Charlie Sykes decided to take a cheap shot today at Iva Toguri D'Aquino, otherwise known as Tokyo Rose, who passed away yesterday.  Personally I find it rare occasion to speak ill of the dead so soon after their passing... but I find this even more troubling since her conviction as Tokyo Rose is largely considered a sham.

Tokyo Rose was in fact not a real person, but rather the generic name given to any woman who appeared on a Japanese propaganda radio broadcast during WWII, and there were many.  In fact, after an investigation by the FBI, they decided there was not enough evidence to support a charge.  It was only after she tried to come back to the United States, and Walter Winchell heard about it and became outraged that the case was brought against her.

Her trial was one of the most expensive in history, and out of 8 counts levied against her, only one stuck.  The charge was:

"That on a day during October, 1944, the exact date being to the Grand Jurors unknown, said defendant, at Tokyo, Japan, in a broadcasting studio of The Broadcasting Corporation of Japan, did speak into a microphone concerning the loss of ships."

Strong assertion isn't it?  They didn't even have a date of when this happened.  Although she did admit to working at the station and making broadcasts, she said that she was forced to make the broadcasts, and worked to insert double meanings, and other words into her broadcasts which made them sound purposefully foolish or inaccurate to counter their effect.  She even helped to feed POW's with the meager pay she was given.  This defense was supported by other POW's who were with her at the time.  After the trial, the witnesses against her verified that they perjured themselves, and were pressured to give false statements by the prosecution.  It has also been asserted that other defense witnesses were hidden in Japan, and not permitted entry to the United States for her trial... basically stacking the deck against her.

Because of all of this, she was finally pardoned by Gerald Ford.  However, that apparently means nothing to Charlie who said the following:

She picked the wrong era.

These days she would have been sure of a gig on a cable news channel, or maybe even on the staff of the New York Times.

While taking a cheap shot at the NY Times may be fun Charlie, I suggest you don't do it at the expense of someone like her.  She doesn't deserve it.