September 2, 2020, marks the 75th anniversary of the end of World War 2., opens a new window Victory in Europe, opens a new window was declared on May 8, 1945, after General Alfred Jodl of the German High Command signed the unconditional surrender of all German forces. Victory in Japan, opens a new window was declared on August 14, 1945, when the Japanese accepted the terms of the Potsdam Declaration.
However, the Japanese delegation did not formally sign the Instrument of Surrender, opens a new window until September 2nd. The document was signed on the USS Missouri , opens a new windowin Tokyo Bay. The ceremony lasted thirty minutes. Japanese Foreign Minister Mamoru Shigemitse and General Yoshijiro Umezu signed on behalf of the Emperor of Japan, General Douglas MacArthur signed for the United Nations, and Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz signed for the United States.
The event also included hundreds of American carrier- and land-based airplanes flying over the Missouri as the sun broke through the clouds. You can actually read the Deck Log for that day on the National Archives website., opens a new window The Naval History and Heritage Command, opens a new window has more photographs from that day.
Visit the St. Tammany Parish Library Veteran's History Project, opens a new window to hear interviews with World War 2 veterans who call St. Tammany Parish home. The National World War 2 Museum, opens a new window also has virtual programs all year long to celebrate the end of the war.
To read more about the war in the Pacific, check out one of these great titles.
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