Seventy years ago today, the Japanese surrendered to Allied Forces aboard the USS Missouri, officially ending World War II. Today is therefore known as “VJ Day.” On Aug. 6 and 9, respectively, the U.S. dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Doing so killed as many as 250,000 Japanese, but it also prevented a likely invasion of the Japanese main island and thus saved hundreds of thousands of American lives. U.S. forces occupied Japan for another six-and-a-half years, which established Japan as a peaceful world player. Today is a reminder that tyranny must be defeated, not appeased, if Liberty is to flourish.