“The Star-Spangled Banner” at War’s End
“It’s going to be a long war, and it is going to be a tough war,” said Franklin D. Roosevelt, when he appeared before Congress on December 8, 1941, to ask for a declaration of war with Japan after that nation had attacked the United States. The President was speaking that day in a prophetic strain. He was right. The war was both “long” and “tough.” The wartime generation, of World War II, will long remember the anxiety and sacrifice of those days, as with grim determination our youth fought and our people labored unitedly to win a priceless victory. Not until September, 1945, did peace return to our land.
“The Stars and Stripes were raised over ancient Tokio today as General MacArthur formally established authority over Japan’s battered capital in the name of the United States,” were the words which appeared on the front page of some of our newspapers on September 8, 1945. This account of what happened was printed in The New York Times. It was written by Frank L. Kluckhorn: “Standing alone before Lt.-Gen. Robert Eichelberger, commander of the 8th army, which is garrisoning Tokio, MacArthur said: ‘Gen. Eichelberger, have our country’s flag unfurled, and in Tokio’s sun let it wave in its full glory as a symbol of hope for the oppressed and as a harbinger of victory for the right.’
“Eichelberger saluted, repeated the order, and the band played the national anthem. As the guard of honor and the others present saluted, the flag was raised on the pole where it can be seen from much of Tokio. The chaplain of the First Cavalry Division gave the benediction, and the ceremony was over.” But how thrilling and unforgettable must it have been to have listened to the strains of “The Star-Spangled Banner” in that momentous hour!
A news item observed that the American flag unfurled on this occasion was the very flag that floated over the Capitol in Washington on December 7, 1941. This was the day when we were attacked by the Japanese.
Vauntingly the Japanese had declared, it was reported, that peace terms would be signed in the White House in Washington. Far different, however, was the reality. The terms of the “unconditional surrender” of Japan were made known, and the ceremonies relating to the signing of the same were observed on board the battleship Missouri in Tokio Bay. These were reported in the morning papers of September 3, 1945, though millions of citizens in the United States heard them over the radio the previous night. We were told that the “Missouri’s band outdid itself providing music, playing ‘Anchors Aweigh’ ... and ‘The Stars and Stripes Forever.’ A bugler sounded ‘Taps’ in memory of the gallant band of men and women who had gone into the great conflict with mighty forces with the hopeful feeling that
“... conquer we must when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto, ‘In God is our trust.’”
Thus the national anthem was played at the hour of the formal surrender of Japan on the Missouri and also when General MacArthur set up power in Tokio, “and the same historic flag was flown on both occasions.” The Star-Spangled Banner always has a special appeal when it is rendered in the presence of the Stars and Stripes. Our national anthem had gone with the nation from peace to war and from war to peace.