On September 2, 1945, representatives of Japan signed the Instrument of Surrender in a ceremony aboard the USS Missouri. General Douglas MacArthur presided over this carefully orchestrated ceremony as Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers.

Many of the Allied nations had expressed dissatisfaction with the secrecy of the evening surrender of Nazi Germany in May of 1945, so there was enormous pressure on MacArthur and his staff to ensure that the official end of World War II was impressive, flawless, and well covered by the media. The resulting 23 minute ceremony was painstakingly planned start to finish.

This special podcast in honor of the 70th Anniversary of the surrender will take you behind the scenes of this extraordinary event to explore the participants, the planning, and the various mistakes that threatened to derail the event.

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