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00:00Previously on the last days of World War II,
00:03the United States dropped two atomic bombs on Japan,
00:07annihilating the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
00:14Despite the threat of more destruction to come,
00:16the Japanese Supreme War Council refused to surrender unconditionally to the Allies.
00:24And Stalin's troops stormed into Manchuria
00:26as the Soviet Union declared war against Japan.
00:30This week, after nearly six years of worldwide conflict
00:37and the deaths of many millions,
00:39the Second World War finally comes to an end.
00:43The news is met with wild celebrations across the world.
01:00August the 13th, Japan.
01:12As the last week of the war begins, two Japanese cities have been vaporized.
01:16Four days ago, the United States dropped their plutonium bomb, Fat Man, on Nagasaki.
01:26It was the second atomic bomb to detonate over mainland Japan in three days.
01:33The first bomb, the uranium-fueled Little Boy, was dropped on Hiroshima on August the 6th.
01:44Each bomb detonated with the force of around 20 kilotons of TNT,
01:49about 2,000 times more powerful than the largest bombs used to date.
01:54More than 100,000 people were killed instantly.
02:00Allied conventional air raids on Japan then resumed,
02:04compounding the chaos and destruction.
02:06Well, we called it the milk run.
02:09That's what you called a mission that we had no opposition.
02:12Since March the 9th, low-level incendiary bombing has destroyed much of Japan's infrastructure
02:19and killed up to 300,000 people.
02:24It's a devastated landscape.
02:26In fact, if you were to take pictures of Hiroshima and Nagasaki,
02:30put them in a pile of pictures of places like Nagoya, Kobe, Osaka and Tokyo,
02:35you'd probably have a hard time figuring out which was which.
02:38Despite the unprecedented level of destruction,
02:40the Imperial Command remains defiant.
02:43We couldn't understand the mentality of the Japanese
02:46that why are they willing to continue this
02:50when they saw suddenly, in one fell swoop, what happened to them.
02:54That we just could not understand.
03:00Now, faced with the threat of yet more terrible destruction,
03:04Emperor Hirohito urges the Supreme War Council
03:07to accept Allied demands for unconditional surrender.
03:10Three days ago, Japan had signaled its willingness
03:16to accept the surrender terms of the Potsdam Declaration,
03:19issued by the Allies on July the 26th.
03:22But with one condition,
03:24the Emperor must be allowed to remain on the throne.
03:26Well, the sticking point for much of the Japanese leadership
03:33about whether and when to surrender
03:35revolved around the question of the fate of the Emperor
03:39and the Imperial Institution.
03:41This was seen as kind of the core of Japanese civilization
03:45in the same way that Americans would have thought of freedom and democracy
03:49as being at the core of their civilization.
03:52Any compromise on that, of course, would be rejected.
03:55The Japanese military was not impressed by the atomic bombings.
03:59They didn't look that much different from the fire bombings that had preceded them.
04:05As far as they were concerned, if they had to be atomic bombed,
04:08they would accept that as long as the Emperor system could be preserved.
04:12The Allies tell the Japanese that their future government will be decided by the free will of the people
04:18and that the Allies will remain in Japan
04:21until the objectives detailed in the Potsdam Declaration are achieved.
04:26The one Japanese condition of surrender,
04:29that the Emperor's position be considered inviolable,
04:32is rejected by the Western Allies.
04:35The Allies do, however, want to retain the Emperor in the immediate future,
04:40using his authority to transmit Allied orders.
04:45August the 14th, the Imperial Palace, Tokyo.
04:49With the War Council deadlocked, Emperor Hirohito intervenes.
04:53He meets with Japanese officials in an air raid shelter on the palace grounds.
05:00Hirohito believes that unconditional surrender will save countless lives,
05:04as well as the Japanese Imperial line.
05:06He was the steward of this line that went back again for generations,
05:13unbroken, according to the mytho history.
05:19And I think that ultimately was what determined his decision
05:24that peace was something that could not be avoided,
05:28that surrender had to take place.
05:30And only with that could the Imperial line be preserved.
05:34At Hirohito's urging, the Japanese cabinet agrees to surrender.
05:39It is the Emperor's darkest hour.
05:43Born in Tokyo in 1901,
05:46Hirohito was the eldest son of Crown Prince Yoshihito.
05:49He was destined to become the 124th Emperor of Japan.
05:57But no one would ever have imagined
05:59that in the 19th year of his reign,
06:01he would be relinquishing control of Japan to foreign powers.
06:08In 1912, his father became Emperor,
06:11ascending to the Chrysanthemum Throne of Japan.
06:13Four years later, Hirohito was formally invested as Crown Prince.
06:20In 1921, his father,
06:22who had a long history of physical and mental illness,
06:25became incapable of performing his official duties.
06:28So, at the age of 20,
06:30Hirohito became Prince Regent.
06:32The same year, Hirohito toured Europe,
06:35the first prince to leave his native land.
06:38Just five years later, his father died,
06:41and Hirohito became Emperor.
06:43According to the Japanese Shinto religion,
06:46the emperor was a descendant of the sun goddess Amaterasu Omikami.
06:52But despite his revered status,
06:54Hirohito had very little influence over affairs of state,
06:58particularly the military.
07:00He officially sanctioned the decision to attack the US in 1941,
07:04despite deep personal misgivings.
07:06It proved to be a massive blunder
07:08that brought devastation and defeat to Japan.
07:13Hirohito remained on the throne until his death on January 7th, 1989.
07:24His 63-year reign is the longest in Japanese history.
07:28August the 14th, the Imperial Palace, Tokyo.
07:37Emperor Hirohito orders the Supreme War Council to endure the unendurable.
07:43The emperor made it clear to those who were present at this meeting
07:45that it was his wish that they accept the terms of the Potsdam Declaration.
07:49The emperor makes it clear also that this is a very difficult decision
07:51and one that he regrets very much, but it is a necessary one.
07:55The terms for unconditional surrender are accepted.
07:59Hirohito leaves the room to prepare a radio broadcast,
08:03informing the empire of the surrender.
08:04The emperor, however, fears the military may attempt to undermine his decision.
08:12As a precaution, he records the address.
08:15Hirohito intends to cable the message to Japanese diplomats in Sweden and Switzerland
08:20for transmission to the US, the UK, China and the Soviet Union.
08:27But the emperor's suspicions of a revolt by elements of the military are confirmed.
08:3111pm, a group of army officers led by Major Kenji Hatanaka storm the palace
08:40in an effort to prevent the broadcast of the surrender message.
08:44They intend to seize the recorded broadcast,
08:47now locked in a wall safe, before it is transmitted.
08:56Hatanaka is not afraid to use violence against those who stand in his way.
09:00He shoots dead General Takeshi Mori, commander of the Imperial Guard,
09:05for refusing to cooperate.
09:07The rebels search the palace for the recording,
09:10but they are forced to flee by troops loyal to the emperor.
09:13August 15th, Japan, 12pm.
09:17Emperor Hirohito's message is broadcast by NHK technicians.
09:22A stunned nation hears the voice of the crane speak of an extraordinary measure.
09:28It is the first time the ordinary people of Japan have heard the voice of their emperor.
09:34His people got to hear his high-pitched, screechy voice,
09:37which they'd never heard before,
09:39and he told the Japanese people to surrender.
09:46Hirohito's address to the nation has been recorded
09:49in the very formal language of the imperial court,
09:51far removed from everyday speech.
09:54Most people have no idea what he is saying.
10:01Some guessed what it was,
10:04that it was not an appeal to fight,
10:07but they had to put on the radio a spokesman of the army
10:14who came and suddenly, in a clear language,
10:18translated or explained what happened.
10:22Boys, it's all finished.
10:24We have to accept the Potsdam ultimatum for surrender.
10:29In his radio address, Hirohito states,
10:34the war situation has developed not necessarily to Japan's advantage,
10:39while the general trends of the world have all turned against her interest.
10:43Moreover, the enemy has begun to employ a new and most cruel bomb,
10:48the power of which to do damage is indeed incalculable,
10:52taking the toll of many innocent lives.
10:54Hirohito concludes by saying that if Japan continues to fight,
10:59it would not only result in the ultimate collapse and obliteration of the Japanese nation,
11:03but would lead to the total extinction of human civilization.
11:07It was a tremendous shock to all of Japanese society throughout the empire
11:12that their emperor, this godlike figure they had been led to believe,
11:18was surrendering their country to the Americans.
11:21But the Japanese actually put up very little resistance once surrender was finalized.
11:27There are people who are tremendously relieved that surrender has come.
11:31There are people in the military in particular who are disappointed,
11:34who feel that they had been somehow betrayed by what had happened.
11:383 p.m.
11:40Three hours after the broadcast,
11:42Prime Minister Suzuki and his cabinet resign.
11:45The head of the new government is Prince Naruhiko Higashikuni,
11:49Hirohito's uncle,
11:50who will nominally lead the surrender government.
11:54The country will be subject to Allied rule
11:56and answerable to General MacArthur.
11:58News of surrender is heartbreaking for many.
12:04Admiral Matomi Ugagi,
12:06director of the kamikaze attacks at Okinawa,
12:08takes off leading a small formation of suicide planes.
12:12They are never seen again.
12:17The same day,
12:18U.S. bombers en route to Tokyo are recalled.
12:24So that very last mission,
12:26we were all antsy about it.
12:29Are we going to have to go or aren't we going to have to go?
12:33So,
12:34we did all the preparation,
12:37took off,
12:38and flew the mission.
12:4015 hours of it.
12:42And on the way back,
12:45is when we really got the word.
12:46because there was a code word that we kept looking for,
12:50and listening for, rather.
12:52And the code word was Utah.
12:56And we finally got it.
13:02After months of incendiary missions over Japan,
13:05the final wave of B-29s returns to base.
13:08After receiving word of the surrender,
13:12U.S. Task Force 38 comes under sporadic air attack.
13:16Fleet Admiral William Bull Halsey
13:18orders his pilots to protect the ships
13:20by shooting down all approaching Japanese planes.
13:23ships at sea carrying U.S. troops being redeployed to the Pacific
13:33are also informed of the surrender.
13:37When it came official,
13:39they said the boat is going to turn around,
13:41so we could see the boat turning in the wake.
13:45And everybody wanted to see the wake.
13:47We wanted to make sure the boat turned around,
13:50and all the soldiers got out and started to look,
13:52and the boat started to lean into the ocean.
13:58August the 15th,
14:00General Douglas MacArthur,
14:01Supreme Allied Commander in the Southwest Pacific,
14:04orders the Japanese to send a delegation to Manila.
14:07There, they will receive instructions
14:09on the plans for the occupation of Japan
14:11and the signing of surrender documents.
14:16He tells the Japanese that the delegation
14:19is to make contact using the password Bataan,
14:22the scene of a brutal POW death march
14:24ordered by the Japanese in 1942,
14:27in which about 10,000 Allied soldiers died.
14:32The significance of Bataan
14:34was not lost on the Japanese officials.
14:37Their request for another password is denied.
14:40Four days later,
14:45a Japanese delegation takes off for Manila
14:47in two bombers,
14:49painted white and marked with green crosses,
14:51as instructed.
14:55They are intercepted and escorted by U.S. fighters.
14:59The Japanese pilots signal Bataan.
15:01The Americans reply,
15:02we are Bataan's watchdog.
15:05Follow us.
15:08August the 15th,
15:10Washington,
15:117 p.m.
15:12An elated President Truman
15:14stands on the portico of the White House
15:16proclaiming,
15:17this is the day we've been waiting for
15:18since Pearl Harbor.
15:21Truman,
15:21along with Prime Minister Clement Attlee
15:23and Australian Prime Minister Joseph Chifley,
15:26declare a two-day public holiday.
15:29The 15th will be known as VJ Day.
15:31Truman and many others believe
15:35that the atomic bombs
15:36have brought a swift end
15:37to the war against Japan,
15:39sparing thousands of lives on both sides.
15:42Later on,
15:43when he and everyone else realized
15:46the kinds of danger,
15:48the kinds of damage,
15:49the harm inflicted on civilians,
15:52he deplored the fact
15:53that it had to be used.
15:55But I think he never had any doubt
15:58that it was a decision
15:59that he had to make.
15:59I don't know when the war would have ended
16:02if we had not dropped the bomb.
16:04We saved a lot more lives
16:07than were killed in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
16:11You talk to thousands of people
16:13who were army people
16:15who were on Okinawa
16:16waiting for the invasion of Japan.
16:19So many of them will come up
16:20if they find out
16:21that you had anything to do with it,
16:23they'll come up and say,
16:24you sure saved my life.
16:28But many come to question
16:29the use of the atomic bombs
16:31and ultimately oppose
16:33the use of nuclear weapons.
16:38Most Americans supported
16:40the dropping of the atomic bomb
16:42and most of the people
16:44in the Allied countries
16:46also supported it.
16:47There was not a realization
16:49fully at this point
16:51of the awesome destructiveness
16:54of nuclear war.
16:56It was only afterwards,
16:58much later,
16:59when the full effect
17:00of the atomic bombs became clear.
17:03Not only did it kill
17:04100,000 people in an instant
17:07in Hiroshima,
17:08but many, many thousands more
17:11died years,
17:12even decades afterwards.
17:13I was asked in an interview,
17:16do you feel like a war hero?
17:18And I said,
17:19no, I don't feel like a war hero.
17:21And a friend of mine said,
17:23probably a better question
17:25would have been,
17:26do you feel like a war criminal?
17:28I'm responsible for the death
17:30of a number of people
17:31in Hagasaki particularly
17:33because I was part of the team
17:36that made us successful.
17:38weapon.
17:39But I have said
17:41and believe that
17:42if Truman could have
17:44stopped the war
17:45without more casualties,
17:48more Allied casualties
17:49especially,
17:50I would have been very happy
17:51if he had been able
17:52to do it without the bomb.
17:54But, you know,
17:55those things were all tied up.
17:57So it isn't just
17:59could we have stopped the war,
18:00but could we have stopped
18:01the war without further casualties?
18:03And the answer to that
18:03is I don't think so.
18:08August the 50th,
18:13VJ Day.
18:16In the United States,
18:18wild celebrations erupt
18:19from coast to coast.
18:21In San Francisco,
18:22American troops,
18:23many of whom expected
18:24to be shipped out
18:25for the invasion of Japan,
18:26are overcome with relief
18:28and euphoria.
18:29If you wanted to see
18:33a celebration,
18:35you should have been
18:36in San Francisco
18:37on VJ Day.
18:38I was relieved
18:39of the horrors
18:40of what we had been through.
18:42I just, you know,
18:44I was glad it was over.
18:48We knew that
18:49that was going to be the end.
18:51Thank God
18:52that was going to be the end.
18:54On the East Coast,
18:56two million people
18:57pour into New York City's
18:58Times Square
18:59to celebrate
19:00the long-awaited victory.
19:02I was wondering
19:03which one of the nurses
19:04I was going to date
19:05that night.
19:07And I had a wonderful time.
19:09I was making up
19:10for the years,
19:11months,
19:12so forth,
19:13that I had been away.
19:15I had a lot of making up
19:16to do.
19:17And I did
19:18quite a bit of it.
19:23VJ Day?
19:27Yes,
19:27I remember that well.
19:30Everybody was
19:31really happy
19:32and jumping up and down.
19:34We got free ice cream
19:35and free beer
19:36at the
19:37mess hall,
19:39so
19:39it was a happy time.
19:43In the midst
19:44of the VJ Day revelry,
19:45a sailor plants a kiss
19:47on a young nurse.
19:50Photographer
19:51Alfred Eisenstadt
19:52captures the moment
19:53on film.
19:54It would be the kiss
19:55seen around the world,
19:57a famous symbol
19:57of VJ Day,
19:59which appeared
19:59in Life Magazine's
20:00August 27th issue.
20:04An unsuspecting wife,
20:06Mary Ann Reynolds,
20:08would recognise
20:08the sailor in the photo,
20:10her husband,
20:11Jim.
20:14When asked by his wife
20:16about the photograph
20:16in Life Magazine,
20:18seaman Jim Reynolds
20:19denied that it was him.
20:20He said he was in California
20:22on VJ Day.
20:24With her suspicions
20:25allayed,
20:26Jim and Mary Ann
20:27went on to have
20:27four children
20:28and years of happy marriage.
20:30As time passed,
20:32more than 11 men
20:33would claim to be
20:33the sailor
20:34in the famous photo.
20:36But five decades later,
20:38after his wife's death,
20:39Jim Reynolds
20:40privately revealed
20:41to a freelance writer
20:42what he believed
20:43to be the truth.
20:44On May the 8th, 1945,
20:48Reynolds had just sailed
20:49to New York
20:50from England.
20:51A photographer
20:51asked him to pose
20:52for a picture,
20:53kissing a young woman
20:54in a nurse's uniform.
20:57At first,
20:57Jim declined
20:58as he was engaged.
20:59But the photographer
21:00didn't let up
21:01and promised to maintain
21:03his anonymity.
21:04Jim obliged.
21:06According to Jim,
21:06the photo was taken
21:07not on VJ Day,
21:09but three months earlier
21:10on VE Day.
21:13Most sailors in New York
21:15on VJ Day
21:16would have been wearing
21:17summer dress whites,
21:18not the blue uniforms
21:19worn in May.
21:21The magazine insists,
21:22however,
21:23that photo was taken
21:24on VJ Day.
21:30To his dying day,
21:32Jim promised that
21:32although he fulfilled
21:33the photographer's request,
21:35he was always faithful
21:36to the love of his life,
21:38Mary Ann.
21:40August the 15th,
21:44New York City.
21:46Amid the euphoria
21:47of VJ Day,
21:48Mayor LaGuardia
21:49makes an emotional broadcast
21:51paying tribute
21:52to Franklin Roosevelt.
21:54As millions of Americans
21:55take to the streets,
21:56in Britain,
21:57Prime Minister Clement Attlee
21:58announces Japan's surrender
22:00in a triumphant radio broadcast.
22:06August the 15th,
22:08London.
22:08huge crowds
22:10pour into the streets
22:11in celebration.
22:12Japan has today surrendered.
22:16The last of our enemies
22:17is laid low.
22:19Peace has once again
22:20come to the world.
22:23Let us thank God
22:24for this great deliverance
22:25and his mercies.
22:28Long live the King.
22:299 p.m.
22:31After presiding
22:32over the state opening
22:33of the first new parliament
22:35since the war began,
22:36King George VI
22:37makes a radio address
22:39to the Empire.
22:40But amid the exhilaration
22:42and excitement of victory,
22:43the shadow of future conflict
22:45falls across the world.
22:49August the 16th,
22:512.53 p.m.
22:53Winston Churchill,
22:54now leader of the opposition,
22:56stands in the House of Commons
22:57to issue another warning
22:59about Soviet intentions
23:00in Eastern Europe.
23:04He speaks of the injustices
23:07unfolding behind
23:08Stalin's Iron Curtain,
23:09which now divides the continent.
23:11The Soviets have also
23:18regained territories
23:19in the Far East,
23:20which were seized by Japan
23:2140 years ago.
23:24Following the Soviet invasion
23:25of Manchuria
23:26on August the 9th,
23:27Stalin agrees
23:28to hand occupied territory
23:29back to the Chinese nationalists
23:31within three months.
23:34In turn,
23:35Chiang Kai-shek
23:36will allow the Soviets
23:37to reoccupy
23:38the Port Arthur naval base,
23:40seized by Japan
23:40in 1905.
23:44But as they did in Germany,
23:47the Soviets mercilessly
23:48pillaged the territories
23:49they occupy
23:50in the Far East
23:50and terrorized civilians.
23:53The Russian soldiers
23:55were known
23:56to have been very brutal
23:57in the treatment
23:58of the enemy,
23:59to have raped
24:00thousands,
24:01tens of thousands
24:02of women
24:03in Manchuria
24:05as they had done
24:06in Germany,
24:06and to furthermore
24:09take the industrial
24:11base of Manchuria
24:13and just lift it up
24:14and take it back
24:15to Russia with them.
24:17The Chinese Communist Army,
24:19led by Mao Zedong,
24:20has been excluded
24:21from the negotiations
24:22with the Soviets.
24:24Mao warns the Allies
24:25that they expect
24:26a share in the Japanese
24:27surrender
24:27and post-war settlement.
24:29Stalin was suspicious
24:30of Mao.
24:31He thought he might be
24:33too independent
24:34if he took over China.
24:35And he also believed
24:37that China wasn't ready
24:38for a Communist revolution.
24:39It was still too backward.
24:41It was an agricultural country.
24:42So he actually
24:43more or less
24:44bet on Chiang Kai-shek.
24:47Tensions in the Far East
24:48would continue to mount
24:50as the Nationalists
24:51and Communists
24:52vie for control
24:53of the country.
24:55August the 16th,
24:57Manchuria.
24:58Marshal Alexander Vasilevsky,
25:00commander of the Red Army
25:01in Manchuria,
25:02calls upon Japanese forces
25:03there to lay down
25:05their arms
25:05by August the 20th.
25:08There is no official reply.
25:11But within a few hours,
25:12many Japanese units
25:13begin to surrender.
25:16Moving through China
25:18at speed,
25:19the Soviets reach
25:19North Korea.
25:21The Russians
25:22were moving very swiftly
25:23through Northeast Asia,
25:25through Manchuria
25:26and into Korea.
25:28The Americans
25:29were concerned
25:29that all of the
25:30Korean peninsula
25:31could be taken over
25:32by the Russians,
25:33and that would be
25:34dangerous strategically
25:35because the Americans
25:36wouldn't want to defend
25:37Japan against any
25:40potential threat.
25:42But the U.S.
25:44has already reached
25:44an agreement
25:45with the Soviets
25:46on former Japanese-occupied
25:48areas of Northeast Asia.
25:50Six days ago,
25:52on August the 10th,
25:53the State War Navy
25:54Coordinating Committee
25:55met in Washington
25:56to map out the plan
25:58for post-war Korea.
26:00On the Korean question,
26:02two junior officers,
26:04one of whom was Dean Rusk,
26:06who later became
26:06Secretary of State,
26:08were given a National
26:09Geographic map of Korea
26:11and told to somehow
26:14divide it up.
26:16They picked an arbitrary line
26:18of latitude,
26:1938 degrees north,
26:21the 30th parallel,
26:22which divided the country
26:23more or less in half,
26:23but gave Seoul,
26:25the capital,
26:25to the Americans.
26:27And they telegrammed this
26:29on August 11th
26:30to Stalin,
26:31and somewhat to their
26:32surprise,
26:33Stalin agreed to this.
26:34But a unified political
26:36entity would not emerge
26:37in Korea.
26:38Growing tension
26:39between the U.S.
26:40and Soviet Union
26:41would see to that.
26:43August the 15th,
26:45Washington.
26:46The War Department
26:47announces that
26:47in the next year,
26:49five million servicemen
26:50will be discharged
26:51from the armed forces,
26:52including all men
26:53over 38
26:54and veterans
26:55with 78 or more points.
27:00Now that was
27:01real good news.
27:02I think they may have
27:03given you extra points
27:05if you were married
27:06or had children.
27:07How many battles
27:08you'd been in
27:08or how much action
27:10you've had,
27:11all those things counted.
27:12And those with
27:14the highest number
27:15of points
27:15got to leave first
27:16to go home.
27:17American morale
27:19is further buoyed
27:20by news
27:21from Capitol Hill.
27:23August the 20th,
27:25Washington.
27:26The War Production Board
27:27removes most of its
27:28controls
27:28over manufacturing activity.
27:31Fuel and tin goods
27:32will no longer
27:32be rationed.
27:34Restrictions
27:34on car manufacture
27:35are lifted.
27:36The U.S. economy
27:37is now stronger
27:38and more efficient
27:39than it has ever been.
27:40We fought this
27:45vast global war,
27:48produced a truly
27:50unprecedented,
27:51extraordinary amount
27:52of weaponry
27:53and centered around
27:54the world.
27:56There had never been
27:56a war as large
27:57as this before,
27:57in which a nation
27:58had been able
27:59to do that,
27:59fight a war,
28:00and maintain,
28:01in fact,
28:02increase prosperity
28:03at home
28:03at the same time.
28:05British troops
28:06also get the news
28:07they've long
28:08been waiting to hear.
28:09it's time to go home.
28:13August the 17th,
28:14London.
28:15The government aims
28:16to demobilize
28:17the armed forces
28:18at the rate
28:18of 171,000 per month.
28:21The goal is to
28:22demob 1 million men
28:23and 100,000 women
28:25by the end of 1945.
28:35August the 28th,
28:37Japan.
28:37The first contingent
28:39of Allied troops
28:40lands on Japanese soil.
28:42150 U.S. servicemen
28:44arrive in Atsugi
28:45in the Kanagawa prefecture,
28:47southwest of Tokyo.
28:50Allied forces
28:51will occupy Japan
28:52for the next seven years.
28:55During that time,
28:56a new constitution
28:57is introduced.
28:59The emperor's role
29:00as a ceremonial figurehead
29:02is confirmed.
29:03keeping the emperor
29:05was a way
29:06of keeping Japan
29:08a stable society
29:10and that the emperor
29:11could be used
29:12by the United States
29:13occupiers
29:14to give legitimacy
29:16to the occupation.
29:18The formal conclusion
29:20of the Second World War
29:21is planned to take place
29:22aboard the battleship
29:24USS Missouri.
29:25It is a ship
29:26that has played
29:27its full part
29:28in the war.
29:32The USS Missouri
29:33was commissioned
29:34on June 11, 1944,
29:36the last U.S. battleship
29:38to enter service
29:39in World War II.
29:40Built in the New York
29:41Navy Yard
29:42in Brooklyn,
29:43the Missouri
29:43was launched
29:44by Margaret Truman.
29:45The Missouri
29:46then set sail
29:47for San Francisco Bay
29:48en route
29:49for the Pacific.
29:50May this great
29:51Shomi ship
29:51named for the
29:53Shomi state
29:53be an avenger
29:54to the barbarians
29:56who wantonly
29:57slaughtered
29:57the heroes of Bataan
29:58and may that
29:59ship Missouri
30:00and the other
30:01ships of our navy
30:02do their full share
30:03on behalf
30:04of the people
30:04of the United States
30:05to maintain the peace
30:07which will follow
30:08our total victory.
30:12900 feet long
30:14and 100 feet wide,
30:15the Missouri
30:16displaced 57,500 tons
30:18when fully laden.
30:20She had a top speed
30:21of 33 knots
30:22and was armed
30:22with nine 16-inch guns,
30:2425-inch guns
30:26and four float planes
30:28for reconnaissance
30:29and directing gunfire.
30:33Arriving in the
30:34Pacific war zone
30:35in January 1945,
30:38the Missouri,
30:39nicknamed Mighty Moe,
30:41provided gunnery support
30:42for the invasions
30:43of Iwo Jima
30:44and Okinawa.
30:46She also screened
30:47Task Force 58
30:48during airstrikes
30:49against Japan
30:50and was used
30:52in naval bombardments
30:53of mainland Japan.
30:55In May 1945,
30:57the Missouri
30:58became the flagship
30:59of the U.S.
31:00Third Fleet.
31:02After seeing service
31:03in the Korean War,
31:05she was decommissioned
31:06in 1955.
31:07But the Missouri
31:09was brought back
31:10into service
31:10in 1986.
31:11In 1991,
31:18the Missouri launched
31:19a Tomahawk missile attack
31:20on Baghdad
31:21during the first Gulf War.
31:30In March 1992,
31:33the Missouri was decommissioned
31:34for the second
31:35and last time.
31:37In 1998,
31:38the battleship arrived
31:39at Pearl Harbor
31:40where she serves
31:41as a museum
31:42and memorial
31:43to those who died
31:44during the Japanese attack
31:45on December 7, 1941.
31:52September 2,
31:54Tokyo Bay,
31:559 a.m.
31:55We're on the Pacific Fleet
31:57flagship USS Missouri
31:59in Tokyo Bay
32:00for the signing
32:01of the surrender
32:02of Japan.
32:05General MacArthur
32:07will preside
32:08over the ceremony.
32:11I now invite
32:12the representatives
32:14of the Emperor
32:17of Japan
32:18to sign
32:19the instrument
32:20of surrender
32:21at the places
32:22indicated.
32:23The Japanese delegation
32:26had been horrified
32:27when they were shown
32:28an initial draft
32:29of the surrender document.
32:31The Japanese version
32:32began with
32:32Ai Hirohito,
32:34Emperor of Japan,
32:36using Watakushi
32:37for Ai.
32:39The Emperor
32:39always referred
32:40to himself
32:41as Chin,
32:42the royal pronoun.
32:45The documents
32:46were revised
32:47at the request
32:48of the Japanese.
32:50Now,
32:50two copies
32:51of the surrender documents
32:52are placed
32:53on a mess table.
32:54One is bound
32:55in leather
32:55for the Allies,
32:57the other
32:57in canvas
32:58for the Japanese.
33:039.04 a.m.
33:05Foreign Minister
33:06Mamoru Shigemitsu
33:07and General Yoshijiro
33:09sign the surrender document
33:10on behalf of Japan.
33:12General MacArthur
33:17as Supreme Allied Commander
33:19signs first
33:20for the Allied delegation,
33:22which includes
33:22Fleet Admiral
33:23Chester Nimitz
33:24for the United States,
33:25Admiral Sir Bruce Fraser
33:27for Great Britain
33:27and General Sir Thomas Blamey
33:29for Australia,
33:31along with representatives
33:32of the Soviet Union,
33:34China,
33:35Canada,
33:36France,
33:38the Netherlands
33:38and New Zealand.
33:40The document
33:41is only two pages long
33:43and to the point.
33:46It states,
33:47the authority
33:48of the Emperor
33:49and the Japanese government
33:50to rule the state
33:51shall be subject
33:52to the Supreme Commander
33:53for the Allied Powers,
33:55who will take such steps
33:56as he deems proper
33:57to effectuate
33:58these terms of surrender.
34:029.24 a.m.
34:03General MacArthur
34:05rises from his seat
34:06and,
34:07in a steely voice,
34:09addresses those witnessing
34:10the historic event.
34:12It is my earnest hope
34:13and indeed
34:15the hope
34:16of all mankind
34:17that from this
34:19solemn occasion
34:21a better world
34:23shall emerge
34:25out of the blood
34:25and carnage
34:26of the past,
34:28a world
34:29founded
34:30upon faith
34:31and understanding,
34:32a world
34:34dedicated
34:35to the dignity
34:36of man
34:37and the fulfillment
34:38of his most cherished wish
34:41for freedom,
34:43tolerance
34:44and justice.
34:50I expected
34:52nothing but
34:53miserable treatment
34:55from the
34:56Supreme Commander
34:58or Allied Forces.
35:00So I was
35:01really shocked
35:02when
35:03MacArthur
35:04repeated
35:04these three words
35:06freedom,
35:08justice,
35:09tolerance
35:09and I thought
35:11listening to
35:12MacArthur's
35:13speech
35:15I wondered
35:17if
35:17Japan
35:19won the war
35:20would the
35:21Japanese
35:21commander
35:22say
35:23such a thing?
35:24as the
35:28Japanese delegation
35:29is led away
35:29MacArthur
35:30puts his arm
35:31around Fleet
35:31Admiral
35:32Halsey's
35:32shoulders
35:33and says
35:33Bill
35:34where the
35:34hell
35:34are those
35:35airplanes?
35:39At that
35:40moment
35:40the roar
35:41of 2,000
35:42Allied aircraft
35:43is heard overhead.
35:45There wasn't
35:46one big
35:46bunch of planes
35:47it was just
35:47wave after wave
35:49and they
35:50called it
35:50a show of
35:51force.
35:52It's a good
35:53thing that you
35:53surrendered
35:54because look
35:54what we
35:55could do
35:55to you.
35:56You know.
35:59September
35:59the 2nd
36:001945
36:01Washington
36:02immediately
36:04after the
36:04signing of
36:05the
36:05surrender
36:05documents
36:06President
36:06Truman
36:07makes an
36:07address
36:07from the
36:08White House.
36:09The thoughts
36:10and hopes
36:10of all
36:11America
36:11indeed
36:12of all
36:13the
36:13civilized
36:14world
36:14are
36:15centered
36:15tonight
36:16on the
36:16battleship
36:17Missouri.
36:18The
36:18Japanese
36:19have
36:19just
36:19officially
36:20laid
36:20down
36:21their
36:21arms.
36:23They
36:23have
36:23signed
36:24terms
36:24of
36:24unconditional
36:25surrender
36:26on land
36:28and sea
36:29and in
36:29the air
36:29American
36:31men
36:31and women
36:31have
36:32given
36:32their
36:32lives
36:33so that
36:33this
36:34day
36:34of
36:34ultimate
36:35victory
36:35might
36:35come
36:36and
36:36assure
36:37the
36:37survival
36:37of a
36:38civilized
36:38world.
36:42At the
36:42Imperial
36:43Palace
36:44Hirohito
36:44fearful
36:45the
36:45Japanese
36:46delegation
36:46will be
36:47insulted
36:47anxiously
36:48awaits
36:49news
36:49of the
36:50surrender
36:50ceremony.
36:53When
36:53he finally
36:54receives
36:54word of
36:55the proper
36:55treatment
36:55shown to
36:56the
36:56Japanese
36:57aboard
36:57the
36:57USS
36:58Missouri
36:58Hirohito
36:59breaks
37:00down
37:00in
37:00tears.
37:02In
37:03two
37:03weeks
37:04Emperor
37:04Hirohito
37:05and
37:05General
37:05MacArthur
37:06would
37:06come
37:06face
37:07to
37:07face
37:07at
37:08the
37:08U.S.
37:08Embassy
37:08in
37:09Tokyo.
37:12MacArthur
37:13seems
37:13very much
37:13at ease
37:14the
37:14emperor
37:14does
37:14not
37:15and
37:15that
37:16photograph
37:16which
37:17makes it
37:17also
37:17quite
37:18clear
37:18that
37:18the
37:18emperor
37:18visits
37:19MacArthur
37:19not the
37:20other way
37:20around
37:21is
37:22a
37:22marker
37:22and a
37:23real
37:23symbol
37:24that
37:24Japan
37:24has
37:25been
37:25defeated.
37:25As
37:26I
37:26led
37:27him
37:27in
37:27MacArthur
37:28who
37:28deliberately
37:30was
37:30standing
37:30there
37:31waiting
37:31for
37:31him
37:32to
37:32come
37:32in
37:32strode
37:34towards
37:34him
37:35and
37:36said
37:36you
37:37are
37:37very
37:38very
37:38welcome
37:39sir
37:39and I
37:40was
37:40astonished
37:41because
37:41it was
37:41the first
37:42time
37:42I'd
37:42ever
37:42heard
37:42MacArthur
37:43say
37:43sir
37:44to
37:44anyone
37:44Shaking
37:46with
37:46nerves
37:47Hirohito
37:48states
37:48I
37:49come
37:49to
37:49you
37:49General
37:50MacArthur
37:50to
37:51offer
37:51myself
37:51to
37:52the
37:52powers
37:52you
37:52represent
37:53as
37:53the
37:54one
37:54to
37:54bear
37:54sole
37:54responsibility
37:55for
37:56every
37:56political
37:56and
37:57military
37:57decision
37:58made
37:58and
37:59action
37:59taken
38:00by
38:00my
38:00people
38:00in
38:01the
38:01conduct
38:02of
38:02the
38:02war
38:02Following
38:04the
38:04surrender
38:04ceremony
38:05on
38:05the
38:05Missouri
38:06Truman
38:06receives
38:07a
38:07message
38:07from
38:07Stalin
38:08Allow
38:09me
38:09on
38:09the
38:09occasion
38:10of
38:10your
38:10signing
38:10the
38:11instrument
38:11of
38:11surrender
38:12by
38:12Japan
38:12to
38:13congratulate
38:13you
38:14the
38:14US
38:15government
38:15and
38:15the
38:16American
38:16people
38:16on
38:17your
38:17great
38:17victory
38:18over
38:18Japan
38:18I
38:19salute
38:20the
38:20forces
38:20of
38:20the
38:21United
38:21States
38:21of
38:21America
38:22on
38:22the
38:22occasion
38:23of
38:23their
38:23brilliant
38:23victory
38:24Ten
38:27days
38:27later
38:27in
38:28Singapore
38:28Admiral
38:29Lord
38:29Louis
38:29Mountbatten
38:30presides
38:31over a
38:31formal
38:31ceremony
38:32marking
38:32the
38:33surrender
38:33of
38:33Japanese
38:33forces
38:34in
38:34Southeast
38:35Asia
38:35Similar
38:40ceremonies
38:41also
38:41take
38:41place
38:42in
38:42China
38:42Indochina
38:43and
38:44Hong
38:44Kong
38:44World
38:46War
38:47II
38:47the
38:48bloodiest
38:48conflict
38:48in
38:49history
38:49has
38:50finally
38:50come
38:51to
38:51an
38:51end
38:51yet
38:56for
38:56both
38:56the
38:56victors
38:56and
38:57the
38:57vanquished
38:58the
38:58appalling
38:58cost
38:59to
38:59human
38:59life
39:00is
39:00inescapable
39:01the
39:02scale
39:03of
39:03the
39:03slaughter
39:03will
39:03never
39:04be
39:04known
39:04but
39:05it
39:05is
39:05believed
39:06that
39:0655
39:07million
39:07people
39:08have
39:08perished
39:09about
39:09three
39:10in
39:10every
39:10five
39:11were
39:11civilians
39:12the heaviest
39:18losses
39:19were
39:19suffered
39:19by the
39:20soviet
39:20union
39:2013
39:21million
39:22soldiers
39:22killed
39:238
39:24million
39:24civilians
39:25dead
39:25more
39:29than
39:2913
39:30million
39:30Chinese
39:31have
39:31been
39:31killed
39:32nearly
39:337
39:34million
39:34Poles
39:35including
39:35many
39:36of the
39:366
39:36million
39:37Jews
39:37estimated
39:38to have
39:38perished
39:395
39:40and a
39:40half
39:40million
39:41Germans
39:41were
39:41dead
39:42about
39:422
39:43million
39:43Japanese
39:44600,000
39:45French
39:45350,000
39:47Italians
39:48400,000
39:50American
39:51troops
39:51lost
39:52their
39:52lives
39:52in
39:52the
39:52war
39:53more
39:55than
39:55600,000
39:56were
39:56wounded
39:56we had a job
40:00to do
40:00we were
40:01trained to
40:01do it
40:01and we
40:01did it
40:02well
40:02I think
40:02I am proud
40:07of my
40:08minuscule
40:09contribution
40:09to what
40:11was done
40:12in behalf
40:15of my
40:15country
40:15for the
40:18free world
40:19it'll
40:20always
40:20live
40:20with me
40:21up to
40:23350,000
40:24British
40:25soldiers
40:25were killed
40:26in the
40:26war
40:2690,000
40:28civilians
40:28died
40:29mostly in
40:30bombing
40:30raids
40:31the
40:32dominions
40:33played
40:33their part
40:33and suffered
40:34accordingly
40:3524,000
40:37dead
40:37soldiers
40:38of the
40:38Indian
40:38army
40:3937,000
40:41Canadians
40:4223,000
40:44Australians
40:4410,000
40:46New Zealanders
40:476,000
40:48South
40:48Africans
40:49many
40:53thousands
40:53more
40:53were lost
40:54across
40:54Europe
40:55and
40:55Asia
40:55the
40:56human
40:56suffering
40:57that
40:57occurred
40:57throughout
40:58the
40:58war
40:58remains
40:59immeasurable
41:00most
41:02had been
41:03neither
41:03heroes
41:04nor
41:04villains
41:05some
41:06fought
41:06for their
41:07country
41:07for their
41:08beliefs
41:08or for
41:09their
41:09comrades
41:09but most
41:11were the
41:11unwitting
41:12victims
41:12of forces
41:13beyond
41:13their
41:14control
41:14or even
41:15their
41:16comprehension
41:16sucked
41:18into the
41:18vortex
41:18of the
41:19most violent
41:20war
41:20in mankind's
41:22history
41:22yet what
41:23emerged
41:24from the
41:24madness
41:25and carnage
41:25was victory
41:26a victory
41:27over tyranny
41:28set on
41:29conquest
41:29and enslavement
41:31it
41:32it had
41:32demanded
41:32the
41:33sacrifice
41:33of millions
41:34but now
41:35the bloodshed
41:36was over
41:36and for
41:37that
41:38the world
41:39rejoiced
41:39was over
41:41and for
41:41to
41:42to
41:42to
41:43to
41:44to
41:44to
41:45to
41:45to
41:45to
41:46to
41:46to
41:46to
41:47to
41:48to
41:49to
Recommended
41:03
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