MacArthur Landed in Japan to Cheers. The Marines Who Got There First Found Something Else.

On August 30, 1945, the 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines boarded landing craft before dawn and moved toward the mouth of Tokyo Bay. Their target was Futtsu Saki — a narrow peninsula at the entrance to the bay, where three Japanese forts held some of the heaviest coastal guns in the country. The men did not know if the guns were loaded. That same morning, General MacArthur was landing at Atsugi airfield in front of cameras and generals. The Marines at Futtsu Saki had no cameras, no crowd, and no preliminary bombardment. Just water, darkness, and the question of whether Japan's surrender would hold at the one place it mattered most. At 5:58 a.m., the first ramp dropped. The forts were already quiet. Chapters 0:00 The Landing Nobody Filmed 2:26 Who the 4th Marines Were 3:55 The Guns at the Gate 5:34 L-Day Delayed 6:40 Into the Bay 7:33 What They Found 8:30 The Flag Over Yokosuka 9:24 Welcome, Old 4th 10:10 Why the Guns Stayed Silent SOURCES Charles R. Smith, Securing the Surrender: Marines in the Occupation of Japan, Marine Corps History Division (Marines in World War II Commemorative Series). The 4th Marines' assignment to Task Force 31, the Futtsu Saki landing at 5:58 a.m. on August 30, General Clement's advance on Yokosuka, the flag raising at 10:15, and Vice Admiral Totsuka's formal surrender at 10:45. Jeter A. Isely and Philip A. Crowl, The U.S. Marines and Amphibious War (Princeton, 1951). The strategic importance of the Uraga Strait, the coastal defense installations at Futtsu Saki, and the approach plan for Task Force 31. Standish Backus, The First Wave on Japan (watercolor, 1945), Navy Art Collection, Naval History and Heritage Command (NHHC 88-186-B). The artist's caption describing the five-minute approach to shore, the Higgins craft, and the fear of ambush. Naval History and Heritage Command, When the Navy Landed in Japan, Proceedings of the U.S. Naval Institute. The UDT team's advance landing on August 28, the "Welcome Marines" sign, the 22-man Japanese skeleton crew at Futtsu Saki, and the Navy gunner's mates who completed the disabling of the coastal guns by 8:45 a.m. U.S. Marine Corps History Division, 4th Marines Regimental History. The regiment's history in Shanghai, the defense of Corregidor, the burning of the colors on May 6, 1942, the dissolution and reconstitution of the regiment, and the September 6 reunion with survivors of the old 4th Marines at Yokosuka. U.S. Army Center of Military History, Reports of General MacArthur: The Campaigns of MacArthur in the Pacific, Vol. I. The Atsugi landing on August 30 and the parallel timeline of the air and sea occupations. Sources & Archives U.S. National Archives Internet Archive Wikimedia Commons Naval History and Heritage Command Archival Footage Archival footage: U.S. National Archives, Prelinger Archives, Naval History and Heritage Command film collections; some scenes use illustrative footage of the period not the people named. How This Episode Was Made Original research and script by WWII Desk. Archival film, photographs, documents and other historical material from the U.S. National Archives, Prelinger Archives and other collections are re-edited to match the narration and combined with our own maps, document reconstructions and graphics. Some scenes use illustrative footage of the period to represent locations, events, equipment and environments described in the narration and are not necessarily footage of the specific people named. Sources are listed above.