complex of the Japanese homeland from July 10 to Aug. 15, 1945.
U.S. B29 bombers, based at the island of Tinian, dropped atomic bombs
on the cities of Hiroshima (Aug. 6) and Nagasaki (Aug. 8) which, in
the end, forced an end to the war. Emperor Hirohito announced the
surrender of Japan to Allied forces with a live radio address to the
citizens of Japan on Aug. 15, 1945.
Even with the Emperor’s announcement of the Japanese surrender
the Lexington continued to send out air patrols. She dropped much
needed supplies to prisoner-of-war camps on the island of Honshu,
and according to the crew publication The Lexington Baedeker, the
Lady Lex made a “triumphant entrance into Tokyo Bay” on Sept. Six,
1945. There she remained supporting the occupation/reconstruction
of Japan until December 1945 when she is ordered to return to the
U.S. She acted as a ferry for returning troops (Operation Magic
Carpet) and arrived at San Francisco Dec. 13, 1945. She finished
postwar operations along the West Coast of Calif., before being
decommissioned at Bremerton, Wash., April 23, 1947.
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