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Japanese Final Surrender
USS Missouri, BB-63

On 2 September 1945, representatives of Imperial Japan signed the formal Instrument of Surrender aboard the battleship USS Missouri (BB-63) in Tokyo Bay, bringing World War II to its official close. General Douglas MacArthur presided over the ceremony as Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers, with Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz signing on behalf of the United States and Admiral William Halsey among the senior officers witnessing the historic moment from Missouri's bridge. The Japanese delegation stood on the teak deck below while the Allied signatories — representing the United States, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, China, Australia, Canada, France, the Netherlands, and New Zealand — added their names to the surrender document. Today you can visit the Missouri at Pearl Harbor, walk the deck, and view the commemorative plaque marking the exact spot where the signing took place.

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The complete 8½-minute film of the Japanese surrender ceremony aboard USS Missouri (BB-63), 2 September 1945. Nimitz, MacArthur, and Halsey are visible on the bridge as the Japanese delegation waits on the deck below.