By JUSTIN HARMON/Staff

 

It was a sunny day, bright and clear. The surf beat against the hull of the USS Missouri. The world around the battleship was tranquil and serene.

Thousand, though, teemed on the deck. Some had duties. Many others had cameras. Nearly everyone felt a deep sense of impending peace. 

From his station, Doyle Boothroy could see the flurry of activity that was going on just below him, especially around a small table set up on the deck.

The day was Sept. 2, 1945. After six years, World War II was about to end, there on the deck of the Missouri. 

 “It was very impressive,” said Boothroy. “There were a lot of visitors aboard.”

Those visitors, Boothroy said, were there to watch history as Japan surrendered to the Allied forces. 

The previous three months had found Boothroy and his crewmates floating in the Pacific with nothing but fighting on their minds. 

“It was a total war effort,” he said of the activities on the ship.

Most of June and July was spent supporting larger aircraft carriers and bombarding Japan from the coast. Then came August, and with it special orders for the crew of the Missouri to put down their weapons and pick up mops. Shortly, a treaty would be signed to end the war, and it would take place aboard Boothroy’s vessel. 

When the news filtered down to the enlisted men, Boothroy said, everyone was happy.

“We went from a battle station to a more sedated shipboard life,” he said. “We just cruised around… we didn’t have the same lifestyle, but the Navy has a way of keeping you busy around the clock.”

For the next few weeks, Boothroy and the rest of the crew scrubbed to ensure the Missouri looked its best for the big day.

The signing was scheduled for 9 a.m. sharp. Boothroy said the schedule was adhered to with near military precision.

A small boat containing the Japanese representatives was escorted out to where the Missouri was anchored in Tokyo Bay. They climbed aboard. Gen. Douglas MacArthur represented the United States during the ceremony. He received the Japanese representatives. 

For all its fanfare, Boothroy said the ceremony lasted only about 10 minutes. 

“Immediately after the signing, there was this tremendous roar,” said Boothroy. “1,000 planes from every carrier and other places flew over Tokyo Bay. It made a terrific noise.”

But once the roaring of the planes faded, there wasn’t much more to do.

“General MacArthur didn’t have much farther to say,” he said. “He then invited the Japanese to leave.”

At the time, Boothroy was only 19, too young, he said, to fully appreciate the gravity of the situation. 

The crew had been floating around in the Pacific for some time, eating military food and dodging bullets. Though he and the others were witnesses to history, Boothroy said the crew had other things on its mind. 

“The crew was more interested, now that the war was over, on getting home. It took some of the emphasis off the signing,” he said.

Even if the ceremony was kind of an afterthought for many of the crew, Boothroy said the fact that the war was really over sunk in quickly. Everyone was somber and happy, he said. It was time to resume life. 

In the 62 intervening years, Boothroy has gained some perspective.

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