In the early hours of May 7, 1945, most people in the United States were probably asleep, but their prayers were being answered far away. For at 2:41 a.m., German forces surrendered at General Dwight Eisenhower’s headquarters at a schoolhouse in Reims, France. The horror of World War II in Europe was over.

Years of bravery and sacrifice by American and allied soldiers, backed by the Homefront, led to this historic moment.

The Associated Press reported of Germany’s surrender, although the official announcement had not yet come. Word spread of this joyous news, and within hours it reached the United States.

At the College of Mount St. Joseph in Ohio, Marianne O’Regan wrote “as rumors poured over the wire, the ‘This is it’ spirit soared throughout the school … In the space of a few short hours journalism students published a ‘V – extra’ of the Journal,” the school newspaper.

V-E Day, Victory day in Europe, was officially proclaimed May 8, 1945, when the terms of the surrender took effect and announcements were made. Celebrations were underway in the U.S. and Europe as victory was achieved on one of the two fronts of World War II. There still needed to be victory in Asia against Japan. That would not come till later in August.

President Harry Truman told the nation on V-E Day, “For this victory, we join in offering our thanks to the Providence which has guided and sustained us through the dark days of adversity. Our rejoicing is sobered and subdued by a supreme consciousness of the terrible price we have paid to rid the world of Hitler and his evil band.”

The sacrifices made by our soldiers and those on the Homefront must not be forgotten. The best way to honor them is to be heroes for peace.

“The millions of war heroes who have made memorable such names as Anzio, Normandy, and Iwo Jima, must be matched by millions of peace-heroes” stated the V-E Day edition of the Mount St. Joseph school newspaper. Charity towards all, even those far away, must be the most powerful force in the world.

One great example of peace heroes was already underway in the week prior to V-E Day. U.S. and British planes air dropped tons of food to starving civilians in the Nazi German occupied Netherlands. This food saved millions of people from famine before liberation.

The Hartford Courant reported that Lt. Robert F. Duda was one of these peace heroes on the “mercy mission.” Lt. Duda, a UConn student, navigated a formation of B17 Flying Fortresses that made the successful food drops to the hungry in the Netherlands.

Americans donated generously to feed the hungry in post war Europe and Asia, and this saved many a family from starvation. Food for the hungry was critical to winning the post war peace.

Today, we can save the lives of many starving war victims if we have the heart and will. Sadly, there have been many budgets cuts to humanitarian aid and even the closing down of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). This has led to reductions in food for the hungry. We need to restore USAID and humanitarian aid programs, especially those that feed the hungry.

We should be increasing funding for the Food for Peace program, which was started by Eisenhower. Global food aid is actually a very relatively tiny part of the federal budget. It should not be the target of budget cuts. Far more money is spent on armaments compared to global food aid.

To honor the 80th anniversary of V-E Day and Operations Chowhound and Manna, let’s support our global humanitarian aid programs. Let’s get USAID running again and boost funding for Dwight Eisenhower’s Food for Peace program. Peace heroes like you can advocate for these programs and we can save the lives of millions of starving children.

William Lambers is an author who partnered with the UN World Food Program on the book “Ending World Hunger.” His writings have been published by the Washington Post, Newsweek, History News Network and many other news outlets.