It was — quite possibly — the worst day to make a mistake.

Sept. 2, 1945 was the day Japan formally surrendered to the Allies. It marked the official end of World War II.

The ceremony happened on the deck of an American battleship, the U.S.S. Missouri, moored in Tokyo Bay. Hundreds of people crowded the deck to watch or participate in the momentous occasion.

Among the signatories sent by each of the major Allied powers was a relatively low-ranking Canadian: Col. Lawrence Cosgrave, Canada's defense attaché to Australia at the time.

Cosgrave was the highest ranking Canadian military officer who could get to the ceremony in time, says Murray Brewster, a defense and foreign policy correspondent for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

"I'm pretty sure that he was in awe of standing amon

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