Leonard M. Isitt signed last among the Allied delegates at Japan’s 1945 surrender ceremony.
Isitt was New Zealand’s representative and served as an air vice-marshal in the Royal New Zealand Air Force. He signed the Instrument of Surrender at approximately 9:22 a.m. Japan Standard Time on 2 September 1945.
The signing sequence followed MacArthur’s signature and then proceeded through representatives of the United States, China, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, Australia, Canada, France, the Netherlands, and New Zealand. Isitt therefore made the final Allied government signature, although the ceremony continued for several minutes afterward.
The final document included signatures from nine Allied governments. Isitt is sometimes overlooked because New Zealand’s role is less prominent in popular accounts than the United States, China, Britain, or the Soviet Union. The ceremony officially concluded at 9:25 a.m., three minutes after Isitt signed.