and signed the Japanese Instrument of Surrender on behalf of Canada aboard the battleship USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay. When his turn to sign came, Cosgrave inadvertently placed his signature one line too low on the Japanese copy of the documents, signing on the line for the French Republic. This was attributed to his being blind in one eye, through an injury sustained in the First World War. The problem was easily corrected, by US General Richard Sutherland who crossed out "French Republic" and wrote in "Dominion of Canada" under Cosgrave's signature, then made similar corrections for the rest of the document. Air Vice-Marshal Leonard Monk Isitt, the Dominion of New Zealand representative, left without a blank to sign, had to have his name and country written in at the bottom margin of the document. The Japanese delegates accepted the corrected copy. Cosgrave did not repeat this error on the American copy. Cosgrave knew Foreign Minister Mamoru Shigemitsu, who signed the instrument of surrender on behalf of the Japanese Emperor and Government, from their diplomatic days in Shanghai. It is reported that their eyes met when Mamoru Shigemitsu boarded the Missouri, they both smiled with mutual recognition, before Shigemitsu once more became stern and serious. They met each other again a number of years later in London at the Coronation of Elizabeth II in 1953. After the war Cosgrave retired from the military in 1946 and began working for the Commerce Department again. He held various consular posts in Asia; and in the 1950s, his diplomatic career continued in European consular posts. For instance, he was Chargé d'Affaires in Portugal from 1952 through 1955. On July 28, 1971, Cosgrave died at his home in Knowlton (Eastern Townships), province of Quebec where he had previously settled. Decades after Cosgrave's death, some members of the Canadian Military, the "Canadian Forces in US", posted a series of tweets in September 2020, emphasizing the importance of his military career. They included these two: "Who among us was awarded two Distinguished Service Orders for gallantry in action during WWI?" and "Who among us was awarded a Croix de Guerre?". Notes References Preston, Adrian (RMC 4237). and Peter Dennis. (1976). Swords and Covenants. London: Croom Helm; Lanham, Maryland: Rowman and Littlefield. Preston, Richard Arthur (RMC H16511). (1991). To Serve Canada: A History of the Royal Military College of Canada. Ottawa: University of Ottawa Press. (cloth) .