While what needs to be done in this country is well laid out in Thom's article today, and Tokyo Rose serves well as a metaphor, I would like to point out that the woman we have always viewed as being "The" Tokyo Rose, suffered greatly and needlessly at our hands. Iva Toguri D'Aquino was an American citizen from Los Angeles who was unable…
While what needs to be done in this country is well laid out in Thom's article today, and Tokyo Rose serves well as a metaphor, I would like to point out that the woman we have always viewed as being "The" Tokyo Rose, suffered greatly and needlessly at our hands. Iva Toguri D'Aquino was an American citizen from Los Angeles who was unable to sail back to her home before the war started due to a slip up in paper word regarding her passage. The actual Tokyo Rose was a compendium of women with varying interest levels in political matters. Iva's interest was in giving comfort to our sailors and troops. She always opened her show by slyly "warning" them of "dangerous propaganda," and telling them to keep the children out of hearing range. She never mentioned wandering wives or girlfriends, US losses in the war, and the music she played was British so as to avoid causing homesickness. The "propaganda" she delivered was a satirical, but subtle enough that her Japanese masters never caught on. Mostly the troops and sailors eagerly tuned into her shows because she was genuinely entertaining.
Unfortunately, when she was captured after the war, someone started a campaign in the media about her treason, and she wound up being convicted and placed in prison. She was finally pardoned by President Gerald Ford. She moved to Chicago to be close to her father and kept to herself. She did participate in a 60 Minutes episode that supported her, then stayed away from the media thereafter until her death at the age of 86.
I first learned this story from my writing mentor, Hollywood name of Doug Murray, writer and director, and formerly captain in the US Army in the Philippines. If you would like the full story in print, here is the link:
While what needs to be done in this country is well laid out in Thom's article today, and Tokyo Rose serves well as a metaphor, I would like to point out that the woman we have always viewed as being "The" Tokyo Rose, suffered greatly and needlessly at our hands. Iva Toguri D'Aquino was an American citizen from Los Angeles who was unable to sail back to her home before the war started due to a slip up in paper word regarding her passage. The actual Tokyo Rose was a compendium of women with varying interest levels in political matters. Iva's interest was in giving comfort to our sailors and troops. She always opened her show by slyly "warning" them of "dangerous propaganda," and telling them to keep the children out of hearing range. She never mentioned wandering wives or girlfriends, US losses in the war, and the music she played was British so as to avoid causing homesickness. The "propaganda" she delivered was a satirical, but subtle enough that her Japanese masters never caught on. Mostly the troops and sailors eagerly tuned into her shows because she was genuinely entertaining.
Unfortunately, when she was captured after the war, someone started a campaign in the media about her treason, and she wound up being convicted and placed in prison. She was finally pardoned by President Gerald Ford. She moved to Chicago to be close to her father and kept to herself. She did participate in a 60 Minutes episode that supported her, then stayed away from the media thereafter until her death at the age of 86.
I first learned this story from my writing mentor, Hollywood name of Doug Murray, writer and director, and formerly captain in the US Army in the Philippines. If you would like the full story in print, here is the link:
https://www.historynet.com/tokyo-rose-they-called-her-a-traitor.htm