Haddonfield Today 079_2020Sep04

10 | haddonfield.today
#079 • SEPTEMBER 4 TO 18, 2020
1919 • 2019
HADDONFIELD POST 38
World War II: “These proceedings are closed”
The detonation of a nuclear bomb above Nagasaki on August 9, 1945, three days
after a similar weapon leveled much of Hiroshima, convinced the Japanese that their
imperial ambitions could not be sustained.
They agreed to the Allies’ surrender terms with one condition: that the declaration
would not include “any demand which prejudices the prerogatives of His Majesty
as a Sovereign ruler” – in other words, that the position of the Emperor in Japanese
society would be maintained.
News of Japan’s acceptance of the surrender terms was announced to the
American public via radio on August 14, sparking massive celebrations. The
following day, a recorded address by Emperor Hirohito was broadcast across the
Empire, announcing the surrender of Japan to the Allies.
The occupation of Japan began on August 28, led by General Douglas MacArthur,
Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers. On September 2, he presided over the
surrender ceremony, held on the deck of the United States Navy battleship USS
Missouri, in Tokyo Bay. He was the only person who spoke publicly:
“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 instrument of surrender (one original in English, one in Japanese) was signed
by representatives from Japan, United States, China, Great Britain, USSR, Australia,
Canada, France, Netherlands, and New Zealand.
The signing completed, MacArthur provided a benediction:
“Let us pray that peace now be restored to the world, and that God will preserve it
always.
“These proceedings are closed.”
Publication of this public service
message made possible by
Kyle Wright’s Lawn Care
856-547-0101
* Some following text omitted.
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