First debuting in 1944, the USS Missouri set off on a brief career in the Pacific theater of war, engaging in conflicts at Iwo Jima and Okinawa. Considered a young ship at the time, no one anticipated its journey in becoming the site of a staggering historical event. Soon anchored in Tokyo Bay, the battleship would witness the official Japanese surrender on September 2, 1945.
In a feature-length documentary narrated by country music star Luke Bryan, Surrender on the USS Missouri follows the history of the titular ship and shares first-hand accounts of those who witnessed the end of WWII. The film, written, produced, and directed by the president and founder of the World War II Foundation, Tim Gray, airs Monday, August 8 at 10 p.m. on WSBE Rhode Island PBS.
Using interviews with veterans that served on the battleship, Surrender on the USS Missouri charts the ship’s history, from its construction to its roles in battles within the Pacific. Concluding with the USS Missouri’s modern-day resting place as a memorial and museum in Pearl Harbor, the film emphasizes its status as the legendary site where, with the swift stroke of a ceremonial pen, a catastrophic war finally ended.
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