On September 2, 1945, in a formal ceremony aboard the battleship USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay, a Japanese delegation representing the Emperor of Japan, the Japanese Government, and the Japanese Imperial General Headquarters signed their names to the Instrument of Surrender bringing World War II to an end. General Douglas MacArthur signed as Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces and then Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, USNA 1905, signed as US Representative, followed by representatives of other Allied powers, including China, Great Britain, the Soviet Union, and France. The ceremony took less than half an hour.
Official US Navy photograph of Admiral Chester W. Nimitz signing the Instrument of Surrender. General Douglas MacArthur and Admiral William Halsey are standing behind the microphone. The USS Missouri was Admiral Halsey's flagship.
Facsimile of the Instrument of Surrender.
In a radio broadcast to the American people after the signing, General MacArthur said, "Today the guns are silent. A great tragedy has ended. A great victory has been won....We have known the bitterness of defeat and the exultation of triumph, and from both we have learned there can be no turning back. We must go forward to preserve in Peace what we won in War."
Sources:
"Nimitz, Chester," Special Collections & Archives Department Transitional Picture File.
The End of the War in the Pacific: Surrender Documents in Facsimile. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1945, in World War, 1939-1945--Peace, Special Collections & Archives Department Vertical FIle.
General MacArthur's V-J Day Radio Broadcast, Naval History and Heritage Command website.
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