Seeking records about Japanese surrender in Peking, China

Dear Mr. Spano,

Thank you for posting your request on History Hub!

We searched the National Archives Catalog and located series titled the Correspondence of Marine Divisions, 1941-1946; the Records of Ground Combat Units, Support Units and Other Commands, 1939-1950; and the Records Relating to United States Marine Corps Operations in World War II, 1939-1949 in the Records of the U.S. Marine Corps (Record Group 127) that include records about the 1st Marine Division and may contain photographs. We also located the Administrative Files, 1944 - 1945 in the Records of U.S. Army Operational, Tactical, and Support Organizations (World War II and Thereafter) that includes the file unit Periodic G-3 Reports - 1st Marine Division 1945. For access to these records, please contact the National Archives at College Park - Textual Reference (RDT2) via email at archives2reference@nara.gov.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and pursuant to guidance received from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), NARA has adjusted its normal operations to balance the need of completing its mission-critical work while also adhering to the recommended social distancing for the safety of NARA staff. As a result of this re-prioritization of activities, you may experience a delay in receiving an initial acknowledgement as well as a substantive response to your reference request from RDT2. We apologize for this inconvenience and appreciate your understanding and patience.

Further, we would suggest reviewing some resources we located online including:

• History of the 1st Marine Division available on the website of the 1st Marine Division at https://www.1stmardiv.marines.mil/About/History
• Article titled Witnessing Japan’s Surrender in China by Rupert Wingfield-Hayes available on bbc.com
• Article titled Surrender in Nanking by David Askew

We hope this is helpful. Best of luck with your research!