The "Mighty Mo's" Place At the End of World War II-- Part 1

From the September 2, 2015, Chicago Tribune by Jenny Jarvie.

James Starnes, 24-years old in 1945, was the navigator on the battleship USS Missouri when he learned he was to have a key role in the ceremony that took place 70 years ago today to mark the official end of World War II.  (The surrender occurred on the USS Missouri because that was Truman's home state.  I've talked with a member of the USS South Dakota during the war who said the surrender should have taken place on that ship.

After the Japanese conceded their defeat on August 14, 1945, President Truman announced that the official surrender would be on the huge 58,000 tons USS Missouri, flagship of the 3rd Fleet.  This is where dignitaries would sign the documents to end the war.

"My job was to make sure we did not screw up," said Starnes, 94, who was officer of the deck the morning of September 2, 1945.

He is now living in a retirement community in Stone Mountain, Georgia, near Atlanta.  He is one of the few surviving veterans who organized the ceremony all those years ago.

--GreSurrenderGen