Sold – Admiral Nimitz Signed Photograph of the Japanese Surrender

It is inscribed to a Navy physician, for, writes Nimitz, his "contribution to the war effort in the Pacific that made possible the above scene".

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World War II came to an end on September 2, 1945, on board the USS Missouri. General Douglas MacArthur made an introductory statement and then directed the representatives of Japan to sign the two Instruments of Surrender, one each for the Allied and Japanese governments. At 9:04 AM, Foreign Minister Shigemitsu signed,...

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Sold – Admiral Nimitz Signed Photograph of the Japanese Surrender

It is inscribed to a Navy physician, for, writes Nimitz, his "contribution to the war effort in the Pacific that made possible the above scene".

World War II came to an end on September 2, 1945, on board the USS Missouri. General Douglas MacArthur made an introductory statement and then directed the representatives of Japan to sign the two Instruments of Surrender, one each for the Allied and Japanese governments. At 9:04 AM, Foreign Minister Shigemitsu signed, followed two minutes later by General Umezu. General MacArthur then instructed the Allied delegations to sign, first Fleet Admiral Nimitz as United States representative, then the representatives of China, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, Australia, Canada, France, The Netherlands and New Zealand. All signatures were in place by 9:22. Following a few brief concluding remarks by MacArthur, the ceremonies concluded at 9:25. A photographer enshrined the very moment that Nimitz signed for the United States, and after the war, Nimitz would sometimes autograph copies of that famous photograph.

Joseph G. Schnebly was a Navy physician, and during World War II he served as medical officer aboard the USS Cincinnati in the Atlantic and the USS Tennessee in the Pacific. He established the U.S. Naval Military Government Hospital #202 in Saipan in 1944 and served as medical officer of the Naval Operating Base in Manila in 1945. A large, oversize photograph of the execution of the Instruments of Surrender, signed by Nimitz above the printed caption on the photograph itself, and also inscribed "To Captain J.G. Schnebly, Medical Corps (MC) U.S. Navy – with best wishes and great appreciation of your contribution to the war effort in the Pacific that made possible the above scene. Chester W. Nimitz, Fleet Admiral, U.S. Navy."

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