The end of World War II played out during the summer of 1945, 75 years ago now. Several different dates are commemorated: VE Day (May 8), VJ Day (August 14), and the formal ceremony of surrender staged on September 2, among others. That final ritual was staged by General MacArthur for the cameras and the history books. No detail would be overlooked.
The September 2, 1945, ceremony aboard the 45,000-ton battleship USS Missouri was a logistical nightmare for MacArthur’s staff and the ship’s crew. Men scrubbed the warship white-glove spotless. Hard-boiled combat leaders played the role of exasperated headmasters, fretting over the appearance, placement, and proper behavior of thousands of marines and sailors scheduled to be in attendance. The operation involved hundreds of documents, dignitaries, and delegates, not to mention the precise coordination of four U.S. destroyers deployed as water taxis for shuttling VIPs to the Missouri. On top of that, America’s fighting forces had to attend to the needs of 225 news correspondents and 75 photographers.
Read how the US pulled out all the stops for the photo op that documented Japan's surrender at Air & Space magazine.
(Image credit: National Archives)