Formal Japanese Surrender Aboard USS Missouri — World War II Ends

The Instrument of Surrender was signed aboard the battleship USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay at 09:04 AM on September 2, 1945, formally ending World War II. General Douglas MacArthur signed on behalf of all Allied powers; Japanese Foreign Minister Mamoru Shigemitsu and Army Chief of Staff General Yoshijiro Umezu signed for Japan. Representatives of nine Allied nations signed as witnesses. MacArthur declared: 'Let us pray that peace be now restored to the world and that God will preserve it always.' The signing occurred under a flag that had flown over the US Capitol on December 7, 1941 — Pearl Harbor Day. September 2 is observed as VJ Day.