In 1945, the Second World War continued in the Pacific and Southeast Asia for several more months after the defeat of Germany. The Dutch Royal Navy had been among the Allied forces fighting against Japan since the invasion of the Dutch East Indies in 1942. The Royal Dutch Navy was so successful in destroying Japanese ships in the area that its commander, Lieutenant Admiral Conrad Emil Lambert Helfrich, became known as “Ship-A-Day Helfrich”.
Japan capitulated soon after the atomic bombs were dropped in August and the official surrender was signed on September 2, 1945, on board the USS Missouri at anchor in Tokyo Bay. Among the signatories was Admiral Helfrich, and in this interview with E. L. van Dulken on the 10th anniversary of V-J Day, he describes how the war ended for him.
Interview by E.L. Van Dulken, former head of Radio Netherlands’ English Service
Produced: August 15, 1955