Editing USS Missouri (BB-63) (section)

==== Signing of the Japanese Instrument of Surrender ====
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{{Main|Japanese Instrument of Surrender}}

[[File:Douglas MacArthur signs formal surrender.jpg|thumb|left|Allied sailors and officers watch [[General of the Army]] [[Douglas MacArthur]] sign documents during the surrender ceremony aboard ''Missouri'' on 2 September 1945. The unconditional surrender of the Japanese to the [[Allies of World War II|Allies]] officially ended the Second World War.]]

Over the course of the following two weeks, Allied forces made preparations to begin the [[occupation of Japan]]. On 21 August, ''Missouri'' sent a contingent of 200&nbsp;officers and men to ''Iowa'', which was to debark a landing party in Tokyo to begin the process of demilitarizing Japan. Two days later, Murray was informed that ''Missouri'' would host the surrender ceremony, with the date scheduled for 31 August. The ship's crew immediately began preparations for the event, including cleaning and painting the vessel. ''Missouri'' began the approach to [[Tokyo Bay]] on 27 August, guided by the {{ship|Japanese destroyer|Hatsuzakura||2|up=yes}}. That night, the ships stopped at [[Kamakura]], where a courier brought the flag that [[Commodore (United States)|Commodore]] [[Matthew C. Perry|Matthew Perry]] had flown during his [[Perry Expedition|expedition to open Japan]] in 1853; the flag was to be displayed during the surrender ceremony. The flotilla then entered Tokyo Bay on 29 August, and ''Missouri'' was anchored close to where Perry had anchored his own vessels some ninety-two years earlier. Poor weather delayed the ceremony until 2 September.{{sfn|Stillwell|pp=50–51, 53–57}}

[[Fleet admiral (United States)|Fleet Admiral]] [[Chester Nimitz]] boarded shortly after 08:00, and [[General of the Army (United States)|General of the Army]] [[Douglas MacArthur]], the Supreme Commander for the Allies, came on board at 08:43. The Japanese representatives, headed by [[Foreign Minister]] [[Mamoru Shigemitsu]], arrived at 08:56, 2 September 1945. At 09:02, General MacArthur stepped before a battery of [[microphone]]s and opened the 23-minute surrender ceremony to the waiting world by stating,{{sfn|DANFS}}{{sfn|Stillwell|p=65}} "It is my earnest hope—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."<ref>{{Cite magazine |title=''Missouri''{{'}}s place in history |magazine=[[All Hands]] |date=September 1985 |publisher=United States Navy |issue=822 |page=16}}</ref>{{efn|Another U.S. flag was raised and flown during the occasion, a flag that some sources have indicated was in fact that flag which had flown over the U.S. Capitol on 7 December 1941. This is not true; it was a flag taken from the ship's stock, according to Murray, and it was "...just a plain ordinary GI-issue flag".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://ussmissouri.org/learn-the-history/surrender/admiral-murrays-account |title=Reminiscences of the Surrender of Japan and the End of World War II |first=Stuart S. |last=Murray |author-link=Stuart S. Murray |website=USS Missouri Memorial Association |access-date=25 October 2019 |archive-date=26 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191026130431/https://ussmissouri.org/learn-the-history/surrender/admiral-murrays-account  }}</ref>}}

By 09:30 the Japanese emissaries had departed. In the afternoon of 5 September, Halsey transferred his flag to the battleship {{USS|South Dakota|BB-57|2}}, and early the next day ''Missouri'' departed Tokyo Bay. As part of the ongoing [[Operation Magic Carpet]] she received homeward-bound passengers at Guam, then sailed unescorted for Hawaii. She arrived at Pearl Harbor on 20 September and flew Admiral Nimitz's flag on the afternoon of 28 September for a reception.{{sfn|DANFS}}{{sfn|Stillwell|p=78}}