Ho Chi Minh declares an independent Vietnam; Japanese surrender in Philippines; British re-enter Singapore

World War 2 70th Anniversary - Exhibit and resources from Government Documents and Maps Department, UHM

August 30, 2015-September 5, 2015
Location: Government Documents

On September 2, 1945 more than 250 Allied warships lay anchored in Tokyo Bay. From battleships and submarines to minesweepers and tank landing ships, the armada would have been a majestic sight. Aboard the USS Missouri, Japan's formal surrender is presided over by representatives of the Allied nations. Signing the surrender document on the Japanese side are the foreign minister and a general of the imperial forces. Both will later be imprisoned for war crimes, the latter for life. The emperor and his imperial household are missing. On the Allied side are 10 signatories. Also witnessing this historical event are two generals, an American and a British, liberated prisoners of war. Japan's empire is now back to where it was when Commodore Perry's ships first appeared in Tokyo Bay less than a century earlier. A fly-by of hundreds of B-29 bombers and Navy fighter planes puts the final period to Japan's defeat.

A facsimile of the instrument of surrender is on view in the department exhibit area. The fly-by photo is from the National Archives, WWII holdings.

Newsmap. Monday, 10 September, 1945: week of 28 August to 4 September.

Front: Text describes American advancement and control of Korean and Japanese cities after Japan's formal surrender on 1 Sept., United States time. Map shows Japan and Korea. Photographs: Gen. MacArthur signs Japanese surrender terms on Battleship Missouri; Japanese foreign minister Shigemitsu signs at Tokyo Bay ceremony; Allied prisoners of war at Omori, Japan, hail their liberators. Verso: Text and color illustrations show United States Marines' activities.

View this map in print in the Map Collection reading room, ground floor of UHM Hamilton Library, the week of 30 August 2015
View this map online through the University of North Texas Digital Library ( http://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc855/)

Notes: Newsmaps were color posters issued by the U.S. Army and the Government Printing Office (GPO) on Mondays during the World War II. They combine maps, images, and news from the previous week’s war effort.