On September 2, 1945, one of the most murderous regimes of the 20th century officially surrendered to the Allies on an American battleship, finally ending World War II.
The official post from the United States Army below contains the essential details and notes that 22 out of the 88 Army divisions that served in WWII were in the Pacific Theater. Millions of soldiers, Marines, and sailors served in the Pacific Theater against the Japanese during the war. Over 30 million soldiers and civilians died in the Pacific Theater, with around 400,000 dead or wounded Americans. The Japanese killed up to 10 million people across multiple Asian nations and heinously maltreated POWs from multiple countries, including America.
Today in Army history: Victory Over Japan (VJ Day) in WWII, 2 September 1945.
The formal surrender of Japan marked the official end of a devastating conflict. Today, we pause to reflect on the sacrifices made by the Soldiers who fought across the Pacific theater.
🎥 Center of… pic.twitter.com/yRpdWKrXJQ
— U.S. Army (@USArmy) September 2, 2026
War History Online has a list of mass atrocities committed by the Imperial Japanese in their bloody rampage across Asia, including the Sandakan and Bataan death marches, the Jesselton revolt put-down, the Sook Ching and Manila massacres, and the Thai-Burma Railway. You can also read about the Nanjing atrocities. When we discuss World War II, we tend to fixate so much on the Nazis that we forget there was another equally murderous regime that barely agreed to surrender even after two atomic bombs.
The National WWII Museum says that the Americans chose the location where a U.S. commodore sailed into Tokyo Bay in 1853 to force the self-isolated island nation to have dealings with the rest of the world. Now, once again, Americans would make Japan accept American terms for interacting with other nations.
The 11 Japanese delegates assigned to make the surrender arrived at 8:56 a.m. local time, led by Foreign Minister Mamoru Shigemitsu and representatives of the Japanese military. Assembled around them were thousands of American sailors as well as representatives of all of the Allied nations—and, of course, dozens of journalists, for this ceremony would be broadcast across the world. “A million eyes seemed to beat on us with the million shafts of a rattling storm of arrows barbed with fire,” recalled Japanese diplomat Toshikazu Kase. “Never have I realized that the glance of glaring eyes could hurt so much’…After a prayer and playing of the “Star-Spangled Banner,” [Gen.] MacArthur gave a short speech [before the document signing]…As the ceremony ended after 23 minutes, a formation of B-29 Superfortresses that had brought destruction to Japan, along with carrier planes, swooped overhead.
Related: The Iran War, Hiroshima, and Saving Lives by Destroying Tyrannies
There is an unconfirmed rumor that shows up periodically in social media posts and AI chatbots: that one of the generals present expressed a wish for Bing Crosby, the star known as the “Voice of America,” to be there to set the seal on the day. Whether it is a true story or not, it represents the contribution of popular entertainment to the war effort and the excitement at the prospect of enjoying entertainment in peace that so many of the soldiers felt at the close of the war.
Yes, celebrities like Crosby had done their part to keep morale up, but now all the war-weary troops could look forward to a night at the movies without the threat of battles and bombings hanging over them. The soldiers, sailors, and Marines couldn’t wait to restart their lives back home. As the popular wartime song had said, they would finally be home for Christmas.
Editor's Note: President Trump is fighting to renew America in this 250th birthday year.
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