Twilight of the Gods: War in the Western Pacific, 1944-1945 (The Pacific War Trilogy Book 3)

by Ian W. Toll

For the carrier air groups, the first days of peace were as busy as any they had experienced during the war. Between August 16 and September 2, Task Force 38 pilots flew a total of 7,726 sorties, more than in any comparable period of the war.21 Carrier planes dropped leaflets on Allied POW camps, urging the prisoners to remain in the vicinity of their camps until Allied personnel could reach them. “The end is near,” one such leaflet stated. “Do not be disheartened. We are thinking of you. Plans are underway to assist you at the earliest possible moment.”22 Relief parcels containing food, clothing, medicine, and cigarettes were dropped by parachute. In Tokyo Bay, a number of prisoners actually made their way to the waterfront and began shouting and signaling to U.S. patrol vessels.