Magnanimous in Victory 70 Years Ago Today
General Douglas MacArthur signs the instrument of surrender ending the war in the Pacific against Japan.
World War II ended 70 years ago today with the signing of the instrument of surrender on the quarterdeck of the battleship Missouri as General Douglas MacArthur accepted the Japanese surrender as the representative for the Allied Powers.
Standing behind General MacArthur in the place of honor are the two generals who suffered the humiliating defeats to Imperial Japan in early to mid 1942. General Wainwright(foreground) surrendered the US forces in The Philippines and General Percival surrendered British forces at the impregnable fortress at Singapore. (note that Wainwright is clutching a fountain pen as MacArthur used five different pens to sign his name as the other pens went to General Percival, the US military academies at West Point and Annapolis, and the fifth pen was a cheap ball point that would go to MacArthur's son.)
The war in the Pacific was a brutal war, some would say a race war, where no quarter was given to the enemy and none was taken. Admiral "Bull" Halsey was hardened by battle losses and wanted a vengeful and harsh peace. He had on the USS Missouri an ornate leather and silver saddle sent by a wealthy individual in Oklahoma for Halsey to ride Emperor Hirohito's horse down the streets of Tokyo in a victory parade. Admiral Halsey later recounted how he wanted to slap one of the Japanese delegates because he felt he was stalling in signing the surrender document (the delegate was simply confused on which line to sign, and MacArthur discerning his confusion, directed an aid to show him where to sign).
There was plenty of support for Halsey's view that Japan should endure a harsh peace, and the only direction that General MacArthur received from The White House and U.S. government was that the surrender was to be signed on the battleship USS MISSOURI.
In the greatest tradition of an American General showing wisdom and magnanimity to a defeated emeny since Grant accepted General Lee's surrender at Appomattox, General MacArthur uttered these charitable words before the signing of the surrender:
"We are gathered here, representatives of the major warring powers, to conclude a solemn agreement whereby peace may be restored.
The issues involving divergent ideals and ideologies have been determined on the battlefields of the world, and hence are not for our discussion or debate.
Nor is it for us here to meet, representing as we do a majority of the peoples of the earth, in a spirit of distrust, malice, or hatred.
But rather it is for us, both victors and vanquished, to rise to that higher dignity which alone befits the sacred purposes we are about to serve, committing all of our peoples unreservedly to faithful compliance with the undertakings they are here formally to assume.
It is my earnest hope, and indeed the hope of all mankind, that from this solemn occasion a better world shall emerge out of the blood and carnage of the past -- a world founded upon faith and understanding, a world dedicated to the dignity of man and the fulfillment of his most cherished wish for freedom, tolerance, and justice."
The entire process took less than 20 minutes and afterward MacArthur addressed the world with a radio broadcast outlining the generous peace that he would oversee with the government and people of Japan. It was one of the great and shining moments in world history where charity and generosity won out over hatred and vengeance!
If you have a thoughts about a loved one who served in World War II, I would love to read your tribute to those selfless men and women of our GREATEST GENERATION!
Photo is courtesy of The National Archives
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