Early in the morning on Sunday, Sept. 2, 1945, World War II formally ended in Tokyo Bay aboard the battleship USS Missouri. It was so long ago.
For 20 years I witnessed the annual commemoration of that “surrender” aboard the Battleship Missouri Memorial. For some, it may have been a reminder to hate. For others, a moment to solemnly reflect.
Yet on that Sunday morning in 1945, as representatives of the warring powers gathered, Gen. Douglas MacArthur began the proceedings with unexpected words of reconciliation: “It is my earnest hope, and indeed the hope of all mankind, that 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.”
We remember.
Michael Weidenbach
Former ship’s historian and curator
Battleship Missouri Memorial
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