Which date did President Truman designate as the official V-J Day in the United States?

President Truman designated September 2, 1945, as the official V-J Day in the United States.

The date marked Japan’s formal signing of the Instrument of Surrender aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay. Japanese representatives signed first, followed by Douglas MacArthur for the Allied powers and representatives of the major Allied governments.

August 14 and August 15 are also strongly associated with V-J Day. On August 14 in the United States, Truman announced that Japan had accepted the Allied terms. On August 15 in Japan and many Commonwealth countries, people heard or learned of Emperor Hirohito’s surrender announcement according to local time.

Truman distinguished the announcement from the legal and ceremonial conclusion of the war. The September 2 ceremony therefore provided a clear official date for the United States, even though newspapers and communities around the world celebrated earlier. The Treaty of San Francisco later formally ended the state of war with most Allied countries in 1952.