On September 2, 1945, aboard the U.S.S. Missouri in Tokyo Bay, representatives of the Allied powers and the Imperial Japanese government signed the formal instrument of surrender which officially ended the Second World War.

As with most of the footage from that war, the official film coverage of this event was made in black and white. Here’s a typical newsreel report of the surrender.

Present that day was Navy Commander George F. Kosco, an officer on Admiral William Halsey’s staff, who recorded the surrender on color film. That footage has been combined with color film taken by Navy photographers in a just released video.

The color film had no soundtrack. The video has added music from Victory at Sea, a documentary series that aired on NBC in 1952-1953. Persons of a certain age may recall that series and its musical score.

The combination of the color footage with the Victory at Sea musical score makes for a an emotional and evocative portrayal of the war’s end.

Here is is.