ALTHOUGH Emperor Hirohito had publicly announced his decision to accept the Potsdam Declaration and Truman had told Stalin that he would get no part of Japan, the Red Army continued driving south from Manchuria down the Korean Peninsula, occupying as much property as possible.
Colonel Kirkpatrick began closing up shop on Tinian, but wrote, “In case of an emergency, however, materials will be left in such a state of readiness that within a few days our organization can be reactivated and operational on a few days’ notice.”
On August 17, Brig. Gen. Jim Davies, in command of the 313th Bombardment Wing at North Field, Tinian, ordered his B-29 crews to begin painting “POW Supplies” on the underside of their wings. Seventy-five percent of the planes had installed jettisonable cargo racks in both their front and rear bomb bays in preparation for missions to Japanese POW camps scheduled to begin on August 26.
Meanwhile, on August 18, General Groves advised Brig. Gen. Farrell on Tinian that the Project Alberta team and the 509th Composite Group would remain on Tinian “in such a state of readiness that the reactivation time will be no longer than it takes to fly the active material from New Mexico to Tinian.
By the 20th, three Fat Man bombs had been assembled, only waiting for the active cores to arrive. That same day, the Soviet State Defense Committee established a new atomic bomb research project, utilizing information gained from informants in Los Alamos (good reads: Frank, Richard B. Downfall: “The End of the Imperial Japanese Empire. Banton House,” New York, 1999; Kanon, Joseph. “Los Alamos.” (fiction) Del Publishing, 1979).
The B-29s that had done so much damage to Japan began flying mercy missions on August 27, dropping supplies to prisoners of war camps. Within five days, most camps in Japan, China, and Korea had received their first deliveries of food, clothing, and medical kits.
As he had pledged, Emperor Hirohito issued a Rescript to Soldiers and Sailors on August 28, stating: “… members of the imperial family will be dispatched as personal representatives of his majesty to the headquarters of the Kwantung Army Expeditionary Force.” Their purpose was to ensure that the army, which had occupied Manchuria and invaded China, obeyed the Emperor’s directive for peace.
By August 29, hospital and transport ships were stationed in Tokyo Bay. A flotilla of Navy launches liberated the Omori POW camp, and the POWs were evacuated to the hospital ship USS Benevolence. These walking skeletons were then registered, checked, cleaned, deloused, shaved, clothed, and fed whatever they wanted.
By the end of August, the Soviet Army had reached the full length of Sakhalin Island and the 38th parallel in the Korean Peninsula, the agreed-upon border between the Soviet and American occupation zones.
Admiral Halsey took great pleasure in anchoring the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay, not far from where Commodore Perry had anchored his Black Fleet back in 1854 to establish trade relations between the United States and Japan. With General MacArthur as Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers overseeing the surrender ceremony, Fleet Admiral Nimitz received the honor of accepting the Japanese surrender on behalf of the United States.
Again, as promised, Emperor Hirohito provided the requested Imperial Rescript:
“Accepting the terms outlined in the Declaration issued by the heads of the Governments for the United States, Great Britain, and China on July 26, 1946, at Potsdam, and subsequently adhered to by the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, We have commanded the Japanese Imperil Government and the Japanese Imperial General Headquarters to sign on Our behalf the Instrument of Surrender presented by the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers and to issue General Orders to the Miliary and Naval Forces in accordance with the directions of the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers, We command all Our people forthwith to cease hostilities, to lay down their arms and faithfully to carry out all the provisions of the Instrument of surrender and the General Orders issued by the Japanese Imperial Government and the Japanese Imperial General Headquarters hereunder (Farrell, Tinian and The Bomb, p. 427-429).”
MacArthur’s comments were surprisingly brief:
“We are gathered here, representatives of the major warring powers, to conclude a solemn agreement whereby peace may be restored. The issues, involving divergent ideals and ideologies, have been determined on the battlefields of the world and hence are not for our discussion or debate.
“It is my earnest hope and indeed the hope of all mankind that from this solemn occasion a better world shall emerge out of the blood and carnage of the past — a world founded upon faith and understanding — a world dedicated to the dignity of man and the fulfillment of his most cherished wish for freedom, tolerance, and justice.
“The terms and conditions upon which the surrender of the Japanese Imperial Forces is here to be accepted are contained in the instrument of surrender now before you.
“As Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers, I announce it is my firm purpose, in the tradition of the countries I represent, to proceed in the discharge of my responsibilities with justice and tolerance, while taking all necessary dispositions to ensure that the terms of the surrender are fully, promptly, and faithfully complied with.
“I now invite the representatives of the Emperor of Japan and the Japanese Government and the Japanese Imperial General Headquarters to sign the instrument of surrender at the places indicated.” (Farrell, “Seabees and Superforts,” p. 467 – 470).”
As MacArthur completed his brief remarks aboard the Missouri, a vast armada of 1,500 carrier planes, 117 P-51s from Iwo Jima, and 462 B-29s from the Mariana Islands streamed overhead to warn the Japanese that any effort to continue the war would be dealt with swiftly.
With that, the Pacific War came to an end three years, eight months, and twenty-six days after America had been drawn into it at Pearl Harbor. For China, it had been eight years and a month.
Rota and Pagan surrendered on September 2, Aguiguan on September 4.
Japanese foreign affairs minister Mamoru Shigemitsu signs the Japanese Instrument of Surrender as Generals Douglas MacArhur and Richard K. Sutherland watch aboard the USS Missouri, Sept. 2, 1945.
Navy planes fly over the battleship USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay, Sept. 2, 1945, to commemorate the signing of surrender documents by Japan.
POWs at Aomori camp near Yokohama cheer rescuers from the U.S. Navy.
