Research Paper: Tokyo Rose: Unveiling the Truth behind ...bdusel.weebly.com/uploads/9/9/1/8/9918504/tokyo_rose.pdf · famous Tokyo Rose, was put on trial as a scapegoat or for legitimate

Research Paper:

Tokyo Rose: Unveiling the Truth behind Orphan Ann

Brian A. Dusel

History 621

Dr. Dorothy Potter

April 25th

, 2011

2

The history surrounding famous individuals, particularly those that lived during World

War II, ranges from some of the bravest acts of courage to the most horrific depravities known to

man. Included among these individuals is a women who became infamously known as Tokyo

Rose, a female broadcaster who was accused of treason and supporting the enemy of the United

States. As not only a woman at the onset of World War II, but also a Japanese American, the

story of this particular female broadcaster attained far more fame than it should have. The

question that has been raised in recent decades was whether or not Iva Toguri D’Aquino, the

famous Tokyo Rose, was put on trial as a scapegoat or for legitimate reasons. It is this premise

that guides the focus of this inquiry.

Iva Toguri D’Aquino, known best for her title Tokyo Rose1, was the woman behind this

radio personality and the focus of this research paper. Why should this woman be studied? To

answer that, a brief commentary on Toguri is necessary. As a United States citizen, Toguri left

for Japan several months prior to the Japanese invasion of Pearl Harbor in December of 1941 and

was denied reentry after war was declared. As a result, she sought the means to provide for

herself and worked as a broadcaster for Radio Tokyo and the Zero Hour program and soon

became known as Tokyo Rose, though it was a name already given to the broadcasters from

Japan some time earlier. After the end of the war, Toguri was put on trial for treason – one of the

few times this had ever occurred – and was found guilty and sentenced to ten years of

imprisonment. It was clear, even then, that the charges were not entirely valid and after her

release six years later, inquiries grew into the history surrounding this woman. After several

1 To note, Tokyo Rose was a moniker given to any Axis broadcaster that spoke out against the Allies. Iva

Toguri D’Aquino became the most famous of these, and as such the moniker is primary associated with her in its

use.

3

articles were published in the 1970s, President Ford finally issued a pardon to Toguri who then

earned her rightful recognition as an American patriot.

The past decades since the pardoning of Toguri have seen resurgence in interest of this

particular woman.2 The first major work of historical research was written by Russell Warren

Howe. The Hunt for Tokyo Rose was one of the more seminal works associated with the history

surrounding Tokyo Rose. Howe’s primary focus was not merely on exploring the biography of

Iva Toguri, but rather exposing the real reasons behind her being labeled a traitor and the

building of the infamous image of this woman. He was vehement in his argument that it was not

only her actions in Japan that raised suspicion, but also the views of outside forces that

influenced the accusations against her after the war. Howe’s thesis falls in line with the

predominant beliefs that have taken hold after Toguri’s pardon. He argued that the evidence

against her was trumped up, and that a series of individuals were responsible for the trial and

incarceration. More to the point, Howe emphasized throughout the book that the fervor of the

American people also created an atmosphere where any individual that so much as appeared to

stand against the United States in any capacity, benign or otherwise, was immediately looked

upon with distrust and scorn.3

One of the few existing books on Iva Toguri was published only recently by Dr.

Frederick Close entitled Tokyo Rose/American Patriot: A Dual Biography. The book itself was

invaluable to scholars due to its primary source materials, but the main importance of Close’s

work was the publication of the various documents, court records, trial transcripts, and various

2 It is important to note that there is no particular reasoning behind this resurgence. It is permissible to

admit that given the time frame (the 1990s), it could very well have been due to the fiftieth anniversary of World

War II. More to the point, it is capable of being linked to the issues surrounding the Japanese Internment camps and

the guilt seen in the 1990s reparations.

3 Russell, Howe. The Hunt for Tokyo Rose (USA: Madison Books, 1990).

4

letters and memoirs attached to the online website for this book. The author’s focus was not only

to provide a critical look at this woman through the eyes of those that lived at the time, but also

to provide the actual primary documents for further study to be available online for all to view

without having to locate the actual hard documents.

The clear method of gaining a full understanding of Toguri’s life and trial is not merely

through the few written works, but rather via direct primary documentation. Two such

indispensible sources are evident, one being the extensive source material found regarding her

trial, incarceration, and the subsequent pardon of Tokyo Rose. It is from these digitized

transcripts that the majority of this study will be driven. Coupled with this, the limited

availability but crucial presence of a number of Toguri’s actual broadcasts from the 1940s offer a

unique method of judging for one’s self the so called ‘traitorous remarks’ made by this woman

during her hour on the air every day.

The beginnings of Iva Toguri D’Aquino were nebulous for historians, partly because so

little information was available beyond what she offered to interrogators and reporters prior to

and during her trial. Additional information was also accrued during interviews around the time

of her incarceration, and especially after her pardon by President Gerald Ford. Iva Toguri was

born on July 4th

, 1916 in the city of Los Angeles shortly before the American involvement in

World War I. Little was known about her childhood, beyond the fact that she attended traditional

grammar school and went on to attain some minor experience in a junior college prior to

attending the University of California. From UCLA, she attained a Bachelor’s of Science in

zoology.4

4 Department of Justice. Office of the U.S. Attorney for the Northern Judicial District of California.

“Synopsis of the criminal trial of Iva Ikuko Toguri D'Aquino (aka "Tokyo Rose") by J. Eldon Dunn, Federal Bureau

of Investigation., 07/05/1949 - 10/06/1949.” The National Archives Archival Research Catalog.

http://arcweb.archives.gov/arc/action/ShowFullRecord?%24searchId=2&%24showFullDescriptionTabs.selectedPan

5

D’Aquino remained quiet about her experiences before the start of World War II, and in

her interviews with newspapers and reporters both during and after her later trial; she only

admitted to having worked with her father and was in all respects a model citizen. However, in

July of 1941, she left the United States for a short period under nebulous reasons that were

poorly explained by D’Aquino later in her trial.5 She did offer some explanation in saying that

she wanted to study medicine in Japan. Interestingly, however, another comment made by her

stated she had only intended to visit a sick Aunt. While these conflicting reasons were certainly

understandable for some, because of the outbreak of war between the United States and Japan

only a few months after her departure from Los Angeles it became one of the first nails in her

coffin that the prosecution would later use against her.6

The most important consideration of D’Aquino’s having left the United States is that she

did so without a valid passport for reasons she later states in her trial.7 The key point was that she

eId=digital&%24digiDetailPageModel.currentPage=0&%24resultsPartitionPageModel.targetModel=true&%24resul

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ubmitId=1&%24resultsDetailPageModel.search=true&%24digiDetailPageModel.resultPageModel=true&%24result

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titionPageModel.search=true&%24highlight=false&initpagemodel=on&mn=digiDetailPageModel&goto=0&detail=

digiViewModel/1 (accessed 15 March 2011).

5 Department of Justice. Office of the U.S. Attorney for the Northern Judicial District of California.


of Investigation., 07/05/1949 - 10/06/1949.”

6 Frederick Close, “Case Documents.” Tokyo Rose: An American Patriot Dual Biography Website. 2010.

http://www.tokyoroseww2.com/Tokyo-Rose-case-documents-menu.html (accessed 14 February 2011).

7 U.S. District Court for the Southern (San Francisco) Division of the Northern District of California.

“Opening statement on behalf of the Government by Tom DeWolfe, Special Assistant to the Attorney General of the

United States, in criminal case 31712, "U.S. v. Iva Ikuko Toguri D'Aquino" (aka "Tokyo Rose")., 1941 – 1949.” The

National Archives Archival Research Catalog.







6

was a U.S. citizen despite this, and she did request permission to return via the Consul in Tokyo

but due to the bureaucratic red tape that existed; her application was lost in the turmoil. The

declaration of war left her with few options, and she was forced to remain in Japan while seeking

other means of returning. Shortly after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, she petitioned the Swiss

Consul in Tokyo to approach the U.S. State Department on her behalf. For reasons never stated,

she actually withdrew the application from the Consulate. It was at this point she was forced to

remain in Japan with no significant hope of returning to the United States before the war came to

a conclusion.8

For all intent and purposes, Toguri was stuck in Japan with no connections to her family

in the United States. Due to her American citizenship, Japanese officials questioned her after

several months beyond Pearl Harbor to see if she was an American spy. Despite constant

declarations that she had no desire to get involved in the war and only wanted to return home,

she reluctantly left her Aunt’s home and move into Tokyo. Due to her circumstances, D’Aquino

sought employment wherever she could to make enough money to support herself. It was from

this need that she eventually ended up at Radio Tokyo where she was brought onto the program

‘Zero Hour’ and became a key personality on the show. She adopted the title of Orphan Ann and

as the records from the trials noted, she often referred to herself as “You favorite enemy Ann.”9


digiViewModel/1 (accessed 20 March 2011).

8 Department of Justice, “Tokyo Rose FBI Files,” Department of Justice Files – Paperless Archives.

http://www.paperlessarchives.com/rose.html (accessed 4 April 2011).

9 Department of Justice, “Tokyo Rose FBI Files.’ See also: “On the Media: Transcript of “A Rose is Not a

Rose (September 29, 2006).” National Public Radio: On the Media. 2006.

http://www.onthemedia.org/transcripts/2006/09/29/07 (accessed February 14, 2011). And Department of Justice.

Office of the U.S. Attorney for the Northern Judicial District of California. “Synopsis of the criminal trial of Iva

Ikuko Toguri D'Aquino (aka "Tokyo Rose") by J. Eldon Dunn, Federal Bureau of Investigation., 07/05/1949 -

10/06/1949.” The term Orphan Ann is most likely a reference to Orphan Annie, a popular young figure in literature,

radio, and early television that stemmed from comics produced a decade before the events of World War II.

7

For roughly two years, D’Aquino became one of the most recognized radio personalities during

her time on the air from 6-7:15PM every day, except Sundays.

During her time as a key personality on the Zero Hour, D’Aquino became known for her

‘sweet’ voice and the short statements she made against the advancing Allies, interspersed

between strings of big band music. In addition, she “introduced popular records of the day, such

as ‘Speak to Me of Love’, ‘In a Little Gypsy Tea Room’, and ‘;Love’s Old Sweet Song’.”10

As a

person of fame, she was not widely recognized as a tremendous influence on morale but,

according to the reports given to the FBI, “the Army analysis suggested that the program had no

negative effect on troop morale and that it might have even raised it a bit.”11

Later, they admitted

that “the Army’s sole concern about the broadcasts was that “Annie” appeared to have good

intelligence in U.S. ship and troop movements”12

which was then used as part of the

prosecution’s evidence against D’Aquino.

At some point from 1943-1945, Toguri met and was courted by Felipe D’Aquino, a

Portuguese citizen. They were married in April of 1945 in Japan and it was registered with the

Japanese government. Key for the defense in her later trial was that D’Aquino refused to

denounce her citizenship with the United States despite being married in Japan. As the war came

to a close with the Empire of Japan’s surrender to the Allies in August of that year, D’Aquino

was arrested by Allied troops for her part in the radio broadcasts. Initially, the reasoning given to

However, it is curious as to why she would choose such a figure as her personality name on a supposedly anti-

American broadcast.

10

“Famous Cases & Criminals: Iva Toguri D’Aquino and ‘Tokyo Rose’,” Federal Bureau of Investigation.

http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/history/famous-cases/tokyo-rose. (accessed 10 April 2011).

11

“Famous Cases & Criminals: Iva Toguri D’Aquino and ‘Tokyo Rose’.”

12

“Famous Cases & Criminals: Iva Toguri D’Aquino and ‘Tokyo Rose’.”

8

her was that she was merely a security threat and as such she was imprisoned for well over ten

months.13

It was at this point in the waning months of 1945 that a period of uncertainty lay ahead

for D’Aquino. Little information was given to her as to the fate she had or even what charges

would be brought against her. She was confined to an incredibly tiny cell and was living in

conditions worse than P.O.W.s had endured during the war. She was frequently put on display

for top military officials. Even worse, she was denied visitation from her husband which

included communication via letters or telephone. Despite these questions, upon her release from

prison in October of 1946, still no information was given to her about why she was held without

trial for such a period of time. Her constant response to the repeated interrogations was “I didn’t

think I was doing anything disloyal to America.”14

She also added vehemently that she “never

broadcast propaganda.”15

At the end of World War II, the surrender of the Empire of Japan was met with far

different reactions than the Germans in Europe. Whereas the Allied decision in Europe was to

carve Germany into spheres of control and influence after its capitulation, the situation in Japan

was one of reconciliation. While it was true that there were Tokyo War Crime trials for the clear

human rights violations that took place at the hands of the Japanese leaders, General Douglass

MacArthur, head of the Allied forces in the Pacific, opted for a far more reconciliatory policy

than had been enacted in Europe. There were no widespread smaller trials after Tokyo as there

had been in Europe, nor was Japan carved up amongst the victorious Allied powers.

13

Hans Sherrer, “Tokyo Rose Was Innocent,” Justice: Denied. Issue 28 (Spring 2005): 22-25.

http://forejustice.org/wc/tr/tokyo_rose_040503.htm (accessed 20 April 2011).

14

J. Kingston Pierce, “They Called Her Traitor,” American History. (October 2002): 22-28.

http://www.historynet.com/tokyo-rose-they-called-her-a-traitor.htm/2 (accessed 14 April 2011).

15

Pierce.

9

However, this attitude was not shared by all Allies and especially not by all Americans.

Some of the first calls for ‘justice’ against the Japanese occurred as early as the bombing of Pearl

Harbor, but became more and more vocal as the war ended, and exploded in the months

following the surrender. Iva Toguri D’Aquino was caught in this turmoil of events. After her

release from prison, she applied for a passport and return to the United States which was

ultimately approved by the U.S. State Department with no uproar from the government end. Yet,

the vocal calls for bringing those that opposed the United States to justice grew louder upon

hearing of her possible return. The Federal Bureau of Investigation began an active investigation

of D’Aquino immediately following the approval of her return.16

Of the individuals crying for blood, few were vocal in the confines of the FBI. Yet, from

outside the government came calls for the trial of Tokyo Rose for treason. The loudest voice

came from Walter Winchell, a well known personality in US radio. He was particularly known

for his bully-pulpit stance, and his cries for action created the first wave of fervor to try Iva

Toguri D’Aquino for treason as Tokyo Rose. It should be noted that the moniker Tokyo Rose is

not the title given to D’Aquino by herself or any other member of the Japanese government at

the time of the war. The term itself originated from the military forces in the Pacific theatre of

operations and it was the blanket label given to any Axis broadcaster that was heard on the radio

speaking in any way against the advancing Allies.17

Hundreds of letters were written to the United States government, ranging from recipients

from the President of the United States, Harry Truman, to the State Department, and to the FBI

16

Department of Justice. Office of the U.S. Attorney for the Northern Judicial District of California.



17

Pierce. See also Department of Justice. Office of the U.S. Attorney for the Northern Judicial District of

California. “Synopsis of the criminal trial of Iva Ikuko Toguri D'Aquino (aka "Tokyo Rose") by J. Eldon Dunn,

Federal Bureau of Investigation., 07/05/1949 - 10/06/1949.”

10

itself. Groups such as the American Gold Star Mothers, Inc. also vehemently protested the

permitting of D’Aquino to return to the United States. They wrote that:

we protest the entry of Mrs. Philip Sisce D’Aquino, known as ‘Tokyo Rose’, into the

United States of America. We all know, war brings many physical hardships. Tokyo

Rose, with her broadcasts on the radio to our boys, brought them much mental anguish

and made the last days of some of our boys very lonely and feel forgotten. So in behalf of

our Beloved Sons, won’t you please do all in your power to prevent the entry of Tokyo

Rose into this country.18

The call for her blocking was echoed by many, and included truly random groups from all over

the country. Letters were sent to the Justice Department anonymously quoting “if the State

Department has no alternative and must allow the re-entry unless it receives an objection from

the Justice Department, it is certainly time for the Justice Department to act.”19

As the investigation of D’Aquino became a well-known activity, J. Edgar Hoover of the

FBI personally called for evidence in the possible trying of her for actions against the United

States that would constitute treason. She was denied reentry into the US and FBI agents travelled

to Japan to interrogate her and collect evidence of her possible guilt or innocence. A critical

figure in the investigation that scrutinized the past five years of D’Aquino’s life was Harry

Brundidge. While not an official agent of the FBI, he was a known reporter for the newspaper

business and as part of his investigation he uncovered a number of recordings that were thought

to have been destroyed after the war.20

18

“Tokyo Rose Case Files: Collected Letters and Writings, United States v. Iva Toguri D'Aquino -

Treason 4th February , 1958.” Office of the Chief Provost Marshall, Criminal Investigative Division. 2008.

http://rnavi.ndl.go.jp/kensei/tmp/YF_A12.pdf (accessed February 28, 2011). This letter was written by the American

Gold Star Mothers, Inc., St. Louis Chapter No. 1, St. Louis Mo., August 14th

, 1947.

19


Treason 4th February , 1958.” This letter was written by an anonymous contributor from Beverly Hills, CA.

November 8, 1947.

20

“Famous Cases & Criminals: Iva Toguri D’Aquino and ‘Tokyo Rose’.” These recordings are later used

by the prosecution in the trial of D’Aquino to show her guilt in regards to aiding the Japanese government in

11

Following the subsequent evidence collecting and a mass of interviews with individuals

that knew Iva Toguri D’Aquino and knew of her as well, she was arrested in Japan and

immediate extradited back to the United States. Upon arrival, she was taken into custody by FBI

agents in San Francisco under the charges of treason for supporting and “giving aid and comfort

to the Imperial Government of Japan during World War II.”21

Her arrest took place in September

of 1948, but it was not until June of the following year that the trial itself actually began, just

days after her 33rd

birthday.

In the opening statements of the trial that began on July 5th

, 1949, Special Assistant to the

Attorney General of the United States Tom DeWolfe served as the chief prosecutor and delivered

his message that the sole purpose of the proceedings was to determine whether or not D’Aquino

knowingly committed treason. He proclaimed that:

the indictment alleges that although the defendant is an American citizen and one who

owed her allegiance to her native land, the United States, that she through certain acts

adhered to and gave aid and comfort to the imperial government of Japan during the late

war while our government, the United States of America, was at war with our enemy, the

imperial government of Japan and that while she adhered to the imperial Japanese

government she gave it aid and comfort.22

producing propaganda that hurt the morale of Allied troops despite repeated commentary that it did little in this case

regarding D’Aquino as Tokyo Rose.

21

U.S. District Court for the Southern (San Francisco) Division of the Northern District of California.

“Judgment and commitment in criminal case 31712, "U.S. v. Iva Ikuko Toguri D'Aquino" (aka "Tokyo Rose").,

10/06/1949 - 11/30/1949.” The National Archives Archival Research Catalog.

http://arcweb.archives.gov/arc/action/ShowFullRecord?tab=showFullDescriptionTabs/digital&%24searchId=2&%2

4showFullDescriptionTabs.selectedPaneId=details&%24digiDetailPageModel.currentPage=0&%24digiViewModel.

detailId=1&%24resultsPartitionPageModel.targetModel=true&%24resultsSummaryPageModel.pageSize=10&%24p

artitionIndex=0&%24digiSummaryPageModel.targetModel=true&%24submitId=1&%24digiViewModel.name=dig

iViewModel&%24resultsDetailPageModel.search=true&%24digiDetailPageModel.resultPageModel=true&%24resu

ltsDetailPageModel.currentPage=1&%24showArchivalDescriptionsTabs.selectedPaneId=&%24resultsDetailPageM

odel.pageSize=1&%24resultsSummaryPageModel.targetModel=true&%24sort=RELEVANCE_ASC&%24resultsP

artitionPageModel.search=true&%24highlight=false (accessed 27 March 2011). And “Famous Cases & Criminals:

Iva Toguri D’Aquino and ‘Tokyo Rose’.”

22



10/06/1949 - 11/30/1949.”

12

DeWolfe and the prosecution team deemed the vocalized comments against the troops of the

United States as key evidence. He further asserted that “each and every one of these treasonous

acts were committed by the defendant pursuant to the treasonous plan.”23

The primary evidence involved in the trial of Iva Toguri D’Aquino stemmed from a

number of sources, perhaps the most crucial and evident being her broadcasts she conducted. It is

from these recordings that a significant portion of the damning material was brought against

Tokyo Rose. In one such excerpt she can be heard saying:

“Hello you fighting orphans in the Pacific. How’s tricks? This is “After her weekend, and

oooh, back on the air, strictly under union hours.” Reception okay? Why, it better be,

because this is All-Requests night. And I’ve got a pretty nice program for my favorite

little family, the wandering boneheads of the Pacific Islands. The first request is made by

none other than the boss. And guess what? He wants Bonnie Baker in “My Resistance is

Low.” My, what taste you have, sir, she says.”24

As mentioned in previous paragraphs, the broadcasts of Toguri throughout the war in the Pacific

were far from damaging and malicious propaganda.

The question that previous historians like Howe and Close have raised centered on the

actual validity of the claims against Toguri. Prosecutors utilized the broadcast clips as additional

evidence but it was not the ‘slam dunk’ information they had been searching for. They were also

faced with the fact that a major portion of the recordings had been burned by Radio Tokyo prior

to the surrender of Japan. She concludes this same broadcast by saying:

23 U.S. District Court for the Southern (San Francisco) Division of the Northern District of California.


10/06/1949 - 11/30/1949.”

24 Iva Toguri D’Aquino, ““Hello, You Fighting Orphans”: “Tokyo Rose” Woos U.S. Sailors and Marines,”

History Matters: The US Survey Course on the Web, George Mason University.

http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/5140/ (accessed 11 March 2011).

13

According to union hours, we’re all through today. We close up another chapter of sweet

propaganda in the form of music for you, for my dear little orphans wandering in the

Pacific. There are plenty of non-union hours coming around the corner, so being see you

tomorrow. But in the meanwhile, always remember to be good…25

As the defender’s lawyer team remarked, these transcripts were laughable in their use as

incriminating evidence against Toguri.

The prosecutor’s case was built around the witnesses that offered their testimony

surrounding several documents, actions, and the words of Toguri. These ranged from figures

such as a Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Army Radio broadcasting division testifying that he

heard of Tokyo Rose and had listened in on her transmissions on a number of occasions, to

several members of the Zero Hour show and the broadcast company that aired it confirming that

D’Aquino was indeed a radio personality on an anti-American show. What the prosecution failed

to point out was any absolute evidence of her guilt in regards to damaging the morale of troops

assaulting the Japanese-held islands in the Pacific.26

Am interesting tactic utilized by the defense team that attempted to show D’Aquino’s

innocence was pointing out that her marriage to her husband in 1945 could have very well

nullified her own citizenship in the United States. However, this was immediately attacked by

the prosecution and given little credence due to prior investigation of such a claim. In a letter

from Alexander Campbell, the Assistant U.S. Attorney General, he remarked that “the defendant

has not lost her American citizenship by marriage to Philip D’Aquino.”27

Consequently, this

25

D’Aquino.

26




27




14

same ‘back and forth motion’ occurred several times throughout the trial and derailed a number

of the proceedings.

The defense of D’Aquino was poor compared to the federal funding received by the

prosecution team, but it was provided for with what little money her father could spare. Her

family had moved from Los Angeles to Chicago during the war, and came to San Francisco to

support her for the trial. Interestingly, the defense lawyers that did put time in for her did so out

of a donation, receiving little to no pay for their efforts in securing her innocence. The chief

attorney, Wayne Mortimer Collins, insisted on a number of key witnesses that, just as the

lawyers had done, utilized their own funds to pay for transportation to San Francisco to speak in

defense of D’Aquino.28

One of the key foci of the defense was pointing out the incredible flaws that were evident

in the bringing of charges against D’Aquino. Firstly, they attacked the manner in which evidence

was gathered, particularly noting the horrid betrayals of Brundidge who befriended her and then

used that friendship to gain information that was prejudiced and slanted in its very nature. The

imprisonment of D’Aquino after the war in pathetic conditions and the subsequent arrest after

her return to the United States with State Department approval were also the subject of

tremendous attack by the defense attorneys. However, these efforts were stymied due to the

refusal of Judge Michael Roche to rule certain evidence obtained prior to the trial as inadmissible

to due how they were collected. In addition, the defense also made note that the actual indictment

itself was perjured by unreliable testimony, but this in turn was also ignored by Roche for

reasons he did not fully state.29

28

Close, “Case Documents.”

29 “Famous Cases & Criminals: Iva Toguri D’Aquino and ‘Tokyo Rose’.” See also Frederick Close, Tokyo

Rose/An American Patriot: A Dual Biography (USA: Scarecrow Press, Inc., 2010).

15

Over forty witnesses testified for the prosecution over the course of the trial, and as

previously stated, a significant number of them merely commented that they had heard the radio

broadcasts of D’Aquino and heard some form of anti-American talk. The defense had far fewer

witnesses to present, primarily due to the lack of funding to support the travel of such witnesses

from Japan whereas the U.S. government provided funds for over a dozen witnesses to travel

across the Pacific for the sole purpose of providing testimony against D’Aquino. Yet, throughout

all of the testimonies D’Aquino herself was not permitted to testify in her own defense until

September, three months after the trial had started.30

Iva Toguri D’Aquino took the stand on her own behalf in September of 1949, and in her

short time to defend herself, she consistently returned to the statement that she never spoke ill

against the Allied troops. She also argued that the moniker Tokyo Rose was never something she

called herself, hence the title Orphan Ann she had adopted for herself during her first several

broadcasts. Coupled with that, in the year and a half she was on the air, very few of her shows

lasted for more than 20-30 minutes and the remainder of the hour was basically news reports that

she did not read herself. When she stepped down from the stand and the jury began their

deliberations, the news media was aflame with predictions of guilty verdicts.31

30




31

Department of Justice, “Tokyo Rose FBI Files.” And U.S. District Court for the Southern (San

Francisco) Division of the Northern District of California. “Motion to acquit made at end of trial by George

Olshausen, member of the defense team, in criminal case 31712, "U.S. v. Iva Ikuko Toguri D'Aquino" (aka "Tokyo

Rose")., 09/19/1949 - 09/19/1949.” The National Archives Archival Research Catalog.







16

As was to be expected from such a trial that became media frenzy, the deliberations for

the verdict of D’Aquino took an extremely long time. After more than a week of close-doors

discussions, the jury finally came back with an acquittal for seven out of the eight counts of

treason, but did find her guilty of one which was broadcasting sensitive information Allied troop

and ship movements. Ultimately, Judge Roche sentenced her to ten years in prison and was given

an additional fine of $10,000. As expected, the defense team for D’Aquino immediately appealed

the decision but it was declined by the Supreme Court. Shortly after the conclusion of the trial in

October of 1949, D’Aquino was remanded into custody at the Federal Reformatory for Women

located in Alderson, West Virginia.32

Despite the furor that accompanied Iva Toguri D’Aquino both during the investigation

and during the trial, the months following her imprisonment saw her name drop from the news

and the term Tokyo Rose remained her label for the time being. Perhaps the gravest injustice

done to D’Aquino was the refusal to permit her husband, Felipe D’Aquino from visiting her in

the Federal Reformatory. Due to the fact that he was a Filipino, the State Department denied him

entry to the country and so both were left with the only option of corresponding via mail and

from time to time, telephone.33


digiViewModel/1

32



10/06/1949 - 11/30/1949.” The National Archives Archival Research Catalog.

http://arcweb.archives.gov/arc/action/ShowFullRecord?tab=showFullDescriptionTabs/digital&%24searchId=2&%2

4showFullDescriptionTabs.selectedPaneId=details&%24digiDetailPageModel.currentPage=0&%24digiViewModel.

detailId=1&%24resultsPartitionPageModel.targetModel=true&%24resultsSummaryPageModel.pageSize=10&%24p

artitionIndex=0&%24digiSummaryPageModel.targetModel=true&%24submitId=1&%24digiViewModel.name=dig

iViewModel&%24resultsDetailPageModel.search=true&%24digiDetailPageModel.resultPageModel=true&%24resu

ltsDetailPageModel.currentPage=1&%24showArchivalDescriptionsTabs.selectedPaneId=&%24resultsDetailPageM

odel.pageSize=1&%24resultsSummaryPageModel.targetModel=true&%24sort=RELEVANCE_ASC&%24resultsP

artitionPageModel.search=true&%24highlight=false (accessed 27 March 2011). See also Appendix A.

33

Sherrer.

17

She served the ten year sentence to a point of seven years with no issues, and was

regarded by the staff at the Reformatory as a model inmate. In January of 1956, she was finally

released from the prison on parole for good behavior during her time there. Yet, for those that

recalled the issues brought up in the trial including the status of her citizenship, the U.S.

Immigration Service immediately brought Iva Toguri D’Aquino up for deportation. Much to the

surprise of a number of individuals, including D’Aquino herself, a number of publicly voiced

outcries against the deportation surfaced and the hearings were eventually stopped. With the

support of her lawyers that defended her during the trial, she eventually became a free woman so

to speak.34

Following the ordeal of facing deportation, D’Aquino moved to Chicago to live with her

family. It was unknown if the marriage between her and Felipe continued or if he was ever

granted permission to enter the country even after she was released on parole.35

However, the

next fifteen years left her in relative obscurity, and despite the best efforts of several of her

lawyers, the repeated attempts to gain a pardon from the President were consistently turned down

by Dwight Eisenhower and Lyndon Johnson. For the United States, Tokyo Rose had been tried

and convicted and beyond that, there was little to further discuss either in the media or in private

circles.

34


Treason 4th February , 1958.” These letters came from Anonymous sources in several cases, but some were from

veterans of the war that claimed the trial of D’Aquino was an error and her broadcasts did nothing to harm moral. As

mentioned before, in some cases, several said it improved morale in giving the troops something to be amused at,

shifting their focus from the war.

35

Despite a significant number of attempts to locate such information, it is clear to this historian that the

marriage either dissolved, remained a mute point and both went their separate ways, or the husband (Felipe) passed

away. No information was garnered from D’Aquino herself, as she remained increasingly silent following her

requests for pardons that were consistently turned down .

18

It was only in the 1970s that the name of Iva Toguri D’Aquino surfaced once more. Due

to consistent research conducted by reporters at the Chicago Tribune, an individual named Ron

Yates who was a bureau chief in Tokyo at the time took it upon himself to conduct a full

investigation into the indictment and trial of the infamous Tokyo Rose. In his investigations he

learned that “Her mother had died in a Japanese internment camp during the war, and her family

had moved to Chicago, away from California, as did a lot of Japanese-Americans, because they

felt they had really been badly treated in California, had lost their property and they wanted to

start over again. So she goes back to Chicago to work in her father's import company.”36

From

these investigations he also uncovered several witnesses living in Japan that openly admitted to

perjuring themselves on the stand, primarily due to the intense pressure put on them by the

prosecution team.

Yates’ story broke in the 1970s, causing what he called a media furor to learn more about

the woman. With the Freedom of Information Act of 1974, it gave a torrent of new information

for reporters to sift through. The wave of new sentiment calling for the reconsideration of the

verdict grew, and as Yates commented in an interview on National Public Radio, “60 Minutes

picked up the story. Morley Safer interviewed her. The stories and the pressure on the Ford

administration, eventually caused President Ford in 1977, his last official act in office, to grant

her a pardon.”37

Yet, even with all of the media attention the case received, particularly after

Ford’s pardon, D’Aquino remained quiet and gave little response to the frequent media requests

she had.

36

“On the Media: Transcript of “A Rose is Not a Rose (September 29, 2006).” National Public Radio: On

the Media. 2006. http://www.onthemedia.org/transcripts/2006/09/29/07 (accessed 14 February 2011).

37

“On the Media: Transcript of “A Rose is Not a Rose (September 29, 2006).”

19

The media presence she did have, especially appearing on 60 Minutes, showed her to be a

much older woman and one that simply could not believe the frenzy that she had been caught up

in and sacrificed to. Her comment was “I suppose, if they found someone and got the job over

with, they were all satisfied.”38

With the support of the people and driven by the reporters and,

ironically, the son of her former trial lawyer Wayne Mortimer Collins, the evidence was

presented to consideration by the Attorney General Edward Levi and President Gerald Ford, and

both agreed that a pardon should be issued. Nearly twenty years after her being convicted, Iva

Toguri D’Aquino became the first individual convicted of treason in the United States that had

ever been pardoned for crimes committed.39

With her pardon in hand and a relatively clean slate in the eyes of the United States

government, D’Aquino returned to Chicago and resumed the life she had picked up after her

release from the Federal Reformatory. From the 1970s until her death in 2006, her life was calm

and while she did received the casual request for interviews, she politely turned them down.

With the anniversary of the end of World War II in 1995, she once again came into the spotlight.

Only this time, however, she was honored for her struggles and acknowledged as being one of

the unsung heroes of the war. In addition to the media attention over the following decade, “she

received an award from the World War II Veterans Committee on her 90th birthday.”40

The death of Iva Toguri D’Aquino came in 2006. At the incredible age of 90, she died of

natural causes in Chicago. Just as there had been several times in the past, from the trial and

indictments, to her release, and to her pardon in the 1970s, the sheer number of obituaries that

38

Rex Gunn, They Called Her Tokyo Rose (California, US: Gunn, 1977).

39

“On the Media: Transcript of “A Rose is Not a Rose (September 29, 2006).” See also Sherrer.

40

Adam Blenford, “Death ends the myth of Tokyo Rose,” BBC News, September 28, 2006.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/5389722.stm (accessed 14 April 2011).

20

ran around the world was astounding. In his National Public Radio broadcast shortly after

D’Aquino’s death, Ron Yates gave one of the best descriptions fitting a woman that had gone

through so much:

I think Iva died with a clear conscience. I really do. I know she died with regrets. She told

me often she regretted having agreed to do anything with that radio show, because that

was her downfall. But she was so eager to be involved with these Americans and to be

doing something that they told her would help the American war effort that she agreed to

do it. She told me a wonderful story once. She was on the roof of the building she was

living in when Jimmy Doolittle's planes came flying over Tokyo – you know, those B-

25s – and she couldn't believe it. She looked up and saw the white stars on the blue

wings, and she was jumping up and down and waving at them. You know, [LAUGHS]

this was not a traitor. I know what motivated her, and it was really out of patriotism that

she did these things, not out of a desire to betray her country.41

Yates’ words were echoed by a number of obituaries, from the New York Times, the Washington

Post, and the Chicago Tribune to newspapers in Europe and Japan.42

As had come out at the time of her pardon, a multitude of D’Aquino’s supporters told

their stories to the media after her death. Just as he had mentioned in the 1970s during Yates’

initial investigations of the wrongful conviction, “the jury foreman told reporters that he felt

pressure from the judge and wished he ‘had a little more guts to stick with [his] vote for

acquittal.’"43

The BBC quoted Yates yet again regarding the life of D’Aquino and how she truly

spent it in Japan: "She risked her life in Tokyo in the war, taking medicines and food to prisoners

of war. She never wavered in her support for the US.”44

41

“On the Media: Transcript of “A Rose is Not a Rose (September 29, 2006).”

42

Adam Bernstein, “Iva Toguri D’Aquino, 90: ‘Tokyo Rose’ in WWII,” The Washington Post, September

28, 2006. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/27/AR2006092700133.html (accessed 14

April 2011).

43

Bernstein.

44

Blenford.

21

The story of Iva Toguri D’Aquino, known to many by the moniker of Tokyo Rose,

remains a critical examination of how war and public furor are capable of shaping events, and

indeed, history. Born a citizen of the United States and having attended UCLA and become a

responsible member of society, D’Aquino was caught up in World War II against her own will

despite repeated attempts to return. She earned a living as a radio broadcaster, and made repeated

attempts to speak of nothing untoward against the United States and its Allies. Her broadcasts

were mild compared to other Axis radio personalities, and there were even mentions of

D’Aquino visiting Allied prisoners of war to bring them food, medicines, and comfort despite the

dangers it would have caused her.

The trial that cost hundreds of thousands of United States dollars was grounded on

testimonies and prejudiced anti-Japanese furor that ultimately led to D’Aquino’s verdict of guilty

and sentencing to nearly seven full years in prison in West Virginia. Were it not for the ardent

belief of individuals such as Ron Yates and others that dug into the evidence utilized by the

Attorney General’s office for the trial, it is quite possible that D’Aquino could have remained

branded a traitor for actions that did not merit such a title. Her death in 2006 saw resurgence in

the remorse felt by many for what was done to her.

This historian fervently understands the need to procure evidence through unbiased

means, a task that the prosecutors and investigators did not follow in the case of Tokyo Rose.

The question that occupied the minds of individuals like Ron Yates was this: Was Iva Toguri

D’Aquino guilty of committing treason, and if she was, to what degree? The evidence45

uncovered by reporters such as Yates showed a clear pattern of perjuring, intimidation, and over

45

I conclude these footnotes with a desire to make a clear note about the evidence given by Ron Yates and

others like him. In the research conducted for this project, I was not able to obtain a copy of the Presidential pardon

issued by Gerald Ford nor was I able to find a copy of the newspaper article originally published by Yates in the

1970s. Should further research be conducted on Iva Toguri D’Aquino, this is an excellent place for another historian

to start – the presentation of full evidence of her innocence using historical scholarship.

22

exaggeration of stories. D’Aquino was a radio personality during the war for the enemy, and she

did play a role in propaganda. However, as this research project has shown, her show was tame,

the message nearly comical, and the effect on troop morale negligible. There was no truer

example of the adage ‘Guilty until proven innocent’ than the trial, conviction, imprisonment, and

later pardon of Iva Toguri D’Aquino. Future generations, particularly those that may be faced

with war, can take careful note of the actions taken by all parties that played a hand in the life,

trial, and pardon of this woman.

23

Bibliography

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September 28, 2006. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-

dyn/content/article/2006/09/27/AR2006092700133.html. (accessed 14 April 2011).

Blenford, Adam. “Death ends the myth of Tokyo Rose,” BBC News, September 28, 2006.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/5389722.stm (accessed 14 April 2011).

Close, Frederick. “Case Documents.” Tokyo Rose: An American Patriot Dual Biography

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(access February 14, 2011).

Close, Frederick. Tokyo Rose/An American Patriot: A Dual Biography. USA: Scarecrow Press,

Inc., 2010.

D’Aquino, Iva Toguri. ““Hello, You Fighting Orphans”: “Tokyo Rose” Woos U.S. Sailors and

Marines.” History Matters: The US Survey Course on the Web, George Mason

University. http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/5140/ (accessed 11 March 2011).

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April 2011).

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24

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Rose")., 09/19/1949 - 09/19/1949.” The National Archives Archival Research Catalog.










=0&detail=digiViewModel/1

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California. “Opening statement on behalf of the Government by Tom DeWolfe, Special

Assistant to the Attorney General of the United States, in criminal case 31712, "U.S. v.

Iva Ikuko Toguri D'Aquino" (aka "Tokyo Rose")., 1941 – 1949.” The National Archives

Archival Research Catalog.












California. “Special findings by the jury in criminal case 31712, "U.S. v. Iva Ikuko













26

Appendix A

Judgment by the Jury in the case of Iva Toguri D’Aquino

Document Copies of:


California. “Special findings by the jury in criminal case 31712, "U.S. v. Iva Ikuko













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28

29