CHAPTER 12 - JAPAN SURRENDERS
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President Truman decided to use atomic bombs against Japan to save American lives. His decision was supported by most of the men who would have had to risk death by invading the Japanese home islands. As Paul Fussell, a former U.S. Army infantryman in Europe said in "Thank God for the Atom Bomb" When the atom bombs were dropped and the news began to circulate that we would not be obligated in a few months to rush up the beaches near Tokyo assault-firing while being machine- gunned, mortared and shelled we broke down and cried with relief and joy. We were going to live. We were going to grow to adulthood after all. Japan surrendered on August 14, only eight days after Hiroshima and five days after Nagasaki. Formal surrender ceremonies took place September 2, 1945 on the USS Missouri, in Tokyo Bay. As the original Instrument of Surrender (written by the US War Department and approved by President Truman) indicates, Japan's representatives were acting on behalf of Emperor Hirohito, the Japanese government and the Japanese military: We hereby proclaim the unconditional surrender to the Allied Powers of the Japanese Imperial General Headquarters and of all Japanese armed forces and all armed forces under Japanese control wherever situated. Douglas Mac Arthur, the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers, accepted the surrender as did representatives from nine countries, including China. The war with Japan was finally over. What did that mean for America's citizens who had been relocated to internment camps? |
