war was still on.

So August 10th 1945 was a bit manic.