Japan Surrenders: WWII Ends on Missouri
Admiral Halsey received knighthood aboard the USS Missouri just days before Japan signed its formal surrender in Tokyo Bay. Fleet Admiral Nimitz and General MacArthur joined Japanese officials on deck to witness the ceremony that officially ended World War II. MacArthur's opening words pledged a future built on human dignity, transforming the blood-soaked carnage into a foundation for global freedom and justice.
September 2, 1945
81 years ago
Key Figures & Places
What Else Happened on September 2
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Galla Placidia had already been captured by Visigoths, married their king, widowed, ransomed back to Rome, and forced into a second marriage by her own brother …
Richard had spent three years fighting for Jerusalem and never took it. The Treaty of Jaffa was his admission that he couldn't — but he negotiated hard. Saladin…
Mary had been Queen of France, then widowed at 18, then forced to return to a Scotland she barely remembered. When she rode into Edinburgh in August 1561, Prote…
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