Australia celebrates 80th anniversary of WWII victory

Crowds gathered at the Sydney Cenotaph on Aug 15 to commemorate the 80th anniversary of victory in the Pacific, with Australians remembering the end of World War II when the China-included Allied forces won their fight against Japan.

This year's milestone anniversary brought together members of the public, veterans' families, community representatives and dignitaries, alongside five of the last-surviving WWII veterans of Australia's New South Wales state, according to the RSL NSW member-based veterans' charity, which hosted the commemorative service.

Those assembled paused to remember the more than 39,000 Australians who did not return home, the 66,000 who were wounded, and about 30,000 who were taken prisoner, two-thirds of whom endured captivity in the Pacific theater.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in a speech for the commemoration that the "Allied victory over tyranny has, in retrospect, taken on a feel of inevitability".

"Part of the debt we owe to all who served our nation is to remind ourselves how close history came to taking a different path," he said.

"And to remember and honor every Australian – and every friend and every ally – who gave everything to ensure it did not."