The "Mighty Mo's" Place at the End of World War II-- Part 3: The Tall Sailors

Of particular concern was the Japanese foreign minister, Mamoru Shigemitsu, who was peg-legged-- his right leg had been blown off by a Korean independence activist earlier in the war.  Young sailors were instructed to play his role, boarding small boats with swab handles strapped to their legs so that they couldn't bend their legs.

On the morning of September 2, clouds loomed over Tokyo Bay and the mood on the Missouri was somber as the U.S. Marine Band played "The Star-Spangled Banner."

Just before 9 a.m., Starnes, dressed in pressed khakis, with a pair of binoculars strapped around his neck, waited to meet the Japanese delegation, including Gen. Yoshijiro Umezi, chief of the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff.

On reaching the deck, they had to walk past eight sailors, each one standing more than six feet tall.  James Starnes had picked them out in calculated effort to emphasize Allied superiority and intimidate the Japanese delegation.

--GreGen