Who filmed the 1945 Japanese surrender ceremony in color aboard USS Missouri?

George F. Kosco filmed the 1945 Japanese surrender ceremony in color aboard USS Missouri.

Kosco recorded the ceremony as Japanese and Allied representatives signed the Instrument of Surrender in Tokyo Bay on 2 September 1945. The color footage provides a visual record of the deck arrangement, the delegations, and the brief proceedings led by General Douglas MacArthur.

For many years, the footage was not widely available to the public. The color film was released publicly only in 2010, decades after the event. This delayed release helps explain why many familiar images of the surrender ceremony come from still photographs or black-and-white newsreels instead.

The ceremony itself lasted 23 minutes and was broadcast around the world. It followed Hirohito’s radio announcement of Japan’s acceptance of the Potsdam Declaration on 15 August, but the Missouri ceremony was the formal signing that ended the war with the Allied powers.