Occupying Japan 1945 - The First Uncertain Days of Peace

The occupation of Japan in August 1945 was not simple or easy. US forces moved quickly to occupy Tokyo and important military and naval facilities after Emperor Hirohito capitulated, but the forces were tiny compared to the huge challenges that they faced.
Help support my channel:
www.paypal.me/markfeltonprodu...
/ markfeltonproductions
Disclaimer: All opinions and comments expressed in the 'Comments' section do not reflect the opinions of Mark Felton Productions. All opinions and comments should contribute to the dialogue. Mark Felton Productions does not condone written attacks, insults, racism, sexism, extremism, violence or otherwise questionable comments or material in the 'Comments' section, and reserves the right to delete any comment violating this rule or to block any poster from the channel.

[@whooziss]

I spent about 3 months in Kobe, Japan, in 1984, installing a major piece of medical equipment in a hospital there. One night my two Japanese co-workers (both became very good friends) and I were walking down a very quiet side street in town, well after dark. A single kinono-ed figure very slowly walked up to us, and eventually turned out to be an old, old man. He ignored my two companions and walked up to me and started talking to me. Talking to me in the most beautiful, text book American English I have ever heard. It blew all three of us away. The old gentleman was definitely a Japanese national, no doubt about that. Both of my buddies tried speaking to him in Japanese and he violently shook his head, wanting nothing to do with his own native language (!). He wanted to speak English and talk to an American, period. I don't even remember what we discussed, the whole thing blew me away. So help me, I was ashamed talking to him as his American English was better than mine! It eventually turned out that he had been an interpreter on MacArthur's staff after the War and was then living in quiet retirement. He enjoyed using his adopted second language and searched out Americans whenever he could find them to talk to. Was an awesome night.........

[@Arkeze]

7:29 “Okay cameras are watching, don’t trip, don’t trip, just act cool, people will be watching this timeless video for decades to come” Damnit!

[@andrewphillips8341]

You sir, made my day

[@terrybono5995]

ha ha

[@Eruthian]

exactly my thoughts xD

[@dillon5155]

Also 7:07

[@Wheeler590]

LOL 7:12

[@G-Mastah-Fash]

The grinning German getting the "200,000th prisoner of war captured by the U.S. Army" award cracked me up.

[@goldbell1972]

exactly :-)

[@MM22966]

I don't think that was a grin. I think it was "I really want to punch these bastards, but I also don't want to get shot/get home to Dusseldorf..."

[@snowboarder7772]

Stagger Lee yep , killing millions in the East and grinning

[@franticsledder]

Meanwhile on History Channel: Watch the epic struggle of chopping down trees..

[@michaelh1603]

The history channel has pretty much turn in to a joke.

[@Defenestrationflight]

Imagine being the guy that trips and faceplants into ocean on the landing on an undefended beach...

[@moblinmajorgeneral]

The newsreels would never be allowed to show that

[@Taistelukalkkuna]

*cough* Just reflex, ya know. *cough*

[@dragonsword7370]

why do you think anakin skywalker hated sand? it Is hard to walk on.

[@IrishCarney]

Especially if you break your neck and drown. Do you get a Purple Heart? Imagine your family getting the notice after the relief of learning about the surrender...

[@mozdickson]

Haha...yeah saw that "Damn Smith, you da fool bro!"

[@DarkLiberatorZone]

MacArthur when he arrived at Tokyo in 1945: The Americans were quartered at the New Grand Hotel, a luxury establishment erected after the earthquake of 1923. At dinner Whitney warned his chief that the steak might be poisoned, but MacArthur laughed and brushed it off with “No one can live forever.” Later that evening he told his staff, which had congregated in his room, “Boys, this is the greatest adventure in military history. Here we sit in the enemy’s country with only a handful of troops, looking down the throats of nineteen fully armed divisions and seventy million fanatics. One false move and the Alamo would look like a Sunday-school picnic!”

[@johnyonghwang6112]

That must be scary for the troops who were stationed with mcarthur

[@philokevetch8691]

Oh boy.

[@bbbbagplays9872]

What a bloody legend

[@QuantumRift]

Yep, that's for sure. I think what worked well for 'relations' was McArthur's orders, and the Japanese actually seeing that we were not the subhuman monsters their propaganda portrayed us as. Other than prosecuting war criminals the reparations were as follows (from Wiki): According to Article 14 of the Treaty of Peace with Japan (1951): "Japan should pay reparations to the Allied Powers for the damage and suffering caused by it during the war. Japan will promptly enter into negotiations with Allied Powers". War reparations made pursuant to the San Francisco Peace Treaty with Japan (1951) include: reparations amounting to US$550 million (198 billion yen 1956) were made to the Philippines, and US$39 million (14.04 billion yen 1959) to Viet Nam; payment to the International Committee of the Red Cross to compensate prisoners of war (POW) of 4.5 million pounds sterling (4.54109 billion yen) was made; and Japan relinquished all overseas assets approximately US$23.681 billion (379.499 billion yen). United States signed the peace treaty with 49 nations in 1952 and concluded 54 bilateral agreements that included those with Burma (US$20 million 1954, 1963), the Republic of Korea (US$300 million 1965), Indonesia (US$223.08 million 1958), the Philippines (US$525 million/52.94 billion yen 1967), Malaysia (25 million Malaysian dollars/2.94 billion Yen 1967), Thailand (5.4 billion yen 1955), Micronesia (1969), Laos (1958), Cambodia (1959), Mongolia (1977), Spain ($5.5 million 1957), Switzerland, Netherlands ($10 million 1956), Sweden and Denmark. Payments of reparations started in 1955, lasted for 23 years and ended in 1977. For countries that renounced any reparations from Japan, it agreed to pay an indemnity and/or grants in accordance with bilateral agreements. In the Joint Communiqué of the Government of Japan and the Government of the People's Republic of China (1972), People's Republic of China renounced its demand for war reparation from Japan. In the Soviet-Japanese Joint Declaration of 1956, the Soviet Union waived its rights to reparations from Japan, and both Japan and the Soviet Union waived all reparations claims arising from war. Additionally, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), under President J. R. Jayewardene, declined war reparations from Japan. Japan got off pretty lightly considering....

[@dennissvitak148]

My father was there. He told me, many years later, that the common courtesy of the GI's to the women wasn't normal in their society...men giving up their seats on a bus, for example. THIS went a very, very long way to calming down tensions. Also..MacArthur saying that rape would result in the death sentence didn't hurt, either.

[@bigblue6917]

Arriving in Japan just after war has ended and with many Japanese very unhappy about it and an abundance of weaponry still available. That has got to be a buttock clenching moment.

[@__hjg__2123]

No one on MacArthur's plane wore firearms - he said it would show that the Americans were unafraid...

[@bigD34521]

There was incident when a transport pilot got lost coming into Japan & landed at the wrong airfield only to find when landed that there was a battalion of imperial Japanese troops sat on the tarmac fully armed & very anxious seeing a US plane land in front of them! After a few tense moment's a Japanese officer knocked on the side of the plane offering their surrender with his pistol & sword which the pilot declined until a higher ranking US official arranged hours later to accept. Apparently it was a very touch & go situation as the order for surrender was still in question amongst the Japanese troops.

[@equarg]

Zedsdead117 That had to be very awkward at the very least. For both sides.

[@touko_nanami]

I would've shat my pants and taken off again

[@zealot360]

If you ever feel bad about fucking something up, remember: the representative who signed the Japanese instrument of surrender on behalf of Canada signed on the wrong line on the Japanese copy, forcing every country after Canada to have their names crossed out and rewritten on the spot. The Japanese delegation was, apparently, not amused by this.

[@stevew6138]

Very cool. I had a High School biology teacher who witnessed the ceremony on the Missouri and was part of the occupation force. His work there included dealing with Japanese war criminals. The stories he told in class were tales of the Greatest Generation. Mr. Blair passed some years ago, but he is remembered.

[@chocomanger6873]

"Greatest Generation" my ass.

[@weirdscience8341]

my p.e teacher was in the falklands war

[@yochaiwyss3843]

RIP

[@skipperson4077]

My dad was a US military liason officer in Japan during the 70s and he struck up a close friendship with a Japanese engineer, early disciple of Deming, who was a 1945 graduate of Enoshima (Japanese Naval Academy). He indicated this was a very troubled and confusing time. He and a group of his classmates were told they were headed to flight school to become Kamikaze, but no planes or flight school commenced, then they were assigned to a group that was supposed to drive explosive-rigged boats at invading US ships, but no boats or explosives arrived, then they were told they were to be deployed as infantry, equally suicidal. At the announcement of the end of the war, he and a number of his classmen went up to the top of a mountain where many ended up committing suicide. My dad's friend was one of a few who didn't and carried guilt about it to the end of his life. He turned out to be a great friend and hardworking artist who provided numerous paintings as gifts to my family, something I still have although he and my dad are gone.

[@demef758]

Japan thought it was the end of the world when the US conquered them. Just imagine what their fate would be had Russia been their conquerer!

[@davidallenmandal2439]

Hirohito: "Surrenders" Suicide rate increased to 20%

[@thomaszhang3101]

7:29 imagine watching your former self trip in such a historical moment. Damn it, Carl.

[@gordonames1892]

My uncle Frank was General Mccarthers personal photographer. He is the one who took the pictures of the Japanese surrender onboard the U.S.S. Missouri. In fact, he was hired as a consultant when they filmed the movie MCCARTHER. He showed the cameramen where he took the pictures from.

[@George_M_]

All that occupying without everyone getting killed is surprisingly heartening in retrospect.

[@keithweiss7899]

I had a relative who was one of the first ashore in Japan after they surrendered. He was upset at how people tried to re-write history and say that Japan was a beaten enemy and that we didn’t need to drop the atomic bombs. The truth was that they had armed the civilian population with every imaginable weapon. The children were even given bamboo sticks and told to kill Americans when they came. He spent many months taking thousands of tones of military weapons from the mainland out into the oceans deep water and dumping them overboard. He was amazed at the quantity of weapons still possessed by the civilian population. If we had invaded in a conventional war, the losses in human life would have been much higher for both sides.

[@ZenZaBill]

In 1968, I asked my 8th Grade history teacher, Mr. Oliver, if he was in WWII. He said yes, and never saw action since he went into the military between VE and VJ Day. Said he was part of the occupation force, learned a great deal about Japan, and liked his time there.

[@acchaladka]

My dad was actually an Army photographer at the Tokyo War Crimes trials starting in 1947 when he arrived after basic. (He missed his first assignment to photograph damage at Hiroshima as his troop ship arrived late.) I grew up with a shoebox of portraits of Tojo and others, which the Army had let him keep, in addition to the candids and scenery he’d taken with one of the few cameras left or imported in the country from before the war. His pictures are in the digital archive at Princeton University’s East Asian studies library now and can be viewed online. Mr Felton I’m sure many of us would be interested in another video on the daily business and difficulties of the Army of Occupation as 1945 turned in to and toward the later 1940s. Thank you.

[@Mondo762]

My father was on Okinawa preparing for the invasion of Kyushu when the bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. There was much dread in the run up to the invasion and there was great relief on Okinawa after the surrender. I was born in Japan during the occupation on Tachikawa Air Base in Tokyo in 1951.

[@Yabuddy53]

Amazing that the Japanese were so dedicated to their emperors supreme command that even though they had a fanatical anti-surrender policy, they still went ahead and did so.

[@disgustedvet]

Years ago I read a book on WW II where the author said and I paraphrase , If I had to fight a war , I would want German Generals, Japanese Soldiers and American manufacturing .

[@lkrnpk]

Soviets be like - just give us German generals, we're fine with that other stuff Brits be like - I want manufacturing :(

[@chocomanger6873]

Wow. Can you imagine that today? Japanese are the most pacifistic people around and would rather go shopping than fight anyone. American workmanship has gone out the door.

[@yvoferdinandvanderhoek1027]

And which political leader?

[@juniornutshell]

And an Italian opposition

[@spookycrane9318]

👌👌👌

[@danomalley2473]

My dad served on an attack transport (APA 64, USS Bracken) and it was one of the first ships to dock in Japan, about two weeks after the surrender was signed. They dropped off Occupation Troops and picked up over 500 Dutch and other Allied POWS for transport to the Philippines. My dad said the POWs were just walking skeletons, having been on starvation rations for almost 4 years. Once aboard ship they were allowed to eat all they wanted. Their emaciated bodies couldn't handle all the food, so they just ate and ate, then ran to the side of the ship to vomit, and went right back to eating. It wasn't really good for them, but nobody wanted to be the one to tell them they couldn't eat.

[@bradleyparker4035]

Sometimes it hard for me to imagine that very soon, there will be no more WWII Veterans left..

[@HistoryHustle]

Very interesting. It led to a power vacuum in Indonesia and this eventually led to a clash between Indonesian nationalists and British and in some cases Japanese troops who stood by the British while they fought the Indonesian nationalists. After the Dutch returned they took that over.

[@simonkevnorris]

Same happened in Vietnam (French Indo China).

[@runi5413]

That's true. Worth noting that Japan had virtually no navy after 1945 and hardly any merchant vessels which hadn't been sunk, so the task of collecting and disarming those Japanese troops still stationed all over Eastern Asia fell solely to the allies. Those Japanese soldiers still holding on to Sumatra were physically stranded there, so it's no wonder they seemed surprisingly willing to switch their allegiance over to the Allies. The local populace was out for their blood, and they were 6000 Km away from their home with no way of getting back. I think it's possible that the British offered them some kind of quid pro quo agreement, promising to take them home after the Dutch returned. (This is all conjecture, but it seems logical to assume.)

[@clankplusm]

@@runi5413 I mean they had some navy- the Hosho was re used as a troop carrier

[@ELCADAROSA]

If memory serves, that last Japanese servicemember (soldier) finally surrendered in 1974.

[@TheMrMitosis]

Can you do a video on Dutch submarine warfare in the pacific?

[@sander7165]

I Hope he does! GEKOLONISEERD

[@jonasgrumby4393]

The story of the 0-19 is a good one. Pretty funny how stuck they got that particular boat.

[@StephenMortimer]

Good subject

[@HistoryHustle]

The Dutch formed the ABDA-command together with Australia, the British and the US at the moment the Japanese launched their conquest of SE Asia. Most Dutch ships were lost in the Battle on the Java Sea. Submarines managed to get away from the Japanese onslaught. Love to see a video about this topic as well!

[@FelixIsMyName]

Yeah, I think it would be interesting to learn more about this too.

[@IrishCarney]

It wasn't that the Japanese really feared a Soviet invasion of the home islands, it was that the Soviet entry into the war ended one of the fantasies the Japanese had clung to as an excuse to keep fighting - which was that the still neutral Soviets would be willing to serve as a mediator or third party through which the Japanese would be able to get better terms from the Allies. That might sound insane to us now, but the Japanese probably still remembered the USA serving as a mediator to end the Russo-Japanese War in 1905, and getting the defeated Russians better terms than the Japanese had expected (which caused riots in Japan).

[@tedbaxter5234]

I met a Japanese exchange student in Denver in the 1990’s. She had never heard of the post war occupation of Japan or of General MacArther. She had an absolute blank look on her face and rejected that it could be true. Thanks for posting, I was not aware of many of the details you mentioned!

[@BeachsideHank]

Pulled into Yokosuka, fall of '71. Our tin can needed some serious boiler piping repairs after doing fire support mission in Vietnam. Those yard workers were unbelievable; they had us fixed up in just 48 hours what would've taken an American shipyard 2 weeks- I know that as fact- we had just completed a yard overhaul in Boston before we sailed, those yardbirds did everything with a beer- thirty o'clock mentality, and quality- we had to fix much of their screw-ups underway. Very favorable impression of those people so much so my son is now an English teacher in a remote fishing village on Hokkaido, he'll probably never come back to his homeland, he loves it so.

[@malcolmmeer9761]

My father was in the first companies who arrived in Tokyo. As soldiers were being assigned to various duties a Lt stopped the counting and as my dad was next he was asked if he knew what a telephone was. He said yes He was then taken to the telephone exchange in Tokyo and put in charge for the time being. A few hours later a Full Colonel came in asked him what he had observed. Dad told him the little that he knew. He was told that he was reassigned to him. Was put on MacArthur's staff made a staff sgt I have several pictures of dad with MacArthur in his office at meetings

[@tomn.9879]

My father was in the 5th Marine Div, prepared for the invasion and participated in the occupation. He said they expected more than a million casualties. They confiscated mountains of weapons of every kind including bamboo spears.

[@Ash007YT]

Your subject matter is always on Point. Looking forward to this one. Thankyou Mark

[@pingwenhung8327]

It's Ash OwO!

[@DowntheJunction]

you've got a great channel yourself Ash, enjoy watching your gameplay and listening to your comments

[@lukegodden1529]

Ehhh it's Ash, how you liking 1.91?😁

[@abisairuiz8312]

hello

[@misterjag]

Japanese battleship Nagato was a target ship during the atomic tests conducted at Bikini Atoll in July, 1946.

[@Legitpenguins99]

Wow, thanks. I actually knew NOTHING about what happened after the fighting stopped

[@michaeltumey7756]

Here's a piece of trivia that you don't know, I'll bet. After Hirohito signed the surrender of Japan, the next day, he was on a national radio station announcing that he was not a god - one of the MacArthur's requirements. After that Hirohito asked MacArthur if he could visit the shrine to his ancestors, which MacArthur allowed. Hirohito went to the Ise Shrine which is dedicated to Ameterasu Omikami, who is the goddess that the imperial family is descended from and defines the emperor's divinity... this fact is elucidated in The Pacific War, published by the Asahi Shimbun (Rising Sun newspaper of Tokyo).

[@DODoo1337]

How do you do it? Almost daily uploads and always interesting topics!

[@courageandpeace1944]

It would be so great if he gave sources 4 further reading

[@MrSvenovitch]

He won the lottery and has nothing else to do. Either that or he gets some help from some slave/volunteer

[@timothygeorge5806]

I think it's time to accept the very real possibility that he's a time-traveller!

[@flynnlivescmd]

That happens when youre intelligent amd dont spend all day on fb or some shit

[@Unregistered.Hypercam.2.]

Probably his work and he just takes chunks of it + years of doint it makes it easier

[@MrBITS101]

my grandfathers ship was HMAS Ballarat, it was a corvette, a small warship also regarded as a minesweeper, but they were given the honour to do the first landing at the Yokosuka Naval Base in Tokyo Bay 1945.

[@charleshowell7855]

My grandfather was aboard one of the first ships to enter Yokosuka Naval Base. He was stationed there after the war and into the Korean Conflict. He was an E-9 and a master electrician. He worked aboard several ships that sunk in the Korean conflict. USS Pledge, USS Pirate. He was attached to a Mine Sweeper outfit. After Korea he went stateside and after several years of homeport duty he was ordered aboard an LST full of marines ready to strike Cuba if necessary during the Cuban Missle Crisis.

[@mj99a]

see the film "japan's longest day", a japanese made historical film about the last days of the war, the young hard core militarists who believed death was preferable to defeat, their storming of the emperor's palace in a coup attempt to force continuation of the war, and the emperor's final delivery via radio of the surrender decree, the first time the public had ever heard the voice of the deity/king!! excellent film!!

[@itsjohndell]

MacArthur had two aircraft named "Bataan", the first being a Douglas C-54. This was followed by a Lockheed C-121 Constellation which is the aircraft that flew him to the famous, or infamous, meeting with Pres. Truman on Wake Island. This aircraft has been restored to it's interior and exterior exactly as it was at that time and is on display at the Planes of Fame Museum at Chino , CA. It was flown from Valle, AZ to Chino two years ago and is the only airworthy Constellation in North or South America. I had the privilage to board her and sit in the left seat at Valle.

[@dalebelseth3058]

My father was part of the Occupational troops in Sendai. He said the civilians were polite.

[@neil03152]

Oooh you don't half ramble on with your stories don't you.

[@zilfondel]

And they still are!

[@aaronlopez3585]

Dr Felton, I'm so pleased how you covered a subject that is not really discussed. The occupation of Japan, the dangers that so few American service personnel had to face. The only complaint I have is I wish it would have been twenty or thirty minutes. Thank you for turning out historic content that is truly captivating.

[@peterwundersitz3715]

When Hirohito spoke on the radio most japanese never understood what he was saying as he spoke a high level of language not used by ordinary folk. My japanese language teacher told me that in the 1960's.

[@TheChanga14]

2014-17 I was stationed at Atsugi airbase while in the Navy. It's so awesome to see a little history about it. Excellent work as usual Dr. Felton!

[@Studi851]

Brilliant as always ... Thank you very much Mark for all your work!

[@diegofianza3525]

My world history professor at ODU, Dr. Whitehurst, served as a 20 year old air crew member of the Army Air Corps. His class was astounding. He recounted the massive flyover GEN MacArthur authorized as the Japanese formally surrendered aboard the USS Missouri. Dr. Whitehurst said that every aircraft in the Pacific that could fly overhead, did so as a display to the Japanese to never attack the US again. The aircraft procession lasted over an hour. Dr. Whitehurst when I took his history courses was a very senior citizen but funny and witty and his mind very sharp. He needs to interviewed...history professor and former member of the US House of Representatives.

[@thatguychrs9587]

I still wish we kept Nagato as a prize rather than using it in the Atoll tests. :(

[@PanzerBuyer]

Can you imagine ISIS surrendering and honoring a peaceful occupation? Different times, vastly different people. Awesome video Mark!

[@Finkeren]

We have had practically no wars between nation states that have ended with one side flat out surrendering in the years since WW2. Our attitude towards war has changed and it is no longer considered a legitimate way for rival states to settle their differences. The formalized type of warfare, with declarations of war and formal surrenders have fallen by the wayside and we are mostly left with the messy, complex, decades long assymetric conflicts, wars by proxy and internal strife, that have always been there, but was for a while overshadowed by the wars between nation states.

[@Riceball01]

It helps that the Japanese are a homogenous people with a strong national identity and strong central leadership, all of which ISIS lacks. DAESH is composed of multiple nationalities and even more ethnicities, lack any sort of central authority that they all answer to and acknowledge, they don't even all follow the exact same brand of Islam as each other, not to mention that Islam is a very decentralized religion with no equivalent of a Pope and but with each Imam holding nearly as much with their followers.

[@TheTeufelhunden68]

@@Finkeren Sometimes I wax nostalgic for the cold war.

[@TheTeufelhunden68]

@@Riceball01 Your analysis of islamb as being a decentralized religion sends shivers down my spine. The idea that basically they are beholden only unto their local imam. I have relatives in Pennsylvania and Indiana. What if the Amish rise up? The horror!

[@wsg4847]

@@mylakay100 There's no reason to insult animals.

[@justincaseu812]

I've been living in Kanagawa for 13 years since moving here from Britain. The area is still heavily militarized and there are several US bases around here. Military aircraft fly overhead daily. There are post-war stories of US military planes crash landing into the surrounding city streets, two of which I've seen old newspaper cuttings of, and one of which, a local guy witnessed firsthand and told me the story. Also, an old lady told me how a US fighter plane fired at her during the war while she was walking home from school through a rice field. I've heard other fascinating stories from local elderly folks.

[@richardtheeighth4431]

All wartime history of the allied forces is truely amazing. History must never be forgotten. Lest we forget.

[@Military-Museum-LP]

Thank you Mark. A member of my family was on a mine sweeper in Tokyo bay clearing out mines before the task force entered. A warm feeling in my heart when I saw the surrender on the mighty Mo because he was watching this from a distance on his ship.

[@KiLDELTA]

As a Filipino, we owe great debt to McArthur... He is our Hero

[@chocomanger6873]

Too bad you don't have your own heros. Your country is a mishmash of Spanish, Japanese, and American colonialism.

[@wolfthequarrelsome504]

Yes... He occupied your country and he is your hero.

[@boxlid214]

Back then there was a common saying among those generations which endured the war, which was "without your word you have nothing". He most likely thought about that promise to return more than anything else during the war. Greetings from the states

[@connorroberts7335]

My great grandfather (who is still around 96) was stationed in Japan soon after its surrender. He told me a story of how he was in charge of a small group of men to stay in a police station outside of a village for a while to keep tab on the people. He said one night someone from the village was throwing rocks through the windows and one hit a soldier that was inside, which he promptly went out to figure out what was going on. When my grandpa and his group stepped outside they were surprised to see a large group of people outside yelling at them. One said in broken English many foul names and continued to throw stuff at them. Well after a bit my grandpa was reinforced by several other groups of US & Japanese soldiers to break them up which worked.

[@andrewmagdaleno5417]

Thanks Dr. Felton, I very much appreciate your hard work on these videos

[@jamesjohns83]

4:22 an incredibly detailed photo of McAuthur...It's amazing, after all of the years of watching old wartime footage, there's still always something new that I've never seen. Thanks for the upload.

[@Ellros]

My Great Uncle was a 19 year old seaman on the Missouri. He watched the signing ceremony from about 15-20 feet above them.

[@trueasdrewvn7132]

One of your best. Thanks again.

[@Sociologist66]

Outstanding! Remarkable! A very good job. Thank you for this video.

[@brasstard7.627]

My grandfather who was in the 82nd field artillery out of Ft. Bliss took part in the occupation. And fought in Los Negros island, Leytte, Manila and was part of a flying column to rescue a POW camp all while carrying a Reising sunmachine gun. He brought back many things including ancient Samurai swords and a Russian .44 revolver made at Tula in 1889. Unlike some vets of the Pacific war he never had anything but good things to say about Japanese people. Unfortunately to me he kept most of the horrors that he saw to himself very rarely speaking about a couple things including finding dead tortured American troops in the Philippine jungle

[@motorTranz]

Thank you for another great video Dr. Felton.

[@stallen1066]

One of THE best military history posters. Thx Mark.

[@russwoodward8251]

This history of the first days of occupation is very interesting. It was a tenuous time at the very least and rarely talked about in the history texts I've read. Thank you.

[@paulstan9828]

I can only imagine what a daunting task that must have been in the first days of the occupation of Japan.

[@chocomanger6873]

A lot easier in Japan than anywhere else. Just a bunch of helpful people that want to get their country back on track, and there the enemy was willing to help.

[@barakobamadubai]

Thanks mark for all efforts. Appreciated. Part of sorrow history

[@NeutronRob]

Great video! Thanks for making and posting!

[@user-wx3wc4bo7c]

Thought I was going to get a rain day off of work this morning that didn't happen cracked my phone screen even worse so it is just an expensive paper weight .....just got home from work and I'm glad you have a new video uploaded, it just made my day better ......thanks for what you do 👍

[@peterszar]

Mr. Felton; You come up with some very interesting subjects/videos. This, as usual, was very interesting. Thanks for sharing.

[@nickc4063]

Out of all the possible outcomes from an occupied/Japanese surrender this was probably the best one and the reason Japan is such a strong economic power house today

[@michaltaft2972]

Best subscription I've ever made! Thank you for your hard work.

[@fmj_556]

These videos are so informative and educational. Keep up the good work!

[@CDeanhartman]

A topic worthy of a book! Great effort, I enjoy your videos so much!!

[@gungarum4386]

Excellent work Mark as always. Many thanks from Australia

[@sincerelyyours7538]

Very well done, as usual. Two notes I'd like to add, one may be apocryphal. First, thank you for properly pronouncing "Yokosuka" with a definite "koh" and an almost silent "su" sounds, and NOT the uninformed US Navy sailor way of "Yo-KUU-ska", (strong "kuu") or the equally uninformed US newscaster way of saying "Yo-Ko-SU-Ka" (accented "SU"), both of which are embarrassing to expats who have spent any time at all in Japan. Also, I'm surprised you didn't include the famous story about MacArthur as he disembarked from his aircraft for the first time at what is now Atsugi NAF. According to the story, he found that he had to walk through two lines of Japanese troops, all facing AWAY from him, which he took in his usual egotistical fashion as an insult, until someone told him that they were protecting him from any troops that might try to attack him.

[@NITWIT856]

Love your work. Your voice is just a great compliment along with your work. Much love from Camden new jersey

[@thingonathinginathing]

Those who disagree with the use of atomic weapons never had their lives saved by it -ww2 marine

[@patrickhughes8164]

My father fought in a 28th division in the South Pacific and took part in the occupation of Japan. I still have issued script from his time there. He bore the Japanese interesting enough no ill will. However after fighting in Korea he came away with deep hatred for the Chinese until the day he died. Certain things you just couldn’t unsee, the Chinese were infamous for their atrocities in which he saw firsthand. My father received a lot of commendations and was wounded for times in Korea, however I do believe a good portion of his soul died in Korea And was tortured the rest of his life.

[@aaronjohn6586]

Well done and as always very informative.

[@commando4481]

Can we get a video on the Burma campaign soon please

[@charlesuplifted5216]

How many times is this question gonna be asked he will do it if he wants too

[@stevemcdigstraightdown2404]

JJ Brooks 👍🏻

[@28palms40]

Please do one about the Chinese contributions in the Burma campaign, thank you.

[@enrickescobar3000]

JJ Brooks can you stop posting this on every video, if he wants to do a video on burma he will

[@Frang14998]

Thanks for the video, you are my favourite!!

[@HighSpeedNoDrag]

Excellent presentation as Always.

[@Jackjones78189]

Glad that the Dutch are mentioned and keep up the work this is great

[@MrSpitfireMustang]

Amazing! Thank you Mark.

[@davidofglenbrook4487]

Comprehensive, thorough and scholarly...as usual.

Once again great work, well done!

[@cyberpimp29]

My grandfather was a decorated sergeant in the 130th infrantry - part of the 33rd Division. Seeing the map at 1:51 reminded me that he would have been a front line soldier invading a home island of Japan. I am grateful to God that Truman dropped the atomic bombs. This saved the lives of thousands if not millions American and Japanese soldiers as well as civilians. The fact that apologists now question this decision (long after most of the men involved are passed away) is infuriating.

[@psychopegasus5564]

Another amazing video! Keep up the good work

[@kistler1994]

My town has an 11th airborne veteran. He is amazing to talk with and he sure was glad they didn't have to jump.

[@MChief118]

Always look forward to your videos.

[@N556ND]

Excellent work! My late grandfather was stationed in Tokyo during 45-46. They were surly some surreal times for him and his friends.

[@MasterHavik]

Those who like to second guess our atomic bombing to avoid an invasion should watch this. Our boys walking ashore instead of fighting their way ashore.

[@timsytanker]

Errr, that was after the Japanese surrender..... tin foil hat award goes to you for believing the same thing would have happened before the bombs had been dropped and Japan was still fighting.

[@willanger261]

Thanks again Mark

[@DoctorCreepy]

Good stuff! A lot of the other shows would make it seem we just sailed into Tokyo harbor and that was it.

[@delta999999]

Fascinating topic thank you.

[@joehagerman2272]

I was stationed at both Atsugi and Yokosuka bases. Excellent video.

[@joerag6077]

How do you crank out so much content!?! Keep it up however you do it. Thanks!

[@steveshoemaker6347]

Once again a lot of good flim footage here !...Mark...Many thanks...!

[@nickirmen6671]

7:08 the worst casualty of the landing, that soldier tripping on his own feet

[@TheCerebralDude]

My dad did cold weather training with the USMC at Mount Fuji in 1952 before deploying to Korea for combat duty