The U.S.S. Missouri & the End of WWII | History Traveler Episode 224 

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By far the most quality historical content on RU-vid. I'm not sure what it is you add to the videos that make them such good quality, but keep doing it!

I served aboard the Missouri during the Gulf War from 1990-92. I am glad you enjoyed your visit. You videos are some of the best on RU-vid. Thank you for all your hard work!

One of the best channels on RU-vid

I admire the decision to place the USS Missouri near the USS Arizona. These two battleships bookend the start and ending to the Pacific Campaign of World War II. Great job on all of your Pearl Harbor videos, JD!

The History Underground channel is by far the best channel on RU-vid I was stationed there a while back and seen all these historical sites and I want to thank you for keeping the History alive . Keep up the great work, look forward to watching future episodes.

Thanks JD 👍 A lot of people don't realize that places like the USS Missouri and the Aviation Museum rely heavily on donations for their existence. It's awesome that people are willing to volunteer and donate to preserve these important parts of history.

When I was in the Navy, I was on the USS Constellation CV-64 and off her flight deck I got to see the USS New Jersey fire her 16” guns. It was one of those things seen live, you never forget! Great video as always

I am sure this was an important day for you, I know it was for me as well being from Missouri and seeing our namesake ship. We visited her and Pearl Harbor in September and it was a very emotional visit for me. My son (9 years old) also got an opportunity to drive the boat from the USS ARIZONA Memorial. What a special memory we will have of such an important place in American history. Thanks for also pointing out the fact that the two ships are facing each other in the symbolic nod to the beginning and ending of World War II. I always love your content. Take Care, and safe travels.

So appropriate for the USS Missouri to be docked in Pearl Harbor. We visited it when it was in Bremerton, then saw it cruising into Hawaii from the air when leaving Honolulu. Quite a sight.

Absolutely fascinating. I learned quite a lot from this video. I was amazed to learn of the ceremonial respect given to a Kamikaze pilot to tried to do harm to the very ship in which he was honored from prior to his burial at sea. I wonder if they would have done that for one of ours? Thank you so much for these videos, they are absolutely amazing and greatly appreciated. 👍👍

The feeling of being able to stand on or at a historical site is indescribable. ‘Humbled’ comes to mind, but does not quite do the feeling justice, to me. I have to thank you once again for such amazing content!

Excellent video JD! I truly admire how you have brought the beginning and the end of WWII to light in this video. I never knew the significance of the bows of the Arizona and Missouri until today. This is why I love your videos. The little things you highlight that no one knows during the course of the war have so much meaning. Thank you.

Good lord, these episodes just get better and better. Thank you JD.

Absolutely loved every video from Pearl Harbor so far. Thank you so much for these awesome videos

I have seen ALL your videos, they keep evolving and get even more enjoyable 😊 MORE!

I remember visiting that battleship when I was a kid during fleet week in San Fran in the 90s. It was still an active ship. When I saw the surrender deck I was hooked on history.

I was getting goose bumps, seeing the exact spot today then the news reel footage from the surrender ceremony. I can't help but comment a lot on your videos. They are so well done and with great honor. Thank you for bringing these great history pieces to us. Keep up with the amazing work. Take care.

Thank you JD for another amazing video! I think your videos are the best for sharing history!

The job you do to preserve History, is overwhelming! Thank you! I was named after my 4x uncle, 51 Pennsylvania volunteers Civil War, my Grandfather was a CPO on a destroyer in South Pacific in WW2, my Father was in Air Force during Korean War an was stationed in Japan. I was Law Enforcement for 16 years. The job you do telling all these Historical moments, really moves me! Pulls at my heartstrings! Don't stop! Great job!

I visited the “Mighty Mo” in 2005. Just to be standing on her deck where the Japanese surrendered was simply awesome. Great job on this video, you nailed it. Taking a tour of the inside of the ship would not have been as meaningful as the way you presented the history of the ship. Thank you from an appreciative subscriber in Connecticut.

Thanks for this episode! I was honored to serve aboard Missouri during Desert Storm, and also visited Pearl Harbor while aboard. Hope I can get over there to visit the ship again. Great show! I've enjoyed many of your Civil War episodes, and I appreciate your love of history.

That was impressive. Thanks for taking us along.

Have had interest in war history for a over 35 years a friend from Northern Ireland 20 years ago got me photos of pearl harbour and have a book on aftermath your recent shows have been informative

I am really enjoying this series every episode brings back memories of my Dad who was in Europe and two of my Uncles who were in the Pacific . Thanks

JD, I'm a 74 year old Air Force veteran of the Vietnam Era, and I really enjoy your channel. I recently finished watching your tour of the pacific island battles, and I wonder if you plan to do the same with Korea & Vietnam. Your knowledge of the terrain and ebb and flow of the battles, make watching them a joy for a history buff such as myself.

An awesome video. Lots of History there for sure. Thank you for sharing!

Outstanding!!! Thank you for taking us on your adventures and sharing this incredible history!

Sir, I have been watching your incredible videos for a couple of years. I have always loved American History and by far you are an amazing person, so full of knowledge. You share so much pertinent and interesting information that it is truly remarkable to me. I would certainly recommend your videos to any American History teacher/professor and Historical Society so that all will truly appreciate and love the people who have done so much good for the USA through the ages. Keep up the fantastic work and God Bless! Steve - Massachusetts

Always amazing JD. Thank you for your tireless reporting.

thank you for highlight this amazing ship. the first day i stepped on the teak wood deck of the missouri on tuesday, november 13, 1990, never once i thought i would look back on history some 31 years 8 months 5 days later that was the highlight of my career in the us navy. best experience ever, to served on this beauty from november 13, 1990 to march 31, 1992. went to the gulf war on this ship and called her home sweet home, what an experience many dream and only a few got a chance to live it.

Great video and content, thank for creating and putting together 👍

That is so cool to have the bows of the Arizona and Missouri facing each other. That is incredible!!

Thank you for this episode on Pearl Harbor. A nice story of the start of the conflict with USS Arizona and end of the conflict with USS Missouri. History seeing eye to eye. American historians are masters of this kind of style. I remember visiting the Wright-Patterson Air Force Museum, and something really caught my attention. I didn't know that the LM EAGLE of Apollo 11 carried a piece of wood from the original 1903 Wright Flyer A of Kittyhawk. What a melodramatic way of showing two pioneering feat of aviation history! Looking forward for your next posting!

Awesome!! I find your videos so educational. I'd love to go see some of the places you've seen.

A very touching video. So much symbolism in it, it really gets one's attention.

Great video! I always learn so much from watching.

You had a beautiful day to visit this ship. Again learned more about the Missouri...

Your videos are fabulous, so interesting and informative. Thank you.

JD, I really enjoyed the pearl harbor episodes and because of you i got a decent list to visit hahaha. Great work as always!

Great stuff again. I had the pleasure to re-enlist in the Navy in Pearl Harbor. I got to do it on the USS Arizona July 1999 and on USS Missouri in July 2002. That last re-enlistment on the Missouri took me to my Retirement in February 2006. Thank you for sharing this. It was a "GREAT HONOR" for me to do this in my career and not many people can lay claim to that.

Thank you JD this was a wonderful overview of one of the most important signing ceremonies in world history.

So very interesting and amazing to be in such a historical site. I’m jealous. Great video!

Another amazing episode! Thank you JD!

Nice! Wish i can see in person of the USS Missouri! Your topic in history is awesome! Always watching your blog!

Thanks for sharing your knowledge and experiences, you give us a chance to visit some really interesting places that we might otherwise never see.

I have been watching you for quite a while now. I have to tell you how much I appreciate what you do and your editing is incredible. I hope one day to have the opportunity to meet you in person.

When I was a kid if it wasn't The Alamo, it was Pearl harbor that we kids were reminded of all the time. I don't recall a book entitled 'We Were There at the ALAMO', but I do remember reading 'We Were There at Pearl Harbor' numerous times. En Route to Vietnam we landed at Hickam for a lay-over, but we weren't allowed out of the terminal. Always wanted to go back but never have. So, thank you for covering Pearl. Keep up the good work.

Very well done and certainly very moving.

Another great video enjoy your history videos give us you give us insight of things we don't hear about or see and thanks for showing the Missouri may God bless your family and you on your travels.

Just finished watching this video and I'm very grateful to have seen this. My uncle was in the Navy and when he was in his 90's he told me about being on the ship that was the escort for the USS Missouri at the time of the signing of this document. He watched it from the deck of his ship. I'm addicted to your channel! Thank you.

Another great video my man. They are authentic, moving, and so genuinely well done. The music really brings a vibe to the films as well. They are not over the top or flashy. They have that old school vibe, which I love and think separates your video's from others. You have something pretty special going on here. Keep up the solid work and we will keep supporting.

Yet another fantastic video, keep up the great work you do to bring history alive for the younger generations. I can't wait until my 2 year old son is old enough to understand what happened then and I can show him all your videos to given him the best look at the true history of what occurred and not the abridged versions that our schools are currently teaching. Thank you for giving this to the world.

My uncle was on that ship in sick bay. He was wounded when his ship was torpedoed and he and a few men were floating in the debris. He was picked up and put into sick bay.

I’ve watched a lot of your videos now and it’s nice being able to connect with you on the Hawaii sites since I have been to all the ones you’ve posted on. While serving in Hawaii I had the privilege of reenlisting in the army on the deck of this ship. We had a gentleman who told us about the history of it and it was fascinating. I can’t retain information like I used to but I do recall a story about three generations that were on the deck at the signing of those surrender documents and one actually passed within a few days of that. The story of the several pens MacArthur used to sign it is pretty interesting too.

Once again I knew some of this history but learned so much more at the same time what a great story well done

Excellent job as always!

I was stationed on the USS Missouri from 1986 to 1990. I'm really happy you made this video.

love it - so beautiful - one of the nicest historically moments beautiful remembered as well

My guy.. once again I envy you! Another fantastic program. Pearl Harbor is still on my bucket list and I will get out there. When it comes to the history that is told and Untold you are the man. Keep them coming!

Never enough time to see everything there is to see on the Missouri. Fascinating place.

Well done again JD .. send some more !!

My wife and flew out to Hawaii back in January for our 35 anniversary. While we were there we went over to Pearl Harbor to U.S. Arizona and the USS Missouri. What a somber place. We definitely learned more about the attack. Thanks for sharing your trip

Just another great video. Thank you

There is NOTHING in history I love more than our battleships, thank you JD for another superb video. By orders of magnitude the best, most engaging, most well edited, and well presented history content on RU-vid. We'll done, sir, and thank you. If you ever find yourself in my beautiful state of North Carolina, I hope you can make your way down to Wilmington to see our battleship, USS NC BB-55. Plus, there's a Confederate fort nearby, Fort Fisher, that was the site of two fairly significant battles in 1864 and '65, Wilmington was the last major Confederate coastal stronghold and was known as "the Gibraltar of the South" seems like something that would be right up your alley. Also tiny correction: 6:49 I believe you meant to say that the _South Dakota_ and _North Carolina_ classes have/had 16" 45 caliber guns, and the _Iowa_ class have 16" 50 cals.

This history channel is the best on the net, I enjoy and watch daily for new videos

Great Job JD! I love that you are keeping History Alive, Humbling what everyone went through during that time period! Love the content of the video and the information at the end about the Bows pointing at each other! Outstanding Brother!

Great video. Really enjoyed it.

These are great videos, thanks

My dad who passed away in 2017 at age 92 was on the Heavy Cruiser USS Louisville CA 28 and after (2) kamikaze hits and her repairs completed on April 10, 1945, Louisville delivered Admiral Halsey's 50 officers and 100 staff to the battleship Missouri at Guam in May 1945 and Louisville returned to the Pacific to join TF 54 in providing gunfire support for ground forces on Okinawa. We visited mothballed USS Missouri BB 63 in Bremerton, WA - (closed for filming movie MacArthur with Greggory Peck in 1976) and boarded Mighty Mo in 1978 in Bremerton, WA.

Thanks JD what a incredible video and greetings from England 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

Awesome content JD!

I really enjoy your style of presenting these documentaries . It will make my up coming trip to Gettysburg much more enjoyable. Thank You

Another excellent video, JD. This one gave me chills. I had never seen the surrender deck before, other than in pictures of the surrender ceremony. I did not know that the Missouri was placed facing the Arizona. Thanks for enlightening me. Your videos should be required in schools.

I was here last month. You gotta see it for yourself! Cheers from New Zealand

👍👍♥️👍👍Thank you again for another great video. These two amazing ships facing each other is the way it should be. Two great ladies who served their country well.

Great video mate 👍 keep up with the good work mate your the best

So good JD! What I wouldn’t give to have one of those pens 🖊 eh? What a great episode 👏👏👏👏👏

Absolutely love your work big fan. I visited the Missouri and found that if you look over the side of the ship, you can see an imprint of the plane, front and wings.

I've always been interested in WW2 and the Civil War. Thanks for bringing us along. Now that my kids are getting older we'll be taking a few a the same trips.

You fine sir are a great storyteller I have enjoyed every video I have watched of yours thank you for bringing history to our homes

Great work!!

Thank You History Underground and the Gettysburg Foundation for getting this video made. On that deck it was assured that America would continue to speak English and Thousands of Americans paid the ultimate price so we could maintain our way of life. Let us never forget our way of life and all that entails.

Great video and story a d history lesson. Thank you for posting

Another great video JD. We can only hope that more folks will see and heed the cost that was paid. Thanks for what you do. Impressive, you didn't hit your head.😆 👍👍👍👍👍

Very interesting. Thanks for the great tour. This will be another stop on my next visit to Hawaii.

A wonderful presentation on the events during the signing of the surrender/peace documents aboard the enormous USS Missouri. (For those who have never had the experience of seeing a modern, US Navy Fleet Carrier or retired battleship, it’s one of those experiences in life where photographs don’t even begin to give the subjects justice and most folks seem awestruck by how truly massive these vessels are). Some other interesting things I’ve read about the surrender ceremony in Tokyo Bay. The first I cannot independently verify, but have read from numerous, different sources- and that is that upon order of Admiral Nimitz (and perhaps other senior officers), all naval rifles, 5” guns and other heavy armaments aboard the Mighty Mo’ and other ships at anchorage in Tokyo Bay were fully elevated, but also fully loaded and crewed. It appears the Allied Forces remained wary right to the formal end. The second interesting fact concerns the table and chairs used during the surrender ceremony. (This one came directly from an official USNPS docent on board the USS Missouri, so I think it accurate and true.) You will notice in the historical film from the ceremony that the table, though draped with a heavy cloth, clearly shows raised edges on all sides. This is because the table used in the ceremony was an ordinary, crew messing table, brought up from a crew messing area. The raised edges helped keep plates, cups, bowls etc. from easily sliding off in rough seas. The chairs, likewise, were ordinary chairs taken from officers’ staterooms. Further, our guide mentioned that furniture such as these pieces may have been manufactured by federal inmates in prison workshops. Seems even the incarcerated may have done their bit if this too is historically accurate. Perhaps our YT friend can verify or correct my information about the ships’ guns being loaded and crewed. If you’ve never had the opportunity to visit Pearl Harbor, do so if possible. It will be the trip of a lifetime. Thank you again for presentation. Be well all.

Fabulous. Fabulous effort.

Mighty Mo is a must see for sure!

Many decades ago, when the “Mighty Mo” was in Norfolk, I took my son on a tour. I have a picture of him standing where the peace treaty was signed.

Wife and I visited Pearl and the Mighty MO in 2011. Was surreal, almost like being in a dream standing at the plaque. It was also extra special to tour the command of my mother's guardian Captain (later Adm.) Roscoe Hillenkoetter.

Great video! I had a chance to visit The Mighty Mo, paid respects to those on the Arizona, and the aviation museum last October. At the location of where the kamikaze attack happened, if you leaned over the railing (carefully), you can see where the plane impacted and left an indentation. She's the first battleship I ever had a chance to visit and the trip was well worth it. Bought souvenirs to support the museum.

I was lucky enough to get a tour of the engineering space. Fantastic.

Excellent series you have going here JD. With all the work you did in Normandy, glad you were able to make it to the Pacific theater. Are you going to any of the other sites in the Pacific--Guadalcanal, Saipan, etc? Great series!!!

JD, excellent!

This is truly great! I can't hear MacArthur's and Wainwright's names and not get goosebumps :)

Your very lucky to get to go to these important historical places thanks for taking us with you most of us will never make it there ourselves thank you

I really love your videos. Hopefully you can return to th Missouri and film the bridge, guns, crew quarters ans mess deck with the Truman mess line. They also have a personally guided tour that includes lunch in the Captain's cabin, something we did when we were there. The extra money helps with the upkeep of the ship. And don't forget the Bowfin, an authentic WWII sub that saw action. Thanks for a great series!

Thanks for the informative video and being from New Zealand didn't realize we actually signed on the war surrender document.

Excellent. My home State. My Mom worked as a telephone operator in Rolla, Missouri. It was the main long distance office for Fort Leonard Wood, that office knew about the death of FDR before before most of the state did. They of course did not talk about it.