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Admiral Nimitz signing the Instruments of Surrender aboard the USS Missouri.
Photojournalist Arthur Rickerby, just twenty-four years old, took this photograph on the deck of the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay on September 2, 1945. Admiral Chester Nimitz (1885–1966), who had been commander in chief of the Pacific Ocean Area, was signing the Japanese articles of surrender for the United States. The Japanese delegation had already signed, as had General Douglas MacArthur (standing, left), for the Allies. Standing to the right of MacArthur are Admiral William Halsey and Rear Admiral Forrest Sherman. All four men held crucial leadership roles in the Pacific theater of World War II, but it was MacArthur who delivered the closing remarks on this historic day, marking the end of World War II, noting, "It is my earnest hope . . . that from this solemn occasion a better world shall emerge."
Arthur . Rickerby, 1945 |