If you are a WW2 history buff, you probably know that General MacArthur landed in Japan on 30 Aug 1945 and accepted the surrender of Japan on 2 Sep on the battleship Missouri. And according to William Manchester's American Caesar - Douglas MacArthur 1880-1964 ... "Japan, the only major power whose soil had never been sullied by the boot of an enemy soldier, lost that distinction at dawn on Tuesday, Aug 28, when Colonel Charles Tench, a member of MacArthur's staff, stepped from a C-47 and set foot on Atsugi's bomb-pocked runway."
History is in error on two counts. MacArthur was not the first to take the surrender of Japan, nor was Tench the first to sully the Japanese soil.
The Very Unofficial Surrender of Japan
The first Allied aircraft to land on Japan after its surrender was a...
On August 25, 1945, a pair of P-38L-5LOs piloted by Colonel Clay Tice and his wingman were the first American aircraft to land in Japan after the surrender on August 15. They later claimed that this unauthorized landing was due to "engine difficulties", a somewhat suspect explanation. Nevertheless, this was a fitting recognition for an aircraft which had contributed so much to victory.
History is in error on two counts. MacArthur was not the first to take the surrender of Japan, nor was Tench the first to sully the Japanese soil.
The Very Unofficial Surrender of Japan
The first Allied aircraft to land on Japan after its surrender was a...
![38Full.3.jpg](/forum/proxy.php?image=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.americanheritagemuseum.org%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2020%2F07%2F38Full.3.jpg&hash=b6a2a09b05a11a71e5d6214c99dc7e94)
On August 25, 1945, a pair of P-38L-5LOs piloted by Colonel Clay Tice and his wingman were the first American aircraft to land in Japan after the surrender on August 15. They later claimed that this unauthorized landing was due to "engine difficulties", a somewhat suspect explanation. Nevertheless, this was a fitting recognition for an aircraft which had contributed so much to victory.
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