The Westinghouse Broadcasting Company brings you The Sound of War, the actual sound record of World War II, 2191 days from the time Hitler's Panzer divisions moved across the Polish borders to the ceremony of the Japanese surrender aboard the United States battleship Missouri in Tokyo Bay. World War II, the most terrible period of death and destruction in the long history of man. World War II, a drama preserved for all time through the medium of radio, an era never to be forgotten. Tonight, VJ Day, the end of the war. Yesterday morning at 2.41 a.m. at General Eisenhower's State Quarter, General Jodl signed the act of unconditional surrender of all German land, sea, and air forces in Europe. It is May 8, 1945, and for the first time in more than five years there is peace in Europe. The war in the West is over. Prime Minister Winston Churchill speaks to the British nation and the world. But let us not forget for a moment the toils and efforts that lie ahead. Japan, with all her treachery and greed, remains unsubdued. Advance Britannia! Long live the cause of freedom! God save the King! Long live the cause of freedom! Now the attention of the world is focused toward the Pacific Theater of Operations. A brief recapitulation of the events. On February 19, 1945, the United States Marines landed on Iwo Jima. The island is eight miles square with no vegetation. Its landing beaches are covered with volcanic ash, rocks, and boulders. The island is ugly and treacherous. It is also only 750 miles from Tokyo. Marine Commander General Holland Smith said during the battle, the fight was the toughest the Marines have had to face in 168 years. On February 23, 1945, a Marine patrol pushed to the topmost ridge of Mount Suribachi, the key to the southern end of the island. Associated Press photographer Joe Rosenthal was there to snap the photograph of the flag raising ceremony that turned out to be the most famous photograph of the war. Equally fantastic was the coincidence that saw Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal able to give an eyewitness account of the scene. He too was there at ugly Iwo Jima. Up the precipitous side of a 600 foot extinct volcano, so precipitous that it seemed almost vertical, went a platoon of American Marines. Even through the glass, they seen tiny figures scrambling skyward against a background of blue. And then a few minutes later, from the thousands of trunks upon ships and on land and sea, came the sudden cry, there goes the flag. That was how the stars and stripes went up on the first island of Japan's outer rim of island defenses. It was at 11 o'clock Friday, February 23rd, 9 o'clock Thursday night in New York. We saw that flag going up halfway on the journey to shore with Lieutenant General Holland Smith of the United States Marines. It was the high point in a week of hard fighting, fighting which continues and will continue for some days to come. On May 8th, in the French city of Reims, the surrender ceremony in Europe took place. Here is an eyewitness to the signing of the end of postilities. Hello BBC, this is Thomas Cadet reporting from Supreme Headquarters. Yes, I saw it. In the small house of this morning, May 7th, 1945, I saw the formal acknowledgement by Germanist present leaders, military leaders of their countries complete and utter defeat by land, in the air and at sea. At exactly 2.39 a.m., the Germans entered the room amid a complete silence that was very soon broken by the activities of the photographers. General Yodel came first, an elderly, slightly bald man of medium height with a thin red tip nose and protruding ears, but with some dignity of bearing. He was wearing a field grey tunic with gold epaulettes, riding britches of the same colour, with a vivid red stripe down the side and riding boots. Admiral Friedeburg followed in sober navy blue and then, Oxenius, the aide du corps, brought up the rear. He advanced to the table where they were met standing by the Allied delegate, whose Chief General Beatlesmith then invited them to be seated with a gesture that showed neither warmth nor incorrection. In fact, the American's face remained like a mask throughout. And then came the signatures, both the two principal delegates on either side using fountain pens provided by General Eisenhower. There were streamlined gold capter fairs in the modern American style, and the German party then left the room. They were immediately taken to another room where General Eisenhower himself and his deputy, Air Chief Marshal Tedder, were awaiting them. The interview was brief, no salutes, only a formal bow from either side. Have you understood the terms, said Eisenhower? Yes, said Jodl. Will you carry them out? Again, the answer was yes. And that was that. The Germans were in the room for exactly two minutes. President Harry Truman made a victory announcement. I only wish that Franklin D. Roosevelt had lived to witness this day. Flags of freedom fly all over Europe. The war in the Pacific is still on. The Marines who landed on Okinawa on April 1st were now securing the island. The war did not come from an American source. Radio Tokyo admits the battle for Okinawa is virtually over and warns the Japanese people about the invasion of the home island's eminence. Spring and summer came and went. The fighting in Okinawa went on. The killing of Tokyo and Nagoya were almost a daily occurrence. By the end of July 1945, nearly 100 Japanese cities had tasted the might of the United States bombing forces. Only four major Japanese cities remained undamaged. Tokyo, Kyoto, Sapporo, Hiroshima, and Nagasaki. It is August 6th, 1945. Montanion in the Marianas, a B-29 bomber makes ready to take off. It is called the Enola Gay. Piloting the Enola Gay is Colonel Paul Tibbets. He is a man of many firsts. He piloted the first bomber to cross the English Channel and bomb occupied France. He led the first formation to bomb North Africa. He would now have another first. He would be the first man to pilot a plane that would revolutionize modern warfare. In his plane was the first atom bomb. Destination, Hiroshima. We are delaying the start of our scheduled program to bring you the latest direct report on the atomic bomb attack on Japan. CBS World News takes you now to Guam. Webley Edwards reporting. The men who have applied the greatest weapon ever developed, the atomic bomb, are close-mouthed, serious, and highly impressed with the world-shaking magnitude of what they have done. We talked with Colonel Paul W. Tibbets, Jr. of Miami, Florida, pilot of the B-29 that dropped the first atomic bomb in history. You asked him how he felt about it, and he said he didn't feel anything much. But you knew from talking to him that he sensed the meaning of that bomb's away. The explosion was a big ball of fire. Anyone not having dark glasses would have received a visual shock several miles away. One of the crew members said, my God, when he saw what had happened. What had been Hiroshima was a white mountain of smoke, and when we saw it first it was already up to 25,000 feet. About 1,000 feet off the ground it looked like boiling dust. It extended over most of the city, churning down there. The impact was in the center of the city, and the boiling continued several minutes as we watched. Then the mushroom of smoke broke off, and another developed below it. This one bomb is the equivalent of a 2,000 B-29 raid. This is Webley Edwards at Brown. I return you to New York. Ladies and gentlemen, the President of the United States. The world will note that the first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, a military base. We won the race of discovery against the Germans. We have used it in order to shorten the agony of war, in order to save the lives of thousands and thousands of young Americans. We shall continue to use it until we completely destroy Japan's power to make war. Two days later, the Soviet Union entered the war against Japan. British Prime Minister Atlee a few minutes ago issued a statement welcoming Russia's entry into the war. He said, we in Great Britain have fully appreciated and understood the tremendous sacrifice and strain imposed on Russia by her heroic campaign against Nazi Germany. And we've always had confidence that as soon as victory had been won in the West, Russia would take her stand with her allies against the enemy on the eastern front. The unconditional surrender of Germany has now made possible a deployment of forces of the USSR against the last of the aggressors. The declaration of war made today by Russia against Japan is a proof of a solidarity that exists between the principal allies and should shorten the struggle and establish conditions which will allow general peace to come about. We welcome this great decision of Soviet Russia. That was what was said today by Prime Minister Atlee. And now for further British reaction to that momentous news, we take you now to London. Edward R. Murrow reporting. This is London. As you just heard, Mr. Atlee has welcomed Russia's entry into the war. But shortly after the Moscow radio had announced war against Japan, a friend of mine called the British Foreign Office and the reply he got was, Molotov hasn't told us about it, but we have no reason to doubt that it's happened. The announcement has caused very little excitement here in London. Russia becomes the first nation to enter the Pacific War without being attacked. It is presumed here that she has done so for reasons which have traditionally caused nations to declare war, the defense or furtherance of her national interests. But the best opinion here seems to be that Russia would not have entered the war at this stage had she not had reason to believe that the war in the East was nearing its end. There is no disposition here to discount the weight of Russian military strength and the growing appreciation of what is called the realism of Russian policy, an acknowledgement that Russia has immediate and long-range interests in China. This declaration of war will be regarded as a move to protect, insure, and perhaps expand them. For the past few weeks, the Russians have had the diplomatic initiative in dealing with China. I do not mean to imply that the Russian declaration has been greeted with cynicism or anything approaching reluctance or exaggerated suspicion. But there has been no evidence of great popular relief or enthusiasm. That may be because most people are still numb with apprehension, trying to absorb the full implications of the atomic bomb. The succession of events, diplomatic, scientific, and military have simply left people groggy. In the pubs, there were a few toasts dropped to good old Uncle Joe, and people sort of vaguely realized that already this week, humans have demonstrated that they have the power to destroy humanity, and the whole pattern of power in Asia is changing. The next day, the Japanese city of Nagasaki received an atom bomb attack. An ironic note, the bomb used in the attack against Nagasaki had been so improved. The bomb used against Hiroshima just three days before was already obsolete. After Hiroshima, the Japanese high command had ignored an ultimatum to surrender. Now every day that went by could mean the obliteration of another Japanese city, and hundreds and thousands of deaths and permanent injury. August 10th, August 11th, no further atomic attacks, no word of Japanese surrender. It is August 12th, 1945, and now more rumors, finally exultation and disappointment. This is Bob Charter in Columbia's newsroom in New York. We have a flash on the United Press wire. President Truman has just announced that Japan has accepted the surrender terms of the allies. We'll give you some of those details a little bit later, but I want you to hear these bells. Another flash is coming in on the normal United Press wire now. Listen. That is a flash, and this is exactly what it says. This is the regular United Press machine. It says, flash, editors, hold up that flash. And the time on this one at the end is printed 9.36. 9.36. In other words, three minutes after the original flash on the United Press radio wire comes a flash on the regular United Press service, which says, flash, editors, hold up that flash. The time three minutes later, 9.36 p.m. Eastern wartime. Listen how quiet it is in our newsroom. I wonder if you can appreciate the contrast. Not a machine is working. They're all ominously quiet. They're waiting for further details. The flash was premature. August 13th, still no atomic attack, still no official surrender. It is August 14th. NBC has interrupted this program to bring you a special bulletin from the Associated Press. Washington, Secretary of the Navy Forrest Dahl left a conference with President Truman this morning to say that he hopes the surrender of Japan is an actuality and that he fully expects a development in that respect within 25 or 30 minutes. I shall repeat that. Secretary Forrest Dahl, Secretary of the Navy Forrest Dahl left a conference with President Truman this morning to say that he hopes the surrender of Japan is an actuality and that he fully expects a development in that respect within 25 or 30 minutes. Throughout the day, reports came from all over the world. It is now 7 p.m., August 14th, 1945. Columbus News Headquarters in New York, Bob Trout speaking. This is the supreme hour, 7 o'clock Eastern wartime. The correspondents of the White House have entered President Truman's office. The Prime Minister of Great Britain is about to begin his broadcast. The Japanese have accepted our terms fully. That is the word we have just received from the White House in Washington. I didn't expect to hear a celebration here in our newsroom in New York, but you can hear one going on behind me. The Japanese have accepted fully the surrender terms of the United Nations. This, ladies and gentlemen, is the end of the Second World War. It is not, of course, the official VJ Day, but the United Nations on land, on sea, on air, to the four corners of the Earth and the seven seas are united and are victorious. Flash on the INS or is it UP? McArthur appointed Jap boss. Flash, McArthur appointed Jap boss. It is Sunday, September 2nd, 1945. Three years, eight months, 25 days since the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. The place, Tokyo Bay, aboard the battleship Missouri. The situation, the signing of the surrender documents by the Japanese. From the foremast of the Missouri flew the same flag that flew atop the Capitol in Washington on December 7th, 1941. Nine members of the Japanese delegation were on board the Missouri. Three in formal clothes with top hats. Six in military uniforms. General Douglas McArthur, Supreme Commander, Allied Forces Pacific Theater, opened the ceremonies. We are gathered here, representatives of the major warring powers, to conclude a solemn agreement whereby peace may be restored. As Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers, I announce it my firm purpose in the tradition of the countries I represent to proceed in the discharge of my responsibilities with justice and tolerance while taking all necessary dispositions to ensure that the terms of surrender are fully, promptly, and faithfully complied with. I now invite the representatives of the Emperor of Japan and the Japanese government and the Japanese Imperial General Headquarters to sign the instrument of surrender at the places indicated. Now a dramatic moment. Two gaunt heroes of early Allied defeats. Lieutenant General Jonathan Wainwright, defender of Bataan and Corregidor, and Lieutenant General Arthur Percival, the British Commander of Singapore. The Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers will now sign on behalf of all the nations at war with Japan. Will General Wainwright and General Percival step forward and accompany me while I sign? Let us pray that peace be now restored to the world and that God will preserve it always. The war is over. If there is an epitaph for those who died and a prologue for those not yet born, it was spoken on July 16, 1945, when the first atom bomb was exploded on a New Mexico desert. Describing the scene, one observer said, the blast was followed almost immediately by the strong, sustained, almost awesome roar, which warned of doomsday and made us feel that perhaps we puny things were blasphemous to dare tamper with the forces heretofore reserved to the Almighty God. These proceedings are closed. The Westinghouse Broadcasting Company has brought you VJ Day, The End of the War, the voices and sounds of the most dramatic and tragic period of our time. This program was written, produced, and directed by Bud Greenspan. My name is David Perry.
