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A Japanese surrender delegation was scheduled to fly to his Manila headquarters on August 19 via the U.S. airfield on the island of Ie Shima; if the two aircraft bearing the delegation failed to appear, it would be a clear sign that Tokyo was reneging on the surrender decision. If the aircraft did arrive, it would be an equally obvious indication that the attacks on the B-32s had been the work of a few diehards acting independently.
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This almost didn't come off either. The planes chosen to fly the Japanese delegation to Ie Shima on Okinawa were two rickety bullet-ridden Betty bombers painted white with green crosses. One of them pancaked while landing at Ie Shima. The other bearing the instrument of surrender sprung a fuel leak on the way back to Japan and had to ditch in the water. Luckily the surrender papers remained dry and found their way to Tokyo.