Iva Toguri D'Aquino
Iva Toguri D'Aquino | |
|---|---|
戸栗郁子 アイバ | |
Mug shot of Toguri in 1946 | |
| Born | Iva Ikuko Toguri July 4, 1916 Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Died | September 26, 2006 (aged 90) Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Resting place | Montrose Cemetery, Chicago, Illinois |
| Other names | Orphan Annie Tokyo Rose Ann |
| Education | University of California, Los Angeles (BS) |
| Occupation(s) | Disc jockey, radio personality, broadcaster, typist, merchant |
| Years active | 1943–1945 |
| Employers | Japanese central government's news agency and Radio Tokyo |
| Known for | Participating in English-language radio broadcasts transmitted by Radio Tokyo |
| Spouse |
Felipe D'Aquino
(m. 1945; div. 1980) |
| Children | 1 (Birth not allowed in U.S., died) |
Iva Ikuko Toguri D'Aquino (Japanese: 戸栗郁子 アイバ; July 4, 1916 – September 26, 2006) was an American citizen visiting Japan when World War II began. Unable to return to the United States, she risked her life smuggling food to American service men held in prisoner of war camps.
The Japanese authorities forced Toguri to work as a disc jockey and radio personality on English-language radio broadcasts transmitted by Radio Tokyo to Allied troops in the South Pacific during World War II on the Zero Hour radio show. Toguri refused to broadcast anti-American propaganda, and tried to make a farce of the broadcasts. Toguri called herself "Orphan Annie", but she quickly became inaccurately identified with the name "Tokyo Rose", coined by Allied soldiers and which predated her broadcasts.
After the surrender of Japan, Toguri was detained for one year by the United States military for possible wrongdoing against the U.S. but was released for lack of evidence and U.S. Department of Justice officials agreed that her broadcasts were "innocuous".
However, when Toguri tried to return to the U.S. a popular uproar ensued, prompting the Federal Bureau of Investigation to renew its investigation of her wartime activities. She was subsequently charged by the U.S. Attorney's Office with eight counts of treason, which were based on false testimony forced from witnesses by the prosecutors. Her 1949 trial resulted in a conviction on one count, for which she served more than six years, out of a ten-year sentence in prison.
Journalistic and governmental investigators years later pieced together the history of irregularities with the indictment, trial, and conviction, including confessions from key witnesses that they had perjured themselves at the various stages of their testimonies due to government threats.
Toguri received a full pardon from President Gerald Ford in 1977.