Saturday, August 18, 1945. The last American KIA of World War Two. Anthony J. Marchione.
Sukarno became the first President of Indonesia.
B-32 crewman Anthony J. Marchione became the last American to die in WWII when the B-32 he was flying in over Tokyo in a photography mission was attacked by Japanese fighter aircraft in spite of the Japanese surrender. The attack on the two B-32s followed an attack the prior day on B-32s in the same locality, which the bombers were investigating. Staff Sergeant Joseph Lacharite was severely wounded and would take years to recover from his injuries.
The plane he was on was named "Hobo Queen"
The Consolidated B-32 Dominator is an almost forgotten World War Two aircraft. A competitor with the B-29, it was produced as a fallback to the B-29, and plans to replace B-17s and B-24s with the Dominator were cancelled due to production delays. 118 were built.
Indian nationalist, who sided with the Japanese during the war, died at age 48 in an airplane crash in Formosa.
The Soviets invaded the Kuril Islands, which was certainly a questionable act given the Japanese having announced their surrender. The resulting Battle of Shumshu was the last battle of the Second World War.
On the other hand, Japanese forces on the Asian mainland continued to resist Soviet advances there, albeit ineffectively.
The Japanese government was clearly having trouble getting some forces to stand down.
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