Footage of the Moment the Japanese Surrendered

The September 2, 1945 Japanese surrender ceremony of WWII signaled a monumental end to a brutal conflict. Standing atop the deck of the U.S.S. Missouri, war correspondent William Courtenay was there to film it all.

#worldwar2 #history

From: FALL OF JAPAN: IN COLOR

[PhilLankford]

The US navy also brought in the tallest sailors in the fleet to be on the Missouri that day. The Japanese had to walk down the deck surrounded by guys 6'3" and up..

[doc-holliday-]

And now they're one of our closest allies. Crazy how time changes things.

[chancemolinari]

my grandfather was in the boat next to that boat

[sirshagsalot]

Imagine they all said sike and did a kamikaze moment

[nathanbasset]

Fun fact: Tokyo Tower was built to show the west that Japan had recovered. Unfortunately Japan didn’t have enough raw metal to build it, so Shermans and other US vehicles that were left behind were melted down and used.

[bb-]

I can't imagine how powerful this moment was for all those people who fought in the Pacific...

[gorgiascae]

Side effects of nuclear attack also include massive productions of technology and anime.

[davidhalliday]

My grandfather said they took all the servicemen over 6’ tall and lined them up and made the Japanese walk in between.

[discover]

man imagine that sight of 1500 planes flying across Tokyo bay. It really shows both people and military that there was no way for Japan to win.

[martinmartin]

1500 planes?after they surrendered?jeez..that was the ultimate flex..

[shaserdeses]

Once enemies now closest friends in the pacific.

[natewyliestudios]

The Japanese guy dressed like the monopoly guy

[kevinjotgaming]

Weird how we're all watching dead people making peace

[wheelmanstan]

1500 planes must have been an awesome flyby, an awakening display of power, holy shit imagine experiencing the end of such a bloody war, they must have gotten drunk on another level during that celebration

[DonnieDin]

When I was in the US Army, we did a month-long training exercise with the Japanese army in Yakima Washington. They are some of the kindest people I have ever met. They were nothing but respectful and honorable.

[Commander]

My grandfather was a tail gunner on a B-29 Superfortress when it flew over on that day. Incredible man he was.

[srkgalaxy]

The planes at the end was actually a symbol saying "gg noobs"

[switchmz]

My father was in the USS MISSOURI while the attack happened, he was a loader on the number 6 anti aircraft 5 inch, 25 caliber gun. Rest in Peace

[AdmiralBonetoPick]

So is the Smithsonian Channel basically what the History Channel and National Geographic channel used to be before they both transformed into general entertainment low-budget reality TV networks?

[phtevlin]

Douglas McArthur handled the surrender perfectly.