America's massive new B-29 “Superfortress” airplanes appear at EP23's opening, during 1945's bombing of Japan pre-Hiroshima. These attacks had been enabled by the conquests of Guam, Saipan, and Tinian, which provided suitable bases for America's long-range air assault upon the home islands. EP23 concludes with the invasion and takeover of Iwo Jima, even closer to Japan, where American airbases can host shorter-range fighter escorts and provide a haven for troubled B-29s. The central portion of this program, however, is devoted to (1) the activities of the many US servicemen in the Pacific involved in supply and support, and (2) the vagaries of weather in the western Pacific, especially the feared tropical cyclones—the typhoons.

Bennett's score was recorded on 1 April 1953 and aired on 19 April, the eighteen-day interval tied with EP24's as Victory's shortest. Given such a timeline, Bennett's five and a half minutes of re-uses seem modest. Though the program's focus is entirely the Pacific war with Japan, there are no J-tunes at all, because little of EP23's storytelling is from Japan's perspective. One special musical distinction, unique in Victory, is the small-group jazz at the start of Part Two.

As EP23 begins, the music [A] sets the scene in Tokyo: “Spring 1945: one of the great cities of the world becomes one of the great battlefields of the world… . Tokyo is objective no. 1 for strategic air attack by the Allies… . The B-29's [bring] war to the makers of war.” An air raid sends civilians into underground shelters, and then the B-29s arrive and commence bombing, to whole-tone tremolo accompaniment at 1:37 [B].

In blunt terms, America shifted its bombing strategy over Japan from high-altitude daylight strikes with conventional bombs to low-level strikes at night, using incendiaries to raze wooden commercial buildings and homes. EP23 doesn't dwell on this, simply moving from strategic targeting of rail yards and such to the nighttime sequence after 2:27: “The great fire raids consume Japan. Sixty-six cities are swept by hurricanes of flame.” Bennett's music [C] is in his especially vivid key of F sharp, with woodwinds and even trumpets trilling. At 2:45 is EP23's first truly “ugly music,” as P-51 “Mustang” fighters attack ground targets. This 2:45–3:28 scoring, including [D] with its tritone-related chords, is a re-use from EP19's Leyte Gulf action (15:33–16:14).