Battleship Missouri Memorial Commemorates 63rd Anniversary of the End of World War II
Jul 24 2008
The Battleship Missouri Memorial in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, will hold a ceremony commemorating the 63rd anniversary of the end of World War II on Tuesday, Sept. 2.
Titled “The End of World War II in the Pacific,” the annual ceremony will be free and open to the public. The observance will begin at 8:45 a.m. at the Battleship Missouri Memorial on the deck of the historic battleship. Senator Daniel K. Akaka (D-Hawaii) is this year’s keynote speaker, and Capt. Gregory R. Thomas, USN, commander, Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility, is a guest speaker.
The program will coincide with the time of day that representatives from 10 nations signed the formal “Instrument of Surrender” to officially end World War II in the Pacific, on Sept. 2, 1945, aboard the USS Missouri (BB-63) as it sat at anchor in Tokyo Bay. The ceremony will feature additional guest speakers as well as patriotic music, a color guard, and a traditional military salute to those veterans who paid the ultimate sacrifice.
For those wishing to attend who do not have DoD vehicle access to Ford Island, free shuttle service to the Battleship Missouri Memorial will be available between 7:45 and 8:30 a.m. at the Missouri’s shuttle boarding station near the USS Bowfin Submarine Museum and Park. The shuttle also will provide return transportation. For more information, call (808) 423-2263 and press 7 immediately following the greeting.
For more information about the Battleship Missouri Memorial, visit www.ussmissouri.org.
