Pearl Harbor marks 70th anniversary of WWII victory

Seventy years after Japan signed the Instrument of Surrender for World War II, on the same deck of the battleship USS Missouri in historic Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, at the exact time 9:02 a.m.(1902 GMT), a commemoration for the end of the war was held.

"In the presence of the USS Missouri and USS Arizona memorials, this ceremony provides a special opportunity to honor the extraordinary sacrifice and service of our veterans, while memorializing one of the most significant dates in world history," Michael Carr, president of the Battleship Missouri Memorial, said.

The commemoration honored more than 20 World War II veterans in their late 80s or early 90s, and featured a special exhibition of artifacts related to the signing of the Instrument of Surrender seven decades ago.

Phillip Coneeny, 89, who served on the board and witnessed the signing ceremony when he was 18, came to the commemoration with the "surrender card" certifying the formal surrender of the Japanese forces.

"I carried it in my wallet all the time. It's a memory I don't want to forget, and it's something I hope no one wants to experience again," Coneeny said.

Among the artifacts on display were two pens used by then U.S. Admiral Chester Nimitz to sign the instrument. One of the pens is on loan from the U.S. Naval Academy Museum, and the other is borrowed from the Nanjing Museum in China.

"The Parker pen borrowed from China was first given to Admiral Nimitz as a gift by his Chinese friend Y.C. Woo, and after Nimitz signed on the document, he returned that pen to Woo. The pen was later treasured in Nanjing Museum," said Ouyang Zongjun, chief librarian of Nanjing Museum, who especially brought the pen here to be exhibited from Aug. 28 to Sept. 3 in the Missouri Memorial Hall.

Engraved with the words "VICTORY PEN ADMIRAL CHESTER W NIMITZ," the pen is regarded as the "victory pen." The second pen, used by then General Douglas MacArthur to sign on behalf of the Allies, is on display as well.

"The commemoration is meaningful as 70 years ago, people of the world ended a dark period of history," said Li Kexin, minister at the Chinese Embassy in Washington, who had flown to Hawaii to attend the ceremony. h "The reunion of the victory pens is symbolic as it represents the friendship between Chinese and American people," Li said. "The victory pens could be put on display through joint efforts, and I think other things between China and the U.S. can also be done through joint efforts."

"President Xi will soon visit the United States and I believe the visit will further deepen the cooperation between the two countries, and bring the two peoples closer to each other," he said.

U.S. Senator of Hawaii Brian Schatz and Admiral Scott Swift, commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, also attended the ceremony. Endi