Answer: the defeat of the Japanese military over U.S. led Allied forces in the island-by-island return (often at great cost in lives and materiel) from the U.S. State of Hawaii West to Japan. The devastating retreat led to a formal, full, and unqualified surrender in Tokyo, Japan in 1945, aboard the Battleship U.S.S. Missouri (BB63) by U.S. Army General Douglas MacArthur. Hope that helps!
