Existing comment:
Cap, Shirt and Trousers:
This is the uniform, including the cap, worn by Fleet Admiral Nimitz at the ceremony on board the USS Missouri bringing to an end the war in the Pacific against Japan.
Surrender in the Pacific:
After almost four years of war, Japan had lost its fleet, was nearly strangled by submarines and air attack, had endured the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and now faced impending invasion. The nation was forced to sue for peace.
The fact the Japan would lose the war had been generally recognized for at least a year. Admiral Yamamoto's prophecy -- that he could run rampant for a year, but Japan would lose if the war lasted longer -- had come true.
In a precedent-making move, Japan's Emperor Hirohito delivered a national radio address urging his subjects to cease fighting and lay down their arms. It was the first time most Japanese had heard the emperor's voice, and almost without exception they followed his lead. |