Almost No End To World War II

[From article]
Though the majority of Japan’s remaining armed forces did indeed suspend combat operations on August 15, two key naval aviation units just south of Tokyo did not.
[. . .]
The firebrand commander of the 302nd, Captain Yasuna Kozono, was steeped in bushido and opposed the surrender with every fiber of his being. He had infused his men with the same never-surrender, death-before-dishonor ethos, and in the days immediately following the emperor’s announcement Kozono—feverish with a malarial relapse as well as burning with the humiliation of impending surrender—ordered his pilots to attack any Allied aircraft that dared to violate the nation’s sacred airspace.
[. . .]
MacArthur needed to know whether the attack was a random act by rogue elements or, more ominously, an indication that the Japanese might be wavering in their commitment to surrender. He therefore ordered four more B-32s back over Tokyo on August 18, though two of the aircraft turned back with mechanical problems. The pair of Dominators that reached Tokyo ran into a hornet’s nest. Repeated attacks by fighters from Atsugi and Yokosuka damaged both bombers, in the process severely wounding aerial photographer Staff Sgt. Joseph Lacharite and killing his assistant, Tony Marchione.
old of Marchione’s death and Lacharite’s wounding, MacArthur had to make a momentous decision: If he believed the Japanese pilots were acting on orders of their government, the logical response would be to renew the aerial assault on Japan—with all the dire consequences that would entail. But MacArthur, to his credit, chose to wait.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/08/15/how-the-end-of-world-war-ii-almost-didn-t-happen.html

08.15.1510:00 PM ET
How the End of World War II Almost Didn’t Happen
When Emperor Hirohito surrendered on August 15, most thought the war was over. It almost wasn’t
Stephen Harding