Another comment: "What were the three guys at the railing looking at? There were three sailors by the railing in the photo looking away from the ship, one with binoculars. They were not paying attention to the proceedings of surrender.
Another person said that their great uncle Carroll A.L. "Whiskey" Herget was on the USS Missouri during the surrender.
A Navy band was also there, having just played "The Star-Spangled Banner." They are in dress whites. One has a tuba.
The officer standing by the eight sailors in white uniforms by the gang plank with binoculars around his neck was James Starnes. Two of the sailors are looking at the gang plank and one is turned around watching the surrender.
--GreGen
The USS North Carolina (BB-55) My all-time favorite warship. As an elementary school student in North Carolina, I donated nickels and dimes to save this ship back in the early sixties.
Showing posts with label Starnes James. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Starnes James. Show all posts
Thursday, September 10, 2015
See James Starnes at Japanese Surrender-- Part 2: "Didn't Have to Tell Me Twice"
There were some interesting comments as well.
One comment referred to the fact that the man who organized it, James Starnes was still alive and gave the article I covered earlier last week.
Another comment mentioned that on the Allied side, the Instrument of Surrender, as it was called, was signed by the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, China, Soviet Union and France.
A third comment: "When the surrender was announced in August, my mom gave me a metal dish pan and a wooden spoon and told me to go out by the front gate and bang it. Wow! Here I was, a little kid actually being encouraged to make noise! She didn't have to tell me twice.
--GreGen
One comment referred to the fact that the man who organized it, James Starnes was still alive and gave the article I covered earlier last week.
Another comment mentioned that on the Allied side, the Instrument of Surrender, as it was called, was signed by the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, China, Soviet Union and France.
A third comment: "When the surrender was announced in August, my mom gave me a metal dish pan and a wooden spoon and told me to go out by the front gate and bang it. Wow! Here I was, a little kid actually being encouraged to make noise! She didn't have to tell me twice.
--GreGen
Tuesday, September 8, 2015
See James Starnes in the Famous Japanese Surrender Photograph-- Part 1
From the September 2, 2015, Shorpy site.
After reading the article I wrote about the last several entries, it was really interesting to look at the photo taken of the surrender on the Missouri 70 years ago and to be able to see James Starnes standing on the deck.
You can view the photo at Shorpy 9-2-15, Japan Surrenders: 1945. Even better, you can enlarge the photo to get even more stunning detail. Starnes is standing by the railing on the lower deck by the sailors in two rows. He is the officer wearing binoculars around his neck.
JAPAN SURRENDERS: 1945. "Japanese foreign minister Manoru Shigemitsu signing the document of surrender aboard the U.S. battleship Missouri in Tokyo Bay as General Douglas MacArthur and members of the Allied delegation watch."
Acme photo by Dave Davis, war pool correspondent.
--GreGen
After reading the article I wrote about the last several entries, it was really interesting to look at the photo taken of the surrender on the Missouri 70 years ago and to be able to see James Starnes standing on the deck.
You can view the photo at Shorpy 9-2-15, Japan Surrenders: 1945. Even better, you can enlarge the photo to get even more stunning detail. Starnes is standing by the railing on the lower deck by the sailors in two rows. He is the officer wearing binoculars around his neck.
JAPAN SURRENDERS: 1945. "Japanese foreign minister Manoru Shigemitsu signing the document of surrender aboard the U.S. battleship Missouri in Tokyo Bay as General Douglas MacArthur and members of the Allied delegation watch."
Acme photo by Dave Davis, war pool correspondent.
--GreGen
The "Mighty Mo's" Place At the End of World War II-- Part 6: No Time to Celebrate
When it was all over, James Starnes felt tremendously elated. "I'd gotten through all of it-- I had a lot of friends who died-- and here it was over."
Even as happy as he was, he showed none of it, saying, "I was on duty. I wasn't in a position to jump up and celebrate. I had to write the log after the ceremony."
After the war, he went back to Emory University and went on to have a successful career in real estate and banking.
He went back to Pearl Harbor a decade ago to celebrate the 60th anniversary of V-J Day on the USS Missouri and last year published a short book, "Surrender: September 2, 1945." In it he chronicles his wartime experience.
--GreGen
Even as happy as he was, he showed none of it, saying, "I was on duty. I wasn't in a position to jump up and celebrate. I had to write the log after the ceremony."
After the war, he went back to Emory University and went on to have a successful career in real estate and banking.
He went back to Pearl Harbor a decade ago to celebrate the 60th anniversary of V-J Day on the USS Missouri and last year published a short book, "Surrender: September 2, 1945." In it he chronicles his wartime experience.
--GreGen
Monday, September 7, 2015
The "Mighty Mo's" Place At the End of World War II-- Part 5: "Where Are Those Damn Planes?"
Thousands of men from the military's top brass to regular crewmen witnessed he signing of the documents, ending the war with the surrender of the Japanese Empire. The Allied copy was bound in leather and the Japanese one in canvas.
There were a few glitches, despite Starnes' careful planning. The Canadian representative signed on the wrong line. Yet, for the most part the 23-minute ceremony, broadcast around the world, ran smoothly.
At the end, General Douglas MacArthur said, "Let us pray that peace be now restored to the world, and that God will preserve it always. These proceedings are closed."
He then turned to Admiral William F. "Bull" Halsey and said, "Where are the damn planes?" The plan was to have a massive flyover of some 450 carrier aircraft from the 3rd fleet, followed by a formation of B-29 bombers. A clear indication of the might of the United States.
They finally arrived as the Japanese delegation was escorted off the deck. Starnes remembers, "They were so low they made the sky look black."
--GreGen
There were a few glitches, despite Starnes' careful planning. The Canadian representative signed on the wrong line. Yet, for the most part the 23-minute ceremony, broadcast around the world, ran smoothly.
At the end, General Douglas MacArthur said, "Let us pray that peace be now restored to the world, and that God will preserve it always. These proceedings are closed."
He then turned to Admiral William F. "Bull" Halsey and said, "Where are the damn planes?" The plan was to have a massive flyover of some 450 carrier aircraft from the 3rd fleet, followed by a formation of B-29 bombers. A clear indication of the might of the United States.
They finally arrived as the Japanese delegation was escorted off the deck. Starnes remembers, "They were so low they made the sky look black."
--GreGen
The "Mighty Mo's" Place At the End of the World War II-- Part 4: The Signing Table
When the Japanese delegation, some wearing tails and top hats saluted and asked for permission to come aboard, James Starnes said, "Permission granted."
There was no anger or hostility according to Starnes. "This was peace time. It was very a formal, very dignified ceremony.
Just before the proceedings got underway, it became evident that the mahogany table, a present from the British fleet, was too small to hold both documents. With only minutes to go, a folding table was grabbed from the crews' mess where cooks and kp had just finished breakfast. Captain Marray grabbed a green table cloth stained with coffee spots to drape on top.
--GreGen
There was no anger or hostility according to Starnes. "This was peace time. It was very a formal, very dignified ceremony.
Just before the proceedings got underway, it became evident that the mahogany table, a present from the British fleet, was too small to hold both documents. With only minutes to go, a folding table was grabbed from the crews' mess where cooks and kp had just finished breakfast. Captain Marray grabbed a green table cloth stained with coffee spots to drape on top.
--GreGen
Saturday, September 5, 2015
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
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
The "Mighty Mo's" Place at the End of World War II-- Part 3: We'll Accept Surrender in Our Khakis
James Starnes was a Navy reserve Officer at Emory University and now he was in charge of working out the logistics of the formal end of a war that had killed over 60 million people.
At first he went with ceremonial white uniforms and swords, but before it took place, he got word that Gen. Douglas MacArthur, commander of the U.S. Army in the Pacific and the one who was to take the Japanese surrender, wanted officers to wear their daily service clothes-- knaki button-up shirts with open collars and no ties reportedly saying, "We fought them in our khaki uniforms, and we'll accept their surrender in our khaki uniforms."
Starnes worked very closely with the USS Missouri's captain, Stuart "Sunshine" Murray and the admiral's staff in getting the various parties as well as nearly 200 correspondents and photographers from all over the world on and off the battle ship.
He likened the job to being a symphony conductor MacArthur made it clear he didn't want the Japanese dignitaries on the deck more than five seconds before 9 a.m., but he also didn't want them arriving late.
--GreGen
At first he went with ceremonial white uniforms and swords, but before it took place, he got word that Gen. Douglas MacArthur, commander of the U.S. Army in the Pacific and the one who was to take the Japanese surrender, wanted officers to wear their daily service clothes-- knaki button-up shirts with open collars and no ties reportedly saying, "We fought them in our khaki uniforms, and we'll accept their surrender in our khaki uniforms."
Starnes worked very closely with the USS Missouri's captain, Stuart "Sunshine" Murray and the admiral's staff in getting the various parties as well as nearly 200 correspondents and photographers from all over the world on and off the battle ship.
He likened the job to being a symphony conductor MacArthur made it clear he didn't want the Japanese dignitaries on the deck more than five seconds before 9 a.m., but he also didn't want them arriving late.
--GreGen
Friday, September 4, 2015
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
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
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