NEW JERSEY BUILT WARSHIPS at TOKYO BAY on 2 SEPTEMBER 1945 for the SIGNING of the INSTRUMENT of SURRENDER1 By: CAPTAIN LAWRENCE B
NJ WARSHIPS AT TOKYO BAY ON VJ Day ~ Capt. Lawrence B. Brennan, USN (Ret.) NEW JERSEY BUILT WARSHIPS AT TOKYO BAY ON 2 SEPTEMBER 1945 FOR THE SIGNING OF THE INSTRUMENT OF SURRENDER1 By: CAPTAIN LAWRENCE B. BRENNAN, U.S. NAVY (RETIRED)2 “from this solemn occasion a better world shall emerge out of the blood and carnage of the past, a world founded upon faith and understanding, a world dedicated to the dignity of man and the fulfillment of his most cherished wish for freedom, tolerance, and justice.” General of the Armies Douglas A. MacArthur, United States Army 2 September 1945 on board USS Missouri (BB 63) INTRODUCTION On 2 September 1945, 258 warships of the navies of victorious Allies anchored in Tokyo Bay, near the site where in 1853 Commodore Perry had anchored. The United States Navy, which undertook the bulk of the combat in the Pacific was the largest force; the Royal Navy and the Commonwealth Navies were well represented.3 This article is the story of more than 20 of the New Jersey-built major surface combatant U.S. Navy ships which were present on that historic morning. Fig. 1: Attendance certificate, Japanese surrender on the USS Missouri, signed by General of the Armies D. A. MacArthur, Fleet Admiral C. W. Nimitz, Admiral W. F. Halsey, and Captain S.S. Murray, September 2, 1945. 4 The combat commander of the Third Fleet which dominated the waters of Japan that day was a native of New Jersey, Admiral William F. Halsey, Jr. USN. The son of a naval officer, Halsey was born in Elizabeth in 1882 and educated at the Pingry School before attending the U.S.
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