Douglas MacArthur used six pens to sign Japan’s Instrument of Surrender.
MacArthur used several pens during the ceremony, including black pens and a final red pen. He gave some of the pens to witnesses and associates afterward, turning ordinary writing instruments into souvenirs of the event.
Two black pens were given to General Jonathan Wainwright and Lieutenant General Arthur Percival. Both men had previously surrendered major Allied positions to Japan: Wainwright in the Philippines and Percival at Singapore. MacArthur also used a red Parker pen associated with his wife for the final part of his signature.
The pens are often discussed because the ceremony involved more than one copy of the instrument and because different pens had different recipients. The number six refers to all the pens MacArthur used, not to the number of signatures on the document or the number of Allied nations present.