Chester Nimitz signed the Japanese surrender document for the United States immediately after Douglas MacArthur.
Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz signed the Instrument of Surrender as the United States representative after MacArthur had signed for the Allied powers and before the other Allied delegates. Nimitz was the commander in chief of the U.S. Pacific Fleet and Pacific Ocean Areas during the war.
His signature represented the naval command that had directed the Central Pacific drive across the ocean. Nimitz's forces fought major campaigns at Midway, Guadalcanal, the Marianas, the Philippine Sea, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa, although individual operations involved many commanders and services. His presence at the ceremony linked the final document to the Pacific naval war.
Nimitz is sometimes confused with William Halsey or Raymond Spruance, both prominent U.S. Navy commanders. Halsey commanded the U.S. Third Fleet near the end of the war, while Spruance commanded the Fifth Fleet for major campaigns. Neither signed the Japanese Instrument of Surrender.