Official end to World War II 1945

Representatives of Japan formally surrendered to the United States and its allies when it signed the official surrender document September 2, 1945, ending World War II.  The event took place on board the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay, Japan.  

On August 15, 1945, Emperor Hirohito announced Japan accepted the terms of the Potsdam Declaration, or Proclamation for Defining Terms for Japanese Surrender.

This day is known as Victory over Japan Day or V-J Day.

USS Missouri Memorial

We visited the USS Missouri, the site of the Japanese surrender on September 2, 1945, on the 71st anniversary of the end of WWII, September 2, 2016.

It's a big ship!

A view of Ford Island from the deck.

Some mighty big guns!

A seal commemorating the surrender.

Captains' Quarters

Crew's mess.

USS Missouri kitchen

Marine guardshack.

Narrow bunkbeds for crews' quarters - not for the claustrophobic.

Third day (cont.) - USS Missouri

More pictures from the USS Missouri.

The guns of the USS Missouri looking over the USS Arizona Memorial and downtown Honolulu.

The Captain's Quarters.

The movies "Tora, Tora, Tora," and "Pearl Harbor" would have you think this is a control tower but it is actually a dive tank for practicing scuba dives.

These two buildings survied the attack on December 7, 1941 and still stand to this day.