On May 7, 1945, Germany unconditionally surrendered to the Allied forces. The next day, at the insistence of the Soviets, Germany signed a second surrender document in Berlin, which became known as Victory in Europe Day, or VE Day.
Although World War II was not yet over — Japan continued to fight the United States and its allies in the Pacific — Germany's capitulation marked a critical moment for the American troops who had been battling Nazi forces on the continent.
Harry Miller, a soldier in the 740th Tank Battalion, was in the lakeside town of Schwerin in northern Germany when his unit got the news.
"Some of us lay down and went to sleep," he recalled. "Some of us were patting each other on the back. Some were shaking hands. And some just couldn't believe it."
Now 96 and living at the Armed Forces Retirement Home in Washington, D.C., Miller shared his story with NPR ahead of the 80th anniversary of one of the most pivotal days of World War II.
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