"Victory in Europe Day and Victory over Japan Day should be our biggest days of celebration but over the years, it has gradually been put on the 'back burner' so to speak," Lloyd said.
Lloyd and his brothers served as US Navy armed guards during World War II. On May 8, 1945 he and his brother Leonidas were on board a Liberty Ship, used as cargo vessels during WWII, in Antwerp, Belgium.
Lloyd's other brother, Lonnie, served on one of the ships delivering tanks, airplanes and ammunition to the Soviet Union's northern port of Murmansk via the Arctic Ocean. He was later transferred to another ship, which delivered supplies to Soviet Russia via the Caspian Sea.
"I hope the people of Russia celebrate the end of WWII and remember those who stood by them in those times when the German Army was knocking at your door, bombing your cities into oblivion and killing millions of your people with no mercy in their hearts," Lloyd said.
The veteran also said that even though those horrible days are long gone, they should never be forgotten, adding that unfortunately "our world has changed from true patriotism to pacification."
The United States celebrates the victory over Nazi Germany in Europe on May 8. Russia and other former Soviet states celebrated the 70th anniversary of the victory in the Great Patriotic War on May 9.
