Admiral Nimitz signing Japanese Declaration of Surrender.

"I was below deck when Captain Hanlon announced the war was over and I can still to this day remember him saying ‘Now here this, this is the captain’ and then he went into telling us. Boy, you talk about a roar that went up! I think the whole ship jumped about two feet out of the water! Admiral ‘Bull’ Halsey passed the word throughout the fleet that ‘Apparently the war is over, though nothing has been signed yet. So in the meantime, if any enemy aircraft come in your area, shoot them down in a friendly manner...’ So we were still absolutely ready at all times.

Shortly after the end of the war, I was up on 20mm watch in Tokyo Bay and we were playing cards and not really worrying about anything when I noticed a bunch of sailors assembling something down on the main deck. I thought it looked like a boat or something and wondered where in the world it came from. It was actually a little 14 to 16 foot sailboat that belonged to the captain and had been all packed up until this time. He had made a vow somewhere that the one thing he wanted more than anything else was to sail this sailboat in Tokyo Bay. I watched them lower over and he walked down the plank and got on that thing and I could see him sailing around past all of our ships. "

- Robert L. Palomaris

"We got word over the public address system that the Japanese surrender. ‘The war is over’ and you could have heard us over in New York City screaming out there in the middle of the Pacific."

- Paul A. Wieser

"I remember before the war was over there was a man named Kaiser, a seaman in the 4th Division. He was a telephone talker, a stand-by telephone talker. A message came over and everybody was talking and sort of having a little fun. He wanted to keep us quiet because a message was coming over. It was something about an unusual type of bomb or heavy explosion that had happened to Japan. But it didn’t make sense to anybody there, and we make fun of him a little bit. He kind of got mad about it. A little later on we learned that the first atomic bomb had been exploded which was bringing Japan down to her knees at the end of the war...

We wanted to get the war over with. If we were going to survive, we’d survive and if we didn’t, we didn’t. The main thing was to get it over with. I just wanted to get back to the hills of Tennessee. I just knew I wanted to get off the NORTH CAROLINA, get out of the war, get back home, and pick up where I left off. I remember feeling proud. I had a lot of pride in the NORTH CAROLINA, even with the type of job I had. I felt that the war was necessary. I had no regrets of doing it."

- Ollie C. Goad

"On the 15th of August 1945, the following message was received:

RADIO WASHINGTON PASS TO BRITISH ADMIRALTY LONDON FOR ACTION STOP RADIO SAN FRANCISCO PASS TO PRESS ASSOCIATIONS PLUS REUTERS STOP COMMANDER IN CHIEF PACIFIC OCEAN AREAS [CINCPOA] COMMUNIQUE NUMBER 467 RELEASED AS OF 0200 GCT 15 AUGUST 1945 AS FOLLOWS STOP PARAGRAPH ONE STOP ORDERS HAVE BEEN ISSUED TO THE US PACIFIC FLEET AND TO OTHER FORCES UNDER THE COMMAND OF THE COMMANDER IN CHIEF US PACIFIC FLEET AND PACIFIC OCEAN AREAS TO CEASE OFFENSIVE OPERATIONS AGAINST THE JAPANESE.

Strikes then in the air were canceled and recalled. The Captain addressed the ship's company by public address system, following which the Chaplain delivered a prayer of thanksgiving that the war appeared to be near an end.

At 1212 all ships broke battle flags and personal flags, the latter for the first time since the commencement of hostilities.

Since noon, five Japanese planes were shot down by our CAP (combat air patrol) when they aggressively approached our task group. Admiral Halsey issued a dispatch that any Japanese planes approaching the disposition were to be shot down, "Not vindictively, but in a friendly fashion."

The mood aboard ship was strange. Many of us couldn't believe that it was over and that we had survived. We had been talking the last several weeks about the forthcoming invasion of Japan. It was believed that it would be a hard fought landing and would be resisted to the last Japanese.

Many lives would be lost on both sides. That evening I'm sure that there were many individual prayers said, including mine.

On the 19th of August 1945, we were steaming about 200 miles east of Tokyo Bay, awaiting peace developments. Word was passed that volunteers would be accepted for a landing force and prize crews for captured Japanese ships. I turned in my name. We were advised that some of the Japanese ships would be taken back to the states by the prize crews. We were issued a field pack, rifle, ammunition and belt.

The next day at 0703, we went alongside the GARRARD (APA 84) to transfer our (the NORTH CAROLINA's) Marine Detachment who were going to occupation duty in Japan.

At 0723 the RUNELS (APD 85) came alongside and embarked three nucleus crews for possible duty operating Japanese prizes. My group was one of them. The RUNELS was a small ship, being somewhat smaller than a destroyer. When we all got aboard, things were pretty crowded. Living compartments were extremely crowded, but we later found that their chow was good. At 0918 the OZARK (LSV 2) came alongside and embarked the beach party component. At 0928 the BASS (APD 24) came alongside and embarked group "C" of base maintenance party.

On the 20th of August 1945, I reported to the RUNELS radio shack for watch duty and was assigned the 12 to 4 (shift). It was sure strange working in a small radio shack like the RUNELS but it was interesting to see how a small ship operated.

The next day I received typhus shots which were the worst shots I had ever had. The fluid stung like acid and my arm was very sore for 24 hours. I also ran a fever and was sick on my stomach.

On the 27th of August 1945, we sighted one of the Japanese Islands at 1135 and Mount Fujiyama at 1545. We dropped anchor at 1830 about 2,000 yards off the beach in Sagami Wan (Bay). A factory and town were clearly visible, but no signs of life. Fuji was very beautiful in the late afternoon with the sun setting behind it. The harbor was full of Allied ships.

The next morning, two British Marines were rescued off the beach by a picket boat. They had been captured in Hong Kong and had been prisoners near here. They escaped the previous afternoon and made their way down to the beach.

One was completely naked and the other was wearing only shorts, but both seemed in good health. I spent most of the day watching the Japanese ashore. The Japanese civilians were beginning to come out and gaze at us.

On the 29th of August 1945, the Japanese were flying white flags from a number of different points around the bay. They were probably military installations. In the morning, a Japanese submarine stood in escorted in by a U.S. destroyer escort.

At dawn the following morning we got underway and stood into Tokyo Bay. We passed many forts with white flags flying, any of which could have played hell with our little transport. Many small villages and industrial plants were passed before we finally dropped anchor off the large Yokosuka Naval Base. We disembarked into landing craft at 1015 and started circling. We received word to hit the beach and touched down about noon. A Marine combat unit was the first to go in. They landed just a few minutes ahead of us and deployed along the beach. After landing we gathered our detachment and started slowly to advance inland. So far there had been no sign of life. It was very strange to see all these buildings and ships totally deserted. About 1500 we marched across an open area that appeared to be a drill ground to our new home, Barracks Number 42. We spent the rest of the afternoon and half the night scrubbing the place down. Our first meal at noon was fish and crackers. The evening meal consisted of K rations. Barracks Number 42 was right next to a large steep hill honey combed with tunnels. This hill was the ammunition dump for the navy yard. Upon investigation we found the hill contained gunpowder, projectiles, radio gear, and tons of supplies. About 1800 an officer came with three Japanese: a private, an NCO (noncommissioned officer) and an officer. The NCO was the interpreter. The officer was a LT (lieutenant). I think they were Imperial Marines. There were still a few Japanese on the base, but they were mostly interpreters.

When we landed we were instructed not to load our rifles unless we received orders to do so. It was the feeling that there was a possibility of fanatical Japanese who might open fire on us. We (the Navy) had not been handling rifles and live ammunition since our boot camp days. Later that evening when we were finally getting ready to bed down in our barracks, one of the guys on the first floor decided he wanted to load his rifle. In doing so he fired off a round that went straight up through the ceiling and on through the second floor, passing between several of our crew who were standing talking.

On the first of September 1945, we were granted yard liberty, so we took a good look at the yard. We saw at least 50 midget submarines in various stages of construction. Destruction in the yard was massive. Many ships were sunk at the docks. Large cranes were turned over. Most buildings were heavily damaged. There were a few buildings untouched, like the barracks we lived in and the telephone exchange. The telephone exchange was a large two story building about 50 by 150 feet and sat facing the parade ground. During our tour of the yard, several of us walked over to the exchange and noted that there were about a dozen bicycles parked out front in racks. Everybody decided that they would be great for continuing the tour. As we walked up to the front of the building we noted a sentry standing just inside the doorway. He didn't appear to have a rifle, but you could tell that he was standing guard. A couple of our guys said something about going up and harassing him. I got nervous about this and was concerned that it could get out of hand.

I saw no point in hurting any Japanese now. When we walked inside the front entry, the Japanese made no move to stop us but looked terrified. He continued to stand at attention. We then heard some other Japanese chatter upstairs, so up we went. At the top of the stairs we entered a long room with a very long switchboard running down one side. It must have had 25 or 30 positions, but to our surprise, about four were occupied by four enlisted Japanese sailors. They were continuing to maintain telephone service for the yard, which we thought was really weird. A couple were talking on the phone when we came in and stopped abruptly. After a brief moment of silence, one said in very bad English "you want to talk to girl?" I think we all said yes and we passed the phone around. We heard a few words in Japanese and a lot of giggling. We learned that the girls on the other end were civilian switchboard operators in Tokyo. We then decided to look around the building. Offices were left like the people just walked out at quitting time. Papers, pencils, and other normal office supplies and equipment were left in perfect order. Photos were on the walls undisturbed. We found a large storeroom full of new and packaged products such as telephones, headsets, and telegraph communications. We helped ourselves. I picked up a new phone and telegraph key to bring back. Some of the guys brought out arms full, but I knew we couldn't carry all this stuff back aboard.

As we left the building, some of our guys got on the bicycles and rode them back to our barracks, leaving the Japanese with no transportation.

It had been raining most of the day. By this time we had run out of crackers and fruit and were now down to some stew beef. The supply situation was still bad and they would not let us eat any of the Japanese food because of sanitary reasons, yet there was plenty of canned Japanese food around.

About 1500 we got word to leave immediately. We packed our gear and waited around for a couple of hours and then they said we would wait until the 2nd of September. During the evening some men from the carriers BATAAN and MONTEREY found a Ford passenger car and rode it around the navy yard for quite some time.

The next day we left Barracks Number 42 at 0800 and moved out of the navy yard to the edge of the city of Yokosuka. We were assembled at Headquarters Naval Activities Barracks "A." Admiral Nimitz was here during the day and there were Japanese all around the place: captains, commanders, ensigns, and some enlisted men.

On the 3rd of September we spent most of the day rigging up a galley and had our first hot chow at supper. Earlier in the day I decided I wanted to explore some more. Another guy (name I don't remember) and I left the barracks and started to walk. We covered most of the yard and found a building that appeared undisturbed. We went in and found what was obviously an officer's office. We went through his desk and found some personal things. I found and took a small beautiful pair of binoculars and a helmet. We returned to barracks without further plunder. Many of our men were finding all kinds of thinks like flags, samurai swords, officers belts and pistols, medals, etc. All of this loot was being stashed in our barracks with the idea that we were going to be able to take them back to the ship and home eventually.

On the 5th of September 1945, we were told to prepare to leave at 1400. During the morning we packed our gear. Mr. Modle, our commanding officer and a lieutenant, I believe, announced that he had drawn sufficient Japanese rifles for each of us to have as a souvenir. At 1300 we boarded army trucks and headed out through town to the fleet landing. We rode all over the place looking for it. Every time we passed a good looking Japanese girl we yelled and whistled, scaring them half to death. We arrived at the fleet landing and met up with our other two nucleus crews from the NORTH CAROLINA. We left the dock and arrived at the ship at 1530 and what a welcome sight she was. On the way to the ship we passed the IJS(Imperial Japanese Ship) NAGATO anchored in the bay. She had been damaged by air attacks but was still afloat.

When we arrived aboard the NORTH CAROLINA, they sprayed and deloused us and our equipment. I received a shower, shave and haircut. Now I felt like a new human being. I don't remember having a bath while I was in Japan."

- Charles M. Paty, Jr.