World War II Chronicles A Quarterly Publication of the World War II Veterans Committee ISSUE XXVII, Winter, 2004-2005 TOKYO ROSE Myth VS. Reality By Tim G.W. Holbert PLUS: -The Battle of the Bulge - AND: -War Stories II: Heroism in the pacific- -The End of Illusions- -The Hidden Campaign- World War II Chronicles A Quarterly Publication of the World War II Veterans Committee WWW.WWIIVETS.COM ISSUE XXVII, Winter, 2004-2005 Articles -Cover Story- Convicting a Myth 4 Convicting a Myth by Tim G.W. Holbert The true story behind the legend of Tokyo Debunking the Legend of Tokyo Rose Rose and the Real Woman Who The Great Crusade Took the Blame 20 A recap of the World War II Veterans Tokyo Rose was among the most de- Committee’s D-Day 60th Anniversary Tour spised figures of World War II. Her treachery was unsurpassed, and her In Memorium vindictive taunts legendary in their effectiveness in destroying the mo- rale of Allied GIs. Yet in postwar America’s zeal for justice, an inno- Remembering ‘Beverly’ cent woman was convicted of treason for the crimes of a myth, as 19 A tribute to Jean Hay, host of “Tokyo Rose” never existed. “Reveille with Beverly” Above and cover photos courtesy www.earthstation1.com Featured Books The Battle of the Bulge 60th Anniversary 27 War Stories II: Heroism in the Pacific by Lt. Col. Oliver North, USMC (Ret) Brothers at Bastogne by 22 Tim G.W. Holbert 29 The End of Illusions: Religious Leaders Confront Hitler’s Gather- The men of Easy Company meet their ing Storm by Joseph Loconte toughest test and their defining moment 30 The Hidden Campaign: FDR’s Health and the Election of 1944 The Jersey Essex Troop by by Hugh E. Evans, M.D. 26 Lt. Col. Alfred H.M. Shehab, USA (Ret) More Chronicles The 38th Cavalry Squadron’s gallant stand during the Battle of the Bulge 31 The World War II Book Club 32 Committee Activities STILL AVAILABLE! World War II Veterans Committee 2005 Commemorative Calendar Still available for purchase from the World War II Veterans Committee is the spectacular 2005 calendar commemorating the 60th Anniversary of the end of the Second World War. This glossy oversized calendar features beautiful reproductions of oil-based paintings depicting some of the most famous ships and units of the war by such respected artists as Roy Grinnell, Gil Cohen, Jim Laurier, Jim Dietz, Larry Selman, and Stan Units Depected Include: Stokes. To order, send $10 (includes the cost of shipping) for each calendar desired to: 8th Air Force Merrill’s Marauders World War II Veterans Committee Tuskegee Airmen 101st Airborne 1030 15th St. NW, Suite 856 The Big Red One 3rd Marine Division Washington, DC 20005 AND MORE! Or order by phone at 202-777-7272 ext. 220 World War II Chronicles - Winter, 2004/05 - 2 Only from the World War II Veterans Committee!!! The Road to Victory An Exclusive Tour of the Western Front of the European Theater in World War II London - Portsmouth - Normandy - Paris - Bastogne - Munich - Nuremburg - Berlin September 15-29 - 2005 Sixty years ago, in the spring and summer of 1945, the Al- lied armies stormed across Europe and into the heart of the Third Reich. Today, you have the opportunity to fol- low in their footsteps. Commemorating the 60th Anniver- sary of the Allied victory in Europe, the World War II Vet- erans Committee is offering this exclusive tour of all of the major war sites on the western front. For veterans and history buffs alike, this one of a kind tour will take you from London to Berlin, and all the points in between, on “The Road to Victory.” Full-Tour Price: $5945 (London-Berlin, September 15-29) Highlights Include: Partial-Tour From Paris-Berlin Available --Tour of Blenheim Palace, --Visit to the concentration birthplace of Sir Winston camp museum at Dachau Price includes airfare. Land-only and single-supplements are available. Based on 26 registrants. Air taxes not included. Churchill, and dinner with his -- granddaughter, author Celia Tour of Hitler’s mountain- Sandys top retreat, the “Eagle’s Nest” For a full itinerary and registration form, contact Vicki --Stops at the Brown House --Visit to Bletchley Park, cen- Doyle at: ter of the British efforts to and the Feldherrnhalle, sites break the German Enigma of early Nazi rallies Vicki Doyle Tours Phone: 703-418-0939 System --Tour of Nuremberg, site of 1300 Crystal Drive Cell: 703-298-9044 --Visit to Southwick House, the Nazi war crimes trials Apt. 502S E-mail: [email protected] SHAEF Headquarters for --Visits to the Wannsee Arlington, VA 22202 Web site: vickidoyletours.com General Eisenhower House, infamous birthplace --Tour of the Normandy of “The Final Solution;” the beaches and the American Museum Berlin Karlshorst, Cemetery, Pointe du Hoc, and site of the surrender of the St. Mere Eglise Wehrmacht to the Red Army; and the site of the bunker --Stops at the Surrender Mu- where Hitler met his demise seum in Reims, General -- Patton’s gave in Luxembourg, Tours of London, Ports- and the Battle of the Bulge mouth, Paris, Munich, and Museum at Bastogne Berlin And Much More! Convicting a Myth Debunking the Legend of Tokyo Rose and the Real Woman Who Took the Blame By Tim G.W. Holbert She was the “Siren of the Pacific,” a silky-voiced young Still, many veterans of the Pacific can remember to this radio announcer broadcasting from Japan brandishing sharp day hearing Japanese radio broadcasts, and many swear that wit and sharper propaganda. She lured American GI’s to they heard Tokyo Rose herself. Her scurrilous attacks were listen with music from home, only to crush their morale by made all the more revolting because she was an American taunting them with stories of the infidelity of their wives citizen, born and raised in the United States. And those and sweethearts back home and gleefully promising Japa- old enough to remember will recall that following the war, nese victory. She was rumored to be friendly with General “Tokyo Rose” was arrested, charged with and convicted Tojo, was perhaps even his mistress, and seemed omni- of treason, and sentenced to a ten-year prison term. In scient, accurately predicting American troop movements fact there was a woman arrested and convicted of treason before they even happened. Along for her role as “Tokyo Rose.” Her with figures like Hitler, Tojo, name was Iva Toguri, she was an Goebbels, and “Axis Sally,” she was American citizen, and she did broad- one of the enduring symbols of in- cast to American servicemen in the famy from World War II. She was Pacific from Tokyo during World War Tokyo Rose. But unlike Hitler, Tojo, II. But as so often happens in the Goebbels, and Axis Sally, she did not fog of war, not everything was as it exist. seemed. Iva Toguri never once be- trayed the United States, and was This is not to say that there were no only eligible to be tried for treason female radio announcers employed because she had refused to renounce by the Japanese to broadcast to Al- her American citizenship, as many lied troops in the Pacific. In fact, other Japanese Americans living in there were many. And, in large part, Japan during the war had done. Un- Iva Toguri: The young American woman who would their purpose was to demoralize come to be labeled as “Tokyo Rose.” fortunately, due to a combination of American GI’s, to make them long media-generated hysteria, the Ameri- for happier times back home in the States. A number of can public’s desire for revenge for the attack on Pearl Har- broadcasts were also made that very closely resembled those bor, the government’s determination to not appear weak attributed to Tokyo Rose, which spoke of unfaithful wives on traitors, and Iva’s own naiveté, the label of “Tokyo and urged the troops to surrender. But unlike her counter- Rose” came to be pinned on her. Her story is sad and part in Europe, the radio announcer known as “Axis Sally,” unfortunate, and her conviction was a gross injustice. Yet there was no one person who called herself “Tokyo Rose.” there is something inspiring in it, as well. Through it all, She was, in fact, a mythical creation of American soldiers no matter how twisted the truth became or how hated she and sailors, based upon a combination of actual broad- was, Iva Toguri’s loyalty to her country endured. casts from a number of female announcers out of Japan and its territories, and stories that circulated among the An American Stranded troops that created a legend that was, and still is, larger than life. Searching for Tokyo Rose in World War II-era The long and confusing saga of “Tokyo Rose” began, ironi- Japan would be akin to traveling to medieval England to cally, on the Fourth of July in 1916, when Iva Toguri was search for King Arthur: though there were a number of born in Los Angeles. She was the eldest daughter of Jun people who embodied the description, some better than and Fumi Toguri, recent Japanese immigrants to the United others, there were none who singularly fit the bill. They States, and was the first Toguri to be a citizen of the United were, instead, composites of factual people clouded in leg- States. Jun was a devoted father who believed in the Ameri- end and myth. can Dream and worked hard to provide a good life for his family. He ran a store that sold Japanese imports and gro- World War II Chronicles - Winter, 2004/05 - 4 ceries, and was very successful.