The Myth of "Tokyo Rose"
Iva Toguri
Her name was Iva Toguri, but she called herself "Orphan Ann". Six nights a week she hosted the Zero Hour. The World War II Japanese propaganda radio program broadcast to Allied troops throughout the Pacific. Her orders were to play music, and demoralize troops with insidious messages about lost battles on the front and lost lovers at home.
In collaboration with a swashbuckling Australian prisoner of war, she attempted to subvert Japanese propaganda by turning the Zero Hour into a parody. She risked her life to provide Allied prisoners in Tokyo with food and medicine. Although she was one of several female broadcasters nicknamed "Tokyo Rose" by American GIs, only Iva Toguri was arrested and found guilty of treason. She was innocent. Oppressed by the Japanese military and persecuted by the FBI, she never lost faith in her country. The ordeal of Iva Toguri is a remarkable tale of grit, loyalty and redemption.
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