Authors: Oliver L. North
War Stories II (76 page)
That message was released at mid-afternoon Tokyo time, but it was just 0149 in Washington when American leaders were awakened to receive the news that Japan had accepted the terms and provisions of the Potsdam Declaration.
The American government responded with a release announcing V-J Day and that General Douglas MacArthur had been appointed by President Truman and the Joint Chiefs to be the supreme commander for the Allied powers for the occupation of Japan. This was followed by exuberant celebrations across the world, with automobile horns, church bells, factory whistles, and every other kind of noisemaking marking the occasion in every American and Allied city.
On 16 August, Lt. General Jonathan Wainwright, who had been taken prisoner at the surrender of Corregidor and held in Manchuria as a POW for the duration of the war, was released. Two weeks later, the British returned to occupy Hong Kong, and American troops aboard Navy ships were anchored in Tokyo Bay to begin the occupation of Japan.
ABOARD USS MISSOURITOKYO BAY, JAPAN
2 SEPTEMBER 1945
2 SEPTEMBER 1945
On the morning of 2 September 1945, Japan formally surrendered. The thirty-minute ceremony took place on board the battleship USS
Missouri
, at the time the flagship of Admiral Halsey. The
Missouri
was anchored with other U.S. and Allied ships in Tokyo Bay, and over a thousand carrier-based
American planes flew overhead. The Stars and Stripes fluttering on the
Missouri
was the same flag that had flown over the U.S. Capitol on the day Pearl Harbor was attacked.
Missouri
, at the time the flagship of Admiral Halsey. The
Missouri
was anchored with other U.S. and Allied ships in Tokyo Bay, and over a thousand carrier-based
American planes flew overhead. The Stars and Stripes fluttering on the
Missouri
was the same flag that had flown over the U.S. Capitol on the day Pearl Harbor was attacked.
The deck was crowded with dignitaries, sailors, officers, and correspondents from around the world. Japanese foreign minister Mamoru Shigemitsu, accompanied by General Yoshijiro Umezu, represented the Japanese. They had been chosen by the Japanese Supreme War Council and Emperor Hirohito to sign the documents on behalf of the nation. With great flourish and dignity, Shigemitsu and Umezu each signed the surrender documentsâone set in Japanese and another in English. Then General Wainwright signed the documents along with Lt. General Sir Arthur Percival. Also signing were Admiral Nimitz and other Allied forces delegates.
The far-reaching surrender document was clear and to the point:
We, acting by command of and in behalf of the Emperor of Japan, the Japanese Government and the Japanese Imperial General Headquarters, hereby accept the provisions set forth in the Declaration issued by the heads of the Governments of the United States, China, and Great Britain on 26 July 1945 at Potsdam, and subsequently adhered to by the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, which four powers are hereafter referred to as the Allied Powers.
We hereby proclaim the unconditional surrender to the Allied Powers of the Japanese Imperial General Headquarters and of all Japanese armed forces and all armed forces under the Japanese control wherever situated.
We hereby command all Japanese forces wherever situated and the Japanese people to cease hostilities forthwith, to preserve and save from damage all ships, aircraft, and military and civil property and to comply with all requirements which may be imposed by the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers or by agencies of the Japanese Government at his direction.
We hereby command the Japanese Imperial Headquarters to issue at once orders to the Commanders of all Japanese forces and all forces under
Japanese control wherever situated to surrender unconditionally themselves and all forces under their control.
Japanese control wherever situated to surrender unconditionally themselves and all forces under their control.
We hereby command all civil, military and naval officials to obey and enforce all proclamations, and orders and directives deemed by the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers to be proper to effectuate this surrender and issued by him or under his authority and we direct all such officials to remain at their posts and to continue to perform their noncombatant duties unless specifically relieved by him or under his authority.
We hereby undertake for the Emperor, the Japanese Government and their successors to carry out the provisions of the Potsdam Declaration in good faith, and to issue whatever orders and take whatever actions may be required by the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers or by any other designated representative of the Allied Powers for the purpose of giving effect to that Declaration.
We hereby command the Japanese Imperial Government and the Japanese Imperial General Headquarters at once to liberate all Allied prisoners of war and civilian internees now under Japanese control and to provide for their protection, care, maintenance and immediate transportation to places as directed.
The authority of the Emperor and the Japanese Government to rule the state shall be subject to the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers who will take such steps as he deems proper to effectuate these terms of surrender.
Â
Signed at TOKYO BAY, JAPAN at 0904 I on the SECOND day of SEPTEMBER, 1945:
Â
MAMORU SHIGEMITSU
YOSHIJIRO UMEZU
Â
By Command and in behalf of the Emperor
By Command and in behalf of the Nation of Japan and the Japanese Government and the Japanese Imperial General Headquarters
Colonel Frank Sackton was in the 33rd Infantry Division, part of the army accepting the surrender of the Japanese troops on Luzon. He expected to be transferred back to the States following many long months of combat. Instead, he was told to report to Tokyo along with his commanding officer. The two of them would be on the staff of General Douglas MacArthur.
COLONEL FRANK SACKTON, US ARMY
Office of the Supreme Commander
of the Allied Powers
Tokyo, Japan
22 September 1945
Office of the Supreme Commander
of the Allied Powers
Tokyo, Japan
22 September 1945
We were going to Japan, not to attack it but to occupy it. I got in there in early September 1945. The first occupation duty was disarming the troops. But they were following the emperor's direction pretty carefully, laying down their arms so there was no hostility.
I was transferred to Tokyo because my division commander had become chief of staff to General MacArthur and he took me with him. That turned out to be a good career move for me, because I became a staff secretary to General MacArthur, a key spot in the occupation.
The Allies established MacArthur's authority as being absoluteâas sort of a dictator. The Joint Chiefs sent a short message to General MacArthur saying, “Your authority is absolute, so do not entertain any questions about the scope of your authority.” Still, he preferred working through the Japanese bureaucracy, although there was never any doubt about his authority.
There was an international tribunal in Washington that gave broad guidance to the general. It favored the democratization of Japan and bringing it into the fold of the Western nations as a friendly country. In Japan, there was the Allied Council, an international group that advised the general. The general never paid any attention to the Allied Council. On that body was a lieutenant general of the Soviet Union who was always against
everything. As a matter of fact he even tried to introduce Communism to the country. So things were left pretty much up to the general, and he operated without their guidance, developing his own program.
everything. As a matter of fact he even tried to introduce Communism to the country. So things were left pretty much up to the general, and he operated without their guidance, developing his own program.
For example, the question came up about reparations. The Soviet Union said, “We defeated this country, now they must give us reparations.” But the Joint Chiefs dealing with the Allied Council said, “No, we're not going to do that.” So even with this amalgamation of the international commands, General MacArthur's authority was supreme.
And by and large, when I look at the thing from a global point of view, the whole thing ran extremely well. The people were happy, the bureaucracy was happy, and the emperor was happy. That became the “bottom line” for the occupation.
When the war was over, the Allies developed a list of criminals, people to be tried in a court tribunal in Tokyo. At the top of the list was the emperor, considered responsible for what Japan did or failed to do during the war.
MacArthur thought about it. He had no problem with the generals and admirals on the list. But he did have a problem with the emperor being on it, because he understood the Japanese customs and mores. The emperor was the spiritual leader of the people, and MacArthur was sensitive to that.
The staff told MacArthur that the problem of the emperor for the occupation was a question in the minds of the Japanese people: Who is the authority here? They told MacArthur, “You should abolish the office of emperor and make it clear to the people that you're in charge.”
Well, the general demurred and said, “Leave it alone for a while.”
The general was right. In late September, MacArthur indicated that he wanted a visit with the emperor to take place in his home. And the general said, “Have the emperor select an interpreter, and he'll be the only one present besides me.”
The general's staff researched all about the emperor, his likes and his dislikes. We found that he was a marine biologist and had written things about sea life. We got his published articles and translated them for the
general. He wanted to know all about this person before he met him. When we found that the emperor liked cigarettes, the general said, “Get me a cigarette case with some cigarettes.” Now, the general didn't smoke but he wanted to accommodate the emperor.
general. He wanted to know all about this person before he met him. When we found that the emperor liked cigarettes, the general said, “Get me a cigarette case with some cigarettes.” Now, the general didn't smoke but he wanted to accommodate the emperor.
When the emperor came in, things were a little stiff. (General MacArthur later told us what had occurred.) After the cordial hellos, General MacArthur offered the emperor a cigarette, and he took it. The general lit a cigarette for the emperor and one for himself. After that, the emperor spoke first. He said, “General, I want you to know, that I, as emperor, am responsible for everything that occurred in the war. And you must do what you feel you must do.”
This impressed General MacArthur, because surely the emperor knew that he was on the war criminal list, and maybe the general expected a plea for mercy. But the emperor accepted complete responsibility.
General MacArthur was so impressed with his attitude that later he grappled with the problem of what to do with the emperor. The American, British, Soviet, and Australian press all assumed that the emperor would be tried as a war criminal. But MacArthur reasoned that the emperor could be very helpful in the reconstruction of Japan. So he announced to the Joint Chiefs of Staff that the emperor's name should come off the criminal list.
This created a furor among the Allies. Oddly enough, Winston Churchill was one who said, “The general should make the decision, and not the press or the attitudes of the people.” The emperor's name was taken off the list.
Now, the general had also made a decision on the model to be used in the occupation. He considered two models. One resembled the model used when the Allies took over Germany. But General MacArthur didn't like that model. He said, “Military people are not governors, mayors, police chiefs, or judges in a court of law. We'll only use the military government teams to ensure that our orders are carried out in the field. But we will operate through the existing mechanism of government. We'll purge the bureaucrats, and get people in there that we can train and trust,
and work through them.” That second model, of a civilian government, was the one we used in Japan. In that model, the emperor proved very helpful.
and work through them.” That second model, of a civilian government, was the one we used in Japan. In that model, the emperor proved very helpful.
The people of Japan were pleased about the way the general had handled his visit with Hirohito. He'd shown kindness and courtesy and did not insult the emperor. He allowed him to save face. The general established a relationship between himself and the emperor. They'd meet every six months and he would ask for and get advice from the emperor. And on one occasion, it really paid off.
During the development of a new constitution, the general couldn't get anywhere with the Japanese cabinet. He was blocked by a committee of scholars and government people, who were supposed to work out a constitution. They didn't come up with anything acceptable.
The general staff consensus was that the Japanese were dragging their feet. They simply didn't want to change their way of life, which the constitution change would do. I said, “I don't think it's that. I think the Japanese just don't understand a constitution based on the principles of democracy. Maybe we'll have to impose a constitution on them.”
The general accepted that and said, “Okay, let's write a constitution based on the principles of the American Constitution.” And that's what he did. He had some sharp lawyers to help him and they developed a constitution that General MacArthur liked. He tooled it personally for a week or so. Then he gave it to the Japanese cabinet and said, “I would like your concurrence with this. But if you don't concur, I'll probably do it anyway.”
They knew that he had the authority to do it. He wanted not to simply impose it on themâhe wanted them to bring it to the people in a referendum. He wanted the people to vote on it. Well, the cabinet didn't know what to do. So they sent it to the emperor.
In a few days the emperor came back and said, “I like it. This is the way Japan should go.” With that, the cabinet then put it before the people in a referendum, and it was overwhelmingly approved. General MacArthur had written it, but it turned out to be the Japanese people's constitution because they and their emperor had approved it. There was a shift of power, very clearly, from the emperor to MacArthur.
I think that MacArthur had a sense that this was his show. But he had never done anything like this before. He had been a great military hero. And now he was thrown into this job. He built it from the ground up. And he had a sense that it was going to work. And he did make it work.
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