VICTORY OVER JAPAN

Victory over Japan Day also known as Victory in the Pacific Day is the day on which Japan surrendered in World War II, ending the war. The term has been applied to the day on which the initial announcement of Japan's surrender was made, August 14, 1945 as well as to September 2, 1945, when the signing of the surrender document occurred, officially ending World War II. The name, V-J Day, had been selected by the Allies after they named V-E Day for the victory in Europe. In Japan, August 15 usually is known as the "memorial day for the end of the war" or Shusen-kinenbi; the official name for the day, however, is "the day for mourning of war dead and praying for peace" or Senbotsusha o tsuitoshi heiwa o kinensuru hai. Sadly today it's rarely even mentioned anymore in the USA. Fortunately VJ Day is still remembered and celebrated with a vintage military rifle (VMR) marksmanship match sponsored by the Shongum Sportsman's Association (SSA) in conjunction with the New Jersey Arms Collectors Club (NJACC) commemorating the 71st anniversary of the end of WWII. Military aficionados and serious collectors of WWII Japanese, British, and US firearms arrived early from all parts of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York and other points at the Shongum Sportsman's Association range at Oxford, New Jersey on August 20, 2016 for the recent 15th Annual VJ Day match. The weather cooperated even though a bit warm (sub-tropical) and it made for a day of friendly competition paired with a hearty lunch prepared by the NJACC's own beloved Madame La Chef Barbara F. ably filling in for the absent Chief Chef Chuck C. (Just try saying that five times real fast). Participants brought highly collectible and sort after examples of American, British, Russian, and Japanese rifles used in the Pacific war to compete for trophies and the ultimate glory of becoming world famous in New Jersey with their name boldly shown in this write-up. Contest rules required shooters fire ten (10) rounds in 2 minutes at targets placed at 100 yards. This year there were sixteen contests in the course of fire, three of which were combination rifle/handgun events and two handgun only events. A quick tour of the benches disclosed that competitors had brought a fine variety of U.S. M1 Garands, 1903 Springfields, and Model 1917 US Enfields. Several Thompson semi auto carbines were on hand as was an ultra-nifty Model 1918A2 type BAR semi auto rifle. British and Australian weapons were also well represented by MKIII SMLEs, No.4 Enfields, and a No. 5 Jungle Carbine. Last but not least there were some fine examples of Japanese Type 38 and Type 99 rifles and their many variants, including two rare Type 99 long rifles. In addition, a few less common rifles from the Asia/ Pacific war were on the line and worthy of note. Among these were several Mosin Nagant 91/30s and an M44 as used by Russia, a Gew 98, several 98Ks and a near mint Standard Model 98 Mauser rifle similar to those used by Chiang Kai-shek's (a.k.a. Jiang Zhongzheng) nationalist troops. After a brief sighting in period, the match got under way in earnest. Rifle competition progressed smoothly under the watchful eye and expert guidance of the NJACC club's shoot chairman Stan G. Despite being shorthanded on manpower, Stan did a fantastic one man band like impersonation not only running the events and registering competitors, but providing all the other logistical support for the match at the same time. Help finally arrived later on when Pete M. and Stu R. volunteered to help out. Once again, combination rifle and pistol contests, which have become a mainstay at these matches, drew a good number of competitors. Two combined events; the first called the Palm Tree Clearance contest required the shooter fire a 12 gauge shotgun and a pistol at a silhouette target from 50 yards, the second event called Gung Ho was a multi-positional contest starting at 100 yards using an M-1 Garand rifle and a 1911 pistol.     Photos by Jeff A. Shooters competing in combined event mmatches Another new event which was introduced just last year in 2015 called Tenno Heika Banzai required the shooter to fire a Japanese rifle off-hand with fixed bayonet at a silhouette target placed at 100 yards. Shooters were free to shout "banzai" or "itai" after each shot if they so desired. Many dedicated VMR shooters vied for the trophies awarded for the highest score in each contest and all shooting benches were taken as over 20 competitors competed and turned in some outstanding scores. Audrey A. won the coveted Tokyo Rose Trophy with a respectable score of 91 shooting a 1903A3 Springfield. The top score of the day (100-2X) was turned in for the Okinawa contest by Carl J. firing a US 1903-A3 Springfield. Dave Y. won the grueling Gung Ho contest with a score of 260 and also successfully cleared the imaginary New Jersey Palm Trees with a score of 200. Steve S. took honors in the Edson's Ridge event with a score of 96-5X shooting his semi automatic BAR. The Tenno Heika Banzai Trophy for best score with a Japanese rifle with fixed bayonet went to Paul M. firing a Japanese Type 99 rifle and ending up with 14 holes in the target which was not bad for firing only 10 shots. Who would have guessed Japanese rifles were that effective. The resulting score of 122 was adjusted down to an official 83 by subtracting the four (4) highest scoring hits. This event caused the greatest number of crossfires and misses making it one of the more difficult contests of the day. Shooting a Japanese rifle off hand with its bayonet attached is definitely a challenge. Think of the fun to be had if the bayonet was added to the Gung Ho contest! The overall big winner of the day in the rifle contest category was Paul M. who took home six trophies. He was followed by Dave Y. with two wins. The pistol events commenced on the indoor range after a satisfying military like lunch of 100% authentic boiled American style wieners smothered in chili on a potato bun with sauerkraut, mustard, and baked beans prepared and served buffet style by Madame La Chef, Barbara F. As a special treat Barbara prepared a batch of homemade fried rice to complement the NJACC's otherwise traditional American style menu. Who knows, next year with any luck Barbara might make some beef or chicken Yakatori. Due to a manpower shortage on the event staff the pistol contests started an hour late. For the historically minded, the pistol match consisted of the old WWII opponents, the Nambu Type 14 and 1911A1s. Steve S. completed a clean sweep in the pistol matches winning all of the contests using a Japanese Nambu model 14 and an original Colt 1911A1. As usual, the unsung task of provisioning lunch, scoring targets, and reporting results was handled by Tom P. in his ex-offio position as the NJACC's master match record keeper and Stan's able sidekick. All final scores were certified and witnessed by an NJACC match official and are available on the NJACC website. The next vintage military rifle match to be held at the Shongum Range will be on Saturday October 24, 2016. The contest theme will be "End of The Evil Empire" featuring various Combloc firearms. Details and fliers for this and future vintage matches can also be found on the NJACC website at NJACC Schedule of Events. All winning scores shown below.

V-J Day Match
CONTEST / Guns of the Era	Winner / Rifle	Score
SPECIAL TROPHIES
YOUNG SAMURAI (BONZAI) Best score for person under 18	No Entries
3) TOKYO ROSE For Best Female Score	Audrey A. Okinawa Springfield '03A3	91
EVENTS 1 - 6,8 RIFLE 10 Rounds - 2 Minutes - 100 Yards
1) MANCHURIA JAPANESE TYPE-30,38 MOD 98 MAUSER, GERMAN MOD 88/05 or CHINESE HANYANG	Paul M Model Mauser 98	96-3X
2) GUADALCANAL '03 SPRINGFIELD, ANY 6.5 JAPANESETYPE 38 or TYPE I(Italian)	Steve D. 1903 Springfield	92-3X
3) BATAAN US M1917 ENFIELD, ANY JAPANESE 6.5 OR 7.7MM Long RIFLE)	Paul M. Type 99 Long Rifle	97-4X
4) OKINAWA '03A3, M-1 GARAND, ANY JAPANESE 6.5 OR 7.7MM SERVICE RIFLE or CARBINE	Carl J. Springfield '03A3	100-2X
5) BURMA TYPE-38 OR TYPE 44 JAPANESE CARBINE, #5 ENFIELD JUNGLE CARBINE .45-70	Paul M. #5 Enfield Jungle Carbine	94-2X
6) MANDALAY ANY JAPANESE SERVICE RIFLE,BRITISH #3 SMLE OR #4 ENFIELD	Dave T. Enfield No 4 Mark I	98-4X
7) PACIFIC SNIPER TYPE-97 OR TYPE-99 WITH ORIGINAL SCOPE, '03A4, 1942 USMC, M1C-SNIPER, #1 MK-IV(T) (1 SHOT - 100 YARDS)	Jeff A. '03A4 Springfield	4
8) KHALKHIN GOL SVT, MOSIN NAGANT, ANY JAPANESE 6.5MM SERVICE RIFLE	Paul M. Mosin Nagant 91/30	98-3X
9) Marine Raider THOMPSON/REISING CARBINE (Full Silhouette Target)	Paul M. Thompson Carbine	89
10) GUNG HO! M1 Garand, 1917 Revolver/1911 SemiAuto 24 Rounds M1 -3 Positions- Standing, Kneeling, Prone Six Rounds .45acp at 25yds	Dave Y. M1 Grand & 1911A1	260
11)Tenno Heika Banzai Any Japanese Service Rifle w/Bayonet, Standing Off-hand	Paul M. Arisaka Type 99 w/Bayonet	122 / 83*
12) Edson's Ridge Semi Auto Browning BAR,1917 or 1919	Steve S. BAR	96-5X
15) Palm Tree Clearance Five Rounds @ 35yards - 12ga 00Buck WW-II 12ga Shotgun 20" Bbl, Six Rounds GI Handgun @ 25yds	Dave Y. Remington Model 10 & Colt 1911	200
EVENTS 13 & 14 Handguns -12 Shots Off-Hand @ 50 Feet
14) SAMAURI TROPHY Any Japanese Service Pistol or Revolver Type 26, 14, 94, Nambu	Steve S. Nambu Type 14	32
14) VICTORY OVER JAPAN ANY WWII ALLIED FORCES SERVICE PISTOL, 1911, 1911A1, TOKAREV, BROWNING HP, C96, COLT, S&W,WEBLEY, ENFIELD, NAGANT	Steve S. Colt 1911A1	79
All Reported Scores