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About Herald and news. (Klamath Falls, Or.) 1942-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 29, 1955)
HERALD AND NEWS, KLAMATH FALLS, OREGON PAGE USS Missouri Lies At Rest 10 Years After War's End MONDAY, AUGUST 29. 1955 (Fdilor'i Note: The battleship Missouri lies silent and deserted 10 ye&ra alter the Japanese surren dered on ner decks to end World War II. Here, by a correspondent wno waicnea ine surrender, is the story 01 a de-activated dread- naught's greatest moment; and the cnanges a decade has brought) By Ml'RLlN SPENCER ABOARD THE USS MISSOURI ffl The stars are sone trom the battleship Missouri 10 years after that Historic day when the Japa nese signed the surrender docu- i ments to end World War II. The bis gray ship lies In virtual retirement, like most il not all of the military leaders who gathered on her gallery deck tor her great est hour. I went back to the Mighty Mo for the first time in 10 years and as I stood on her "surrender deck in Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Wash., the memories tumbled over themselves of that gray Sunday in Tokyo Bay when the war .ended and men prayed for eternal peace and understanding between na tion;. How different it is now! On this day, 10 years after, the well scrubbed wooden deck is empty and unmarked except for a metal plaque which proclaims that on Sept. 2, 1945 (Tokyo time) the Ja panese signed the document that ended the greatest war the world has known. Now the 888-foot dreadnaught Is chained to a dock In this West Coast naval shipyard her only function as headauarters shin for th Bremerton Group. Pacific Re serve Fleet, commanded by Capt. Karl P. Poehlmann of Erie, Pa. This means, simply, that she is the command ship for 36 craft of the mothball fleet, which may or may not so to war again. . The Mighty Mo now looks to the green hills of Bremerton and the water lapping genlly at her sides Is a dirty green. Her nine 19-inch ;' euns lie flat, three abreast in their ' sealed turrets, and her fast-firing antiaircraft guns are encased in silver, igloo-type coverings to pre serve them for possible future use, Hit 10 years ago the scene was Tokvo Bay and the ship was ready for a ceremony which would last for only 20 minutes but would give the Missouri the distinction of be ing the only warship on which a surrender ceremony had been signed. On that day the Missouri's guns were pointed skyward, looking to ward Tokyo, the capital of Japan. Wilh her were other ships of the greatest naval striking force the world had ever seen. Aboard the Missouri were hun dreds of white-uniformed sailors and khakl-clad Marines and war correspondents and of course, the stars. There were five-stars like Gen, TJouelas MacArthur. supreme com mander of the Allied powers, and Admirals Chester Nimitz, who commanded the great American war fleet, and William F, Halsey, who led the great naval task forces of the Facilic. . ... . , There were generals Eichelber ger, Wainwrlght. Perclval, Geiger, Kreuger and Stillwell and ad mirals Turner, Towers and Sher man. And many, many more. On this day hundreds of men hung from every vantage point the huge turrets mounting the Mis souri's guns, the decks and special platforms built for the photogra phers and reporters and newsreel men. Looking at it now one won ders how so many could have Jammed into such a small space. All eyes were on a sincts spot- the center of the small gallery deck, one deck above the main deck and on the starboard. right, side. On this spot was a wide table covered with a green cloth. Now, standing on the silent, de serted deck, I thought back on that historic day and all that it meant. A few days earlier I had made a landing at Yokosuka with the Ma rines and I remembered a battle hardened fighting man saying: "Look, no splashes." It was the first landing this ma Tine had made which the Japanese had not opposed with shells which either hit the invading craft or splashed nearby. That was what he meant no more war; peace was here. Above the quarters now occupied by Capt. Poehlmann there is a second plaque which reads; "The instrument of surrender terminating the Second World War was signed on this ship 2 Sept. 1945, E. longitude date, while she lay at anchor in Tokyu Bay." This plaque lists the American military leaders and the Allied and Japanese representatives who signed the Instrument. And then it relates tersely how, at 0904 ( 9:04 a. m. on this gray, Sunday morn ing), the Japanese representatives signed the "instrument of their country's surrender." There was more to It than that. Hours before the ceremony hun dreds of persons gathered aboard I battleships all. I the ship, stood In small groups and chatted. There were Americans in khaki with their shirts open at the neck; Australians and Dutch and Canadians and French and others. The Russians were the only ones carrying guns holstered pistols. The Chinese carried small cere monial daggers. No arms were needed. Flanking the Missouri were scores of Ameri can and British warships, their guns ready for any emergency. And the carriers stood off ready to launch their planes. It was in this short period before the ceremony was scheduled to start that an Incident occurred which left a lasting impression. There was a slight commotion on the starboard side as a small, dark gray whaleboat with an American Hag trailing in the water came alongside. It' carried the Japanese delegation. It made one think that here was a country, which, shortly after Pearl Harbor, had the world's greatest fleet and now it was gone and the representatives of this once powerful nation rode in a small boat. As they filed on deck, I noticed that Mamoru Shigemitsu, Japan's foreign minister, moved slowly be cause of a wooden leg, holding up the solemn procession. Then the Japanese delegation stood silent, with heads bowed slightly, before the wide table with its green cover. There were diplo mats and military leaders, all rep resenting the Emperor in defeat. They had been a bitter enemy for four years. Then came my second lasting impression: Before the Japanese and on the sides of them were the military leaders of the great Allied powers, standing silent in grim, severe ranks; The Japanese had no friend aboard this ship and I thought they were like the country which they represented. Because Japan, then, had no friend In all the world. Then Gen. MacArthur came from the admiral's quarters now marked by the plaque, wearing khaki trousers with a knife-like crease and a khaki shirt open at the neck. On his head was the famous cap with the elaborate gold design on the visor. He spoke brief ly and among his words were these: "It is my earnest hope and in deed 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 uppn faith and understand ing a world dedicated to the dig nity of man and the fulfillment of his most cherished wish for free dom.- tolerance and justice." Then, at MacArthur's Invitation. Shigemitsu stepped forward, lean ing heavily on his cane. He re moved a yellow glove from his right hand. He uttered no word, but as MacArthur sternly watched he sat down and signed. Gen. Yo shikiro Umezu followed him to sigh for the Japanese Imperial gen eral headquarters. Then came the most dramatic moment. Gen. MacArthur sat down to sign for all the Allied powers. And he motioned to two men gaunt, tired, obviously under se vere strain. They were Lieut, Gen. Jonathan Wainwrlght, who surrendered Cor- regidor to the Japanese, and Brit ish Gen. A. E. Percival, who had surrendered Singapore to the , Ja panese in the first davs of the war. Both had been in prisoner of war camps and they showed it. MacArthur's hand shook slightly as he gripped the first of five pens he used to sign the documents. He gave one to Wainwrlght, the sec ond to Percival, and retained the other three. One after another the other rep resentatives signed Adm. Nimitz for the United States and with him Adm. Halsey. and Rear Adm. For rest P. Sherman, NImitz's chief of staff. It was all over In a few minutes. but another lasting impression was left by MacArthur s closing words a prayer: Let us pray that peace be now restored to the world, and that God will preserve it always." Trie sun broke through the over cast and those aboard the big ship thought it was a good omen, They could not know that within five years the Missouri's big guns would be hurling shells at little- known, strangely named places in Korea, or that even alter Korea the Missouri would not be retired but placed In mothballs Just in case. I remember the words of a white-clad sailor: "Boy, this is the biggest show they ever threw. Now I can go home." The Missouri Is home, too, now. She flies the American flag at her stern and her company are other great warships like the Maryland and Colorado and West Virginia. MM ENTIRELY DIFFERENT Year-Round AIR CONDITIONER WEATHERTRON THE AU-FlECTRfC G-E HEAT PUMP . . . HEATNG t C001NG FOR HOMES, STORES, OfFCEJ HEATS without burning fuel COOLS without using water . . . uses only air, electricity SINGLE UNIT for entire home! 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