After the surrender of Japan, the 511th under Colonel Edward H. Lahti went with the 11th Airborne Division as the first Allied unit to land on Japan. After securing the Atusgi Air Base near Yokohama on 30 August 1945, for General Douglas MacArthur's arrival, the regiment took up defensive positions before being tasked with guarding the departure docks for the Surrender Ceremony on board the USS Missouri. On 2 September the 11th Airborne's Division Band was on hand to greet the debarking 1st Cavalry Division with the strains of "The Old Grey Mare." The 511th was later sent to northern Honshū to perform occupation duty.