21 Aug 1945


- US President Harry Truman canceled all contracts under the Lend-Lease Act. ww2dbase [Harry Truman | CPC]
- Destroyer USS Saufley departed Ulithi, Caroline Islands as an escort for a convoy bound for Leyte Gulf, Philippines. ww2dbase [Saufley | Ulithi | DS]
- The first major Japanese surrender ceremony in China took place at the Zhijiang Airfield in Zhijiang County, Hunan Province at 1600 hours. ww2dbase [Japan's Surrender | Hunan | CPC]
- Xiao Yisu accepted the Japanese surrender at Zhijiang, Hunan Province, China, and for the following two weeks prepared for the main surrender to be taken place in the capital of Nanjing. ww2dbase [Xiao Yisu | Zhijiang, Hunan | CPC]
- The interim Japanese administration of Palopo in southern Sulawesi, Indonesia announced the formation of the new republic. ww2dbase [Palopo, South Sulawesi | CPC]
- A coalition consisted of Cao Dai, Trotskyists, Hoa Hao, and Vanguard Youth personnel formed the National United Front and launched a demonstration in Cochinchina, French Indochina. ww2dbase [Cochinchina | CPC]
- USS Missouri dispatched a 200-men party to USS Iowa for temporary duty with the initial occupation force for Tokyo, Japan. ww2dbase [Missouri | Tokyo | CPC]
- Malay-Chinese ethnic tensions broke out into violence near Batu Pahat, Johor, British Malaya. ww2dbase [Johor | CPC]
- The Oka Prisoners of War Camp in northern Taiwan was closed. ww2dbase [CPC]
- At Los Alamos, New Mexico, United States, American physicist Harry Daghlian, Jr. of the Manhattan Project accidentally dropped a tungsten carbide brick onto a plutonium bomb core and received a fatal dose of 510 rems of radiation. ww2dbase [Harry Daghlian | Los Alamos, New Mexico | CPC]
- Destroyer USS Shaw departed San Francisco, California bound for the Panama Canal Zone. ww2dbase [Shaw | San Francisco, California | DS]



21 Aug 1945 Interactive Map
Please consider supporting us on Patreon. Even $1 per month will go a long way! Thank you. Please help us spread the word: Stay updated with WW2DB: |
Search WW2DB
News
- » Wreck of M-49 Found (10 Apr 2025)
- » Japanese Emperor Visited Iwoto (Iwo Jima) (8 Apr 2025)
- » Race, Holocaust, and African-American WW2 Histories Removed from the US Naval Academy Library (7 Apr 2025)
- » US Government Plans to Purge WW2 Information (17 Mar 2025)
- » See all news
Random Photograph
Imperial Conference before Emperor Showa, Tokyo, Japan, 14 Aug 1945; the Japanese surrender was decided as an outcome of this meetingCurrent Site Statistics
- » 1,167 biographies
- » 337 events
- » 44,606 timeline entries
- » 1,243 ships
- » 350 aircraft models
- » 207 vehicle models
- » 376 weapon models
- » 123 historical documents
- » 261 facilities
- » 470 book reviews
- » 28,504 photos
- » 365 maps
Famous WW2 Quote
"You ask, what is our aim? I can answer in one word. It is victory. Victory at all costs. Victory in spite of all terrors. Victory, however long and hard the road may be, for without victory there is no survival."Winston Churchill
Support Us

Please consider supporting us on Patreon. Even $1 a month will go a long way. Thank you!

Or, please support us by purchasing some WW2DB merchandise at TeeSpring, Thank you!