The surrender of Japan on the deck of the USS Missouri marked the official end of World War II, a conflict that claimed 66 million lives. This historic event, which took place in Tokyo Bay on September 2, 1945, was a solemn and businesslike affair, contrasting sharply with the jubilant celebrations that had erupted in New York City's Times Square just weeks earlier upon the announcement of Japan's unconditional surrender. The ceremony, attended by Allied representatives and thousands of sailors, brought a formal close to the most horrific war in human history, a conflict that had been ignited by the attack on Pearl Harbor and concluded with the devastating power of the atomic bomb.