Pseudonym of Iva d’Aquino, she made propaganda broadcasts attempting to demoralize the Allied troops in the East, sentenced to 10 years in jail and $10,000 for treason, was pardoned by President Gerald Ford in 1977. TLS signed “Iva Toguri d'Aquino,” one page, 7 x 9.25, ornate Japanese stationery letterhead, February 25, 1977. Tokyo Rose writes an admirer. In full: “I wish I could thank each of you personally for your kind letters and telegrams following the pardon and restoration of my American citizenship. Unfortunately, because so many of your were so thoughtful, the task became so overwhelming that I decided to acknowledge your messages in this form to at least let you know how much I appreciated your kind words. The last month has been extremely busy for me with the dozens of friends and well-wishers who stopped by to say hello. At the same time there was a flood of requests for television, radio, and newspaper interviews from as far away as Japan, Brazil, and Italy. I often wanted to say "no" to all the media requests, but I felt I had a responsibility to tell my story in the hope that it might help others caught in similar unfortunate circumstances. Not that the attention has finally begun to die down, I'm looking forward to a good rest, the chance to resume my simple life, and a new peace of mind with the cloud of the last thirty years being lifted at last.” She has written the recipient’s name following the salutation. Light intersecting folds with a horizontal fold touching the top of her name, small tear to the right edge, an area of thin paper in upper blank area, and light show-through of horizontal lines on the reverse from prior storage in a magnetic photo album, otherwise fine condition.
Toguri was an American citizen who traveled to Japan to visit an ill relative—and then found herself stranded there following the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor. A reluctant participant in propaganda broadcasts, she was arrested after the war but later released after federal and military investigators could find no evidence that she aided Axis forces...only to be re-arrested in 1948 and convicted of treason. She maintained her innocence, asserting that she had not said the words used to convict her, and that she had remained a loyal American. “I felt I had a responsibility to tell my story in the hope that it might help others caught in similar unfortunate circumstances,” she writes here. Now with the past truly in the past, Toguri gratefully looks forward “to a good rest, then chance to resume my simple life, and a new peace of mind with the cloud of the last thirty years being lifted at last.” Insightful comments by Tokyo Rose and the surprising gratitude she showed a sometimes cruel nation to which she remained loyal her entire life. RRAuction COA.
