Art Fishman
Fireman First Class Art Fishman is a veteran of both the US Army Air Corps Cadet program and the US Navy serving on the USS Robinson in the Pacific as part of the 5th Fleet. The USS Robinson served at Morotai, Leyte, Iwo Jima, Okinawa, Shanghai and other locations.
On September 2, 1945, the USS Robinson was on patrol in Subic Bay. The USS Robinson was part of a contingent protecting against revenge attacks while the USS Missouri was anchored in Tokyo Bay to accept Japan’s formal surrender. Despite the announcement of Japan’s intentions, the United States was taking no chances. Renegade forces had already attempted several coups after the Emperor recorded his message to the people of Japan. Art Fishman and his fellow sailors stood on guard while his superior officer, General Douglas MacArthur, accepted surrender documents from the Empire of Japan on behalf the United States,
Seventy years hence, Art read a portion of General MacArthur’s opening remarks at that ceremony.
Read the excerpts here.
The entire text of the speech is available here.
Listen to the speech here.
Watch a newsreel of the surrender ceremony which includes portions of the speech here.