On Sept. 2, 1945, more than 250 Allied warships laid anchor in Tokyo’s harbor, including the USS Missouri. At about 9 a.m. that day, Japanese foreign ministers signed the surrender papers, followed by several Allied representatives. The war in the Pacific theater was officially over.

Supreme Commander MacArthur, one of the signatories, wrote the following on the surrender documents:

“It is my earnest hope and indeed the hope of all mankind that from this solemn occasion a better world shall emerge out of the blood and carnage of the past.”

Watch this world-changing event in this restore footage filmed by the American military in 1945.