Denmark would have to wait another 12 hours until the liberation officially took effect at 8 am on May 5th, but the radio broadcast brought happy Danes out into the streets. Many of them used the occasion to burn the hated black window shades that had been required to keep cities in total darkness during bombing raids. Although the message about the Danish liberation went out on May 4th, Denmark’s official Liberation Day holiday is marked annually on May 5th.
In Solvang, the war years were somber times. Local men and women enlisted in all branches of the American armed forces. War reminders were everywhere: food was strictly rationed, soldiers from nearby Camp Cooke (today, Vandenberg Air Force Base) hung out in Solvang, and local groups gathered to roll bandages for the troops and to make and pack items for care packages to send to Denmark.
|