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agreement whereby peace may be restored. The issues, involving divergent ideals and ideologies, have been determined on the battlefields of the world and hence are not for discussion or debate. Nor is it for us here to meet, representing as we do a majority of the peoples of the earth, in a spirit of distrust, malice or hatred.
    But rather it is for us, both victors and vanquished, to rise to that higher dignity which alone benefits the sacred purposes we are about to serve, committing all our people unreservedly to faithful compliance with the understanding they are here formally to assume.
    It is my earnest hope and indeed the hope of all mankind that from this solemn occasion a better world shall emerge out of the blood and carnage of the past—a world founded upon faith and understanding—a world dedicated to the dignity of man and the fulfillment of his most cherished wish—for freedom, tolerance and justice.
    The terms and conditions upon which the surrender of the Japanese Imperial Forces is here to be given and accepted are contained in the instrument of surrender now before you.
    As Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers, I announce it my firm purpose, in the tradition of the countries I represent, to proceed in the discharge of my responsibilities with justice and tolerance, while taking all necessary dispositions to insure that the terms of surrender are fully, promptly and faithfully complied with.
    What stirring eloquence, what a noble vision! thought Kase, who later wrote in his memoir: “Here is the victor announcing the verdict to the prostrate enemy. He can exact his pound of flesh if he so chooses. He can impose a humiliating penalty if he so desires.” Yet he does not. Instead, he pleads for freedom, tolerance, and justice. “For me, who expected the worst humiliation, this was a complete surprise. I was thrilled beyond words, spellbound, thunderstruck.” Instead of suffering unbearable embarrassment, Kase found the scene on the quarterdeck of the Missouri to have been “an altar of peace” and MacArthur an extraordinary man.
    MacArthur continued for a few more minutes, then motioned for the Japanese to come forward to sign the surrender. There were two documents, one for Japan and one for the United States. Foreign Minister Shigemitsu, dressed in London-style top hat, cutaway coat, and striped trousers, hobbled forward, escorted by Kase, holding his left arm for additional support. He took off his silk hat, laid it on the table, took off his white gloves, put his hat back on his head, and finally put both hat and gloves down. He was trembling. He looked at one signature page, then the other, wondering which one—the American or the Japanese—to sign first. The seconds went by, the stopwatch must be ticking.
    â€œSutherland,” MacArthur’s voice rang out like a pistol shot, “show him where to sign!” MacArthur’s chief of staff stepped forward, showed the poor gentleman where to sign, and Shigemitsu eagerly affixed his signature on behalf of the emperor of Japan and the Japanese government. Next, for the Japanese Imperial General Headquarters, was General Umezu, dressed in the olive garb of a general officer and making it abundantly clear by his unpressed pants and scruffy shoes that for him this was no purgatory. He signed. MacArthur cast him a look of contempt. Little did he know that this was probably the most honorable Japanese general of the entire war, a man who single-handedly had stopped Japan from unleashing on America its biological weapons of mass destruction.
    It was now eight minutes past nine, time for MacArthur to sign. He called on Wainwright and Percival—survivors of brutal Japanese captivity—to stand behind him as he sat down and pulled five pens from his shirt pocket. He was to sign in his capacity as Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers. He signed his name using one pen for “Doug” and gave it to