| Original caption: “Scenes around the White House showing crowds and reporters receiving news of the surrender of Japan, ending World War II.” United States President Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884 – December 26, 1972) announced that the Imperial Japanese Military Government Cabinet had accepted the Potsdam Declaration of unconditional surrender in the Oval Office on August 14, 1945. Thousands jammed Lafayette Park in front of the White House in the lingering daylight of Washington’s summer time. Bells were rung, and car horns blared. Some of the crowd formed a conga line. They chanted for the President: “We want Harry!” He and Elizabeth V. Wallace “Bess” Truman (February 13, 1885 – October 18, 1982) came out onto the north lawn of the White House. People surged across Pennsylvania Avenue, pressing the police and MPs against the White House’s iron fence. Truman walked along the wall, throwing the crowd the “V-for-victory” sign in United Kingdom Prime Minister Winston S. Churchill’s (November 30, 1874 – January 24, 1965) manner, and a great cheer went up. He waved to the crowd until his arm ached. Then he went back inside. The chanting continued, and the crowd kept growing. Truman stepped onto the North Portico and spoke over a microphone. “This is a great day—the day we have been waiting for.” The crowd roared. He knew that Americans in cities and towns across the country were celebrating the victory, and he was deeply moved. The President ordered all American field commanders to cease fighting. He telephoned Eleanor Roosevelt and told her he wished it had been her husband, not he, who had announced the news to the nation. He cut the monthly draft from 80,000 to 50,000 and gave all federal employees a 2-day holiday. United States Army General Douglas MacArthur (January 26, 1880 – April 5, 1964) was notified that his assignment as Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers was practical immediately. He was ordered to obtain an imperial proclamation authorizing the Emperor’s representatives to sign the Instrument of Surrender. He was to receive the signed instrument for the 4 governments concerned and, in the interests of the other nations at war with Japan, for those nations as well. Each of the 4 powers was to designate a representative to attend the surrender. The American representative would be United States Navy Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz. And MacArthur was instructed that from the moment of surrender, the Emperor and Japanese government were to rule subject to his orders. On Okinawa and in the Philippines, thousands of young American soldiers, sailors, and Marines celebrated the victory and the news that Japan would not have to be invaded, and they would live. The night sky above Manila lit up with tracer fire and flares. Abbie A. Rowe (August 23, 1905 – April 17, 1967) photographed the presidencies of Franklin D. Roosevelt (January 30, 1882 – April 12, 1945), Harry S. Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower (October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969), John F. Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), and Lyndon B. Johnson (August 27, 1908 – January 22, 1973). In 1963, Rowe received the Distinguished Service Award of the Department of the Interior. | |
| Image Filename | wwii1577.jpg |
| Image Size | 1,015.03 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 2960 x 2378 |
| Photographer | Abbie Rowe |
| Photographer Title | Harry S. Truman Library |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | August 14, 1945 |
| Location | |
| City | Washington |
| State or Province | District of Columbia |
| Country | United States |
| Archive | National Archives and Records Administration |
| Record Number | 73-2022 |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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