Surrender of Japan, Tokyo Bay, 2 September 1945
The photo bore the subtext "Photo # USA C-2717 Gen. MacArthur speaking, 2 Sept. 1945"
General of the Army Douglas MacArthur, Supreme Allied Commander, reading his speech to open the surrender ceremonies, on board USS Missouri (BB-63).
The representatives of the Allied Powers are behind him, including (from left to right):
Admiral Sir Bruce Fraser, RN, United Kingdom;
Lieutenant General Kuzma Derevyanko, Soviet Union;
General Sir Thomas Blamey, Australia;
Colonel Lawrence Moore Cosgrave, Canada;
General Jacques LeClerc, France;
Admiral Conrad E.L. Helfrich, The Netherlands and
Air Vice Marshal Leonard M. Isitt, New Zealand.
Lieutenant General Richard K. Sutherland, U.S. Army, is just to the right of Air Vice Marshal Isitt.
Off camera, to left, are the representative of China, General Hsu Yung-chang, and the U.S. representative, Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, USN.
Framed flag in upper left is that flown by Commodore Matthew C. Perry's flagship when she entered Tokyo Bay in 1853.
unknown photographer -- Official US Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the US National Archives
NOTE: The flag mounted on the bulkhead of veranda deck is the very same one flown by Commodore Matthew C. Perry when he led the US Navy's Far East Squadron into Tokyo Bay in 1853-1854. As displayed in the frame, the flag appears to "backward," with the union (the canton, or field, of stars) in the upper right corner. This orientation was dictated by the US military's practice of displaying an immobile flag so that the union is toward the front of the person, vehicle, aircraft, or vessel, giving the visual impression that it is flying in the wind as the person or craft moves forward. The ceremony was conducted on the starboard side of the ship; had it been conducted on the port side, the flag would have been displayed with the union to the left, as it is normally seen.
The cloth of the historic flag was so fragile that the conservator at the Naval Academy Museum directed that a protective backing be sewn on it.
{{Information |Description={{en|1=US Naval Historical Center caption: Surrender of Japan, Tokyo Bay, 2 September 1945 General of the Army Douglas MacArthur, Supreme Allied Commander, reading his speech to open the surrender ceremonies, on board USS Misso
General of the Army Douglas MacArthur, Supreme Allied Commander, reading his speech to open the surrender ceremonies, on board USS Missouri (BB-63). The representatives of the Allied Powers are behind him, including (from left to right): Admiral Sir Bruce Fraser, RN, United Kingdom; Lieutenant General Kuzma Derevyanko, Soviet Union; General Sir Thomas Blamey, Australia; Colonel Lawrence Moore Cosgrave, Canada; General Jacques LeClerc, France; Admiral Conrad E.L. Helfrich, The Netherlands and Air Vice Marshall Leonard M. Isitt, New Zealand. Lieutenant General Richard K. Sutherland, U.S. Army, is just to the right of Air Vice Marshall Isitt. Off camera, to left, are the representative of China, General Hsu Yung-chang, and the U.S. representative, Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, USN. Framed flag in upper left is that flown by Commodore Matthew C. Perry's flagship when she entered Tokyo Bay in 1853. Photograph from the Army Signal Corps Collection in the U.S. National Archives.