Devil Doc
When Death smiles, Corpsmen smile back
It was on this day in 1945 that Japan formally surrendered to the United States, marking the end of World War II. It was a gray, overcast day. The surrender took place on the U.S.S. Missouri in Tokyo Bay, and witnesses later said that from the ship they could see the sunken wrecks of Japanese ships all around the harbor, left over from American bombings.
General MacArthur came aboard at about 9:00 a.m. A few minutes later, the Japanese contingent arrived. A naval chaplain delivered an invocation and a recording of "The Star-Spangled Banner" was played. General MacArthur read some brief remarks, and then the documents were laid out for signing. The whole signing ceremony took about ten minutes, and it was carried out in silence. When it was over, MacArthur said, "Let us pray that peace be now restored to the world and that God will preserve it always. These proceedings are now closed." And with that, he walked off the ship, without having ever formally acknowledged the Japanese men who'd just surrendered to him.
Early in the morning of this day in 1666, a small fire broke out in a baker's shop on Puddling Lane in London. The flames soon spread, and within hours all of London was ablaze. When it was all over the Great Fire of London destroyed more than 80 percent of the city, including over thirteen thousand houses. The diarist Samuel Pepys watched the fire from across the Thames River, after burying his wine and Parmesan cheese to keep them safe from the fire. He wrote about it in his diary.
After the fire was over, the architect Christopher Wren was hired to rebuild the more than eighty churches destroyed by the blaze, including St. Paul's Cathedral.
Doc.
General MacArthur came aboard at about 9:00 a.m. A few minutes later, the Japanese contingent arrived. A naval chaplain delivered an invocation and a recording of "The Star-Spangled Banner" was played. General MacArthur read some brief remarks, and then the documents were laid out for signing. The whole signing ceremony took about ten minutes, and it was carried out in silence. When it was over, MacArthur said, "Let us pray that peace be now restored to the world and that God will preserve it always. These proceedings are now closed." And with that, he walked off the ship, without having ever formally acknowledged the Japanese men who'd just surrendered to him.
Early in the morning of this day in 1666, a small fire broke out in a baker's shop on Puddling Lane in London. The flames soon spread, and within hours all of London was ablaze. When it was all over the Great Fire of London destroyed more than 80 percent of the city, including over thirteen thousand houses. The diarist Samuel Pepys watched the fire from across the Thames River, after burying his wine and Parmesan cheese to keep them safe from the fire. He wrote about it in his diary.
After the fire was over, the architect Christopher Wren was hired to rebuild the more than eighty churches destroyed by the blaze, including St. Paul's Cathedral.
Doc.