On September 2, 1945, the Japanese officially surrendered to end WWII. A photo from the day, showing Admiral Chester Nimitz signing the Japanese surrender document, has his personal message: “To Rear Admiral H. Arnold Karo, USC&GS — with best wishes and great appreciation of the assistance of the U. S. Coast and Geodetic Survey in making possible the above scene. C. W. Nimitz, Fleet Admiral, U. S. Navy.”
The U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey was one of NOAA’s predecessor agencies, and today’s uniformed NOAA Corps had its beginnings with WWI, when the commissioned service of the USC&GS was formed. During WWII, the Coast and Geodetic Survey sent over 1000 civilian members and over half of its commissioned officers to the military services. (See The World Wars.) Coast Surveyors served as hydrographers, artillery surveyors, cartographers, army engineers, intelligence officers, and geophysicists in all theaters of the war. Civilians, on the home front, produced over 100 million maps and charts for the Allied forces. Eleven members of the USC&GS gave their lives during WWII.
In recent remembrance of the service and sacrifice of those men and women, Cmdr. Matt Wingate, commanding officer of NOAA’s Marine Operations Center ‒ Pacific Islands, recently wrote this report:
Fireworks lit up the Honolulu night on August 15. Seventy years ago — August 15, 1945 — Emperor Hirohito broadcast news of Japan’s surrender to the Japanese people — and the world. As a result, August 14 (because of the international dateline) and 15 are forever known as VJ Day or “Victory over Japan Day.”
To honor this historic event, the U.S. Navy and the cities of Honolulu, Hawaii, and Nagaoka, Japan, celebrated seventy years of peace with a solemn ceremony and spectacular fireworks. (Nagaoka is the home town of Admiral Yamamoto, the key planner behind the December 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor.)
As I watched the fireworks with shipmates aboard NOAA Ship Oscar Elton Sette, an overwhelming sense of pride and humility descended. Proud to be witnessing such a historic event, proud to be part of this amazing agency and its legacy, and also humbled by history. What a difference 70 years can make. Take a look at the historic photo with Admiral Nimitz’s signed note. I hope you get goose bumps at what he wrote to the U.S. Coast & Geodetic Survey director, Rear Admiral Karo. That’s a proud chapter of our legacy!
Something happened recently that also made me proud of our mariners. I recently met the chief of staff for Joint Base Pearl Harbor Hickham. We were scheduled to meet for 30 minutes, but the meeting extended to almost an hour because the commander was so intrigued with NOAA’s mission and the mariners who sail NOAA ships. The amount of time NOAA mariners spend at sea was especially impactful on him. As I left him, I was proud of our mariners and their salty heritage. His admiration for NOAA’s mariners was palpable.
I hope NOAA mariners hold that feeling in your work vests, and pull it out when needed. Stay focused, stay safe, and be proud of your efforts. Others certainly are.
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I think of FADM Nimitz as the primary reason the U.S. was able to win the war in the Pacific. For him to recognize the efforts of the C&GS was proof of a distinguished military officer and leader.
Thank you for this article and all you do.
I was present on August 15, 1945, and witnessed the celebration that ensued in Honolulu and Pearl Harbor. It is still clear in my memory while more recent events have faded away. I was a quite junior Ensign in the Navy.