of the Japanese military would still not accept surrender, and might attempt a military coup d'état, even against their Emperor. In the meantime, conventional bombing of Japanese targets still continued, with a record number of 804 B-29s hitting targets in Japan on 14 August. On the morning of 15 August, the Emperor broadcast by radio his command of Japan's surrender in an address to his nation. Practically none of his subjects had never heard his voice before. All further offensive operations against Japan ceased after the Emperor's broadcast. After that time, most of the B-29s in the Pacific were diverted to missions of mercy, dropping food and clothing to thousands of Allied prisoners of war held in Japan, China, Manchuria, and Korea. 1066 B-29s participated in 900 missions to 154 camps. Some 63,500 prisoners were provided with 4470 tons of supplies. These flights cost eight B-29s lost by accidents, with 77 crew members aboard. The Japanese surrender was formally signed on 2 September 1945, aboard the huge battleship USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay, bringing the Pacific War to an end. Postwar era Following the end of World War II, Twentieth Air Force remained in the Pacific, being headquartered on Guam. The vast majority of its fleet of B-29 Superfortreses were returned to the United States as part of "Operation Sunset". The United States Strategic Air Forces in the Pacific was inactivated on 6 December 1945, and the remaining assets of the command were placed under the Pacific Air Command, United States Army. The last of the World War II combat wings, the 315th Bombardment Wing, returned to the United States on 30 May 1946, with the 19th Bombardment Group, remaining at North Field, Guam as its only operational organization. In 1949, budget reductions forced the realignment and consolidation of Air Force units in the pacific, and the mission of Twentieth Air Force became the defense of the Ryukyu Islands and was reassigned to Kadena AB, Okinawa. It commanded the following units: Naha Air Base, Okinawa51st Fighter-Interceptor Wing/Group (F-80, F-82) Kadena Air Base, Okinawa31st Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron, (RB-29) Anderson Air Force Base, Guam19th Bombardment Wing/Group (B-29) Korean War On 27 June 1950, the United Nations Security Council voted to assist the South Koreans in resisting the invasion of their nation by North Korea. President Harry S. Truman authorized General Douglas MacArthur (commander of the US occupying forces in Japan) to commit