Douglas MacArthur used six pens when signing Japan’s surrender document.
MacArthur used multiple pens during the brief ceremony aboard USS Missouri. The pens became keepsakes: American General Jonathan Wainwright received one, and British Lieutenant General Arthur Percival received another. Both men had endured humiliating wartime surrenders earlier in the Pacific—the Philippines for Wainwright and Singapore for Percival.
Most of MacArthur’s pens were black, but the final pen was bright red and was given to his wife, Jean. A pen belonging to MacArthur’s aide Courtney Whitney was also used and later returned to Whitney.
The pens are a small but memorable detail of the ceremony. The central historical artifact remained the Instrument of Surrender itself, which exists in separate Allied and Japanese copies. The signing lasted only minutes, but its objects and photographs have preserved many details of the event.