Who signed for Canada at Japan’s surrender ceremony aboard USS Missouri?

Lawrence Moore Cosgrave signed for Canada at Japan’s surrender ceremony aboard USS Missouri.

Cosgrave was a Canadian Army colonel and Canada’s representative when the Instrument of Surrender was signed in Tokyo Bay on 2 September 1945. He signed after Australia’s representative and before France’s representative in the sequence of Allied national signatories.

Cosgrave had served in World War I and had been wounded at Vimy Ridge. During World War II he held diplomatic and military appointments, including service as Canadian military attaché in Washington. His role at the surrender reflected Canada’s participation in the Allied war effort in the Pacific and in broader coalition operations.

A famous signing-day mishap occurred when Cosgrave initially signed on the wrong line, beneath the space designated for France. The error was corrected, and the final document recorded the national representatives in their intended positions. He is therefore a distinctive but often overlooked figure in surrender photographs.