1 00:00:02,560 --> 00:00:05,760 Speaker 1: You're listening to American Shadows, a production of I Heart 2 00:00:05,880 --> 00:00:23,640 Speaker 1: Radio and Grim and Mild from Aaron Mankey. Americans were struggling, food, clothing, 3 00:00:23,680 --> 00:00:28,000 Speaker 1: and gasoline were rationed on the radio. Disc jockeys played 4 00:00:28,040 --> 00:00:31,120 Speaker 1: the Andrew sisters dance hit, Boogie Woggie Bugle Boy, and 5 00:00:31,200 --> 00:00:35,640 Speaker 1: Johnny Mercer's g I Jive. During World War Two, these 6 00:00:35,760 --> 00:00:40,879 Speaker 1: upbeat songs kept spirits up and Americans bonded over a 7 00:00:40,920 --> 00:00:46,400 Speaker 1: common enemy. Several actually nations jostled to either declare war 8 00:00:46,479 --> 00:00:50,960 Speaker 1: against the US or become allies. In an uncertain world, 9 00:00:51,280 --> 00:00:55,880 Speaker 1: citizens relied on newspapers and the radio for information. To 10 00:00:55,960 --> 00:01:01,200 Speaker 1: combat food shortages, neighbors planted victory gardens. They exchanged flowers 11 00:01:01,280 --> 00:01:05,600 Speaker 1: to grace dinner tables, and crops that fed families. Men 12 00:01:05,720 --> 00:01:09,280 Speaker 1: stepped up to volunteer for service, leaving women behind to 13 00:01:09,400 --> 00:01:13,000 Speaker 1: raise families and care for the homes and gardens. When 14 00:01:13,040 --> 00:01:16,480 Speaker 1: it looked like baseball would be canceled, Women's League formed 15 00:01:16,560 --> 00:01:20,160 Speaker 1: to keep Americans entertained with their favorite sport, but the 16 00:01:20,200 --> 00:01:24,160 Speaker 1: country needed more. There was a shortage of munitions and 17 00:01:24,200 --> 00:01:28,360 Speaker 1: war supplies, and a desperate need for workers to make them. 18 00:01:28,480 --> 00:01:31,520 Speaker 1: Women whose husbands were at war, had to feed themselves 19 00:01:31,680 --> 00:01:35,039 Speaker 1: and their children, and just like in baseball, when the 20 00:01:35,080 --> 00:01:39,679 Speaker 1: factories called for help, women answered it wasn't easy. Some 21 00:01:39,760 --> 00:01:43,080 Speaker 1: of their male colleagues resented them and made work difficult. 22 00:01:44,120 --> 00:01:47,400 Speaker 1: To encourage more women to apply, and to alleviate men's 23 00:01:47,440 --> 00:01:51,240 Speaker 1: concerns that women would forever take over their jobs, America 24 00:01:51,320 --> 00:01:55,320 Speaker 1: looked to marketing to reframe women at work. Seventeen year 25 00:01:55,360 --> 00:01:59,120 Speaker 1: old Geraldine hoff Hoyle didn't think about the photographer who 26 00:01:59,120 --> 00:02:02,280 Speaker 1: snapped her photo at the ann Arbor Metal factory. She 27 00:02:02,360 --> 00:02:05,080 Speaker 1: had worn a polka dot scarf and cover rolls to work, 28 00:02:05,840 --> 00:02:08,800 Speaker 1: and twenty year old Nami Parker paid little attention to 29 00:02:08,840 --> 00:02:13,360 Speaker 1: a photographer who took her picture too. Like oil, Parker 30 00:02:13,440 --> 00:02:16,920 Speaker 1: also sported polka dots in her wardrobe should use the 31 00:02:16,919 --> 00:02:19,600 Speaker 1: spotted bandanna to hold back her hair as she bent 32 00:02:19,680 --> 00:02:25,640 Speaker 1: over a piece of machinery. In Westinghouse, artist J. Howard 33 00:02:25,720 --> 00:02:29,639 Speaker 1: Miller created the first Rosie the Riveter poster. A polka 34 00:02:29,639 --> 00:02:32,520 Speaker 1: dot headscarf held her hair out of her face. The 35 00:02:32,600 --> 00:02:35,480 Speaker 1: sleeves on her blue shirt were rolled up and Rosie 36 00:02:35,480 --> 00:02:39,239 Speaker 1: flexed to bicep. The caption above her red, we can 37 00:02:39,320 --> 00:02:43,160 Speaker 1: do it. Norman Rockwell created a cover for the Saturday 38 00:02:43,200 --> 00:02:47,960 Speaker 1: Evening Post featuring Rosie. In Rockwell's depiction, readers got the 39 00:02:48,040 --> 00:02:50,480 Speaker 1: message that while men were off fighting the war on 40 00:02:50,520 --> 00:02:54,360 Speaker 1: the front lines, women were doing their part on factory lines. 41 00:02:55,200 --> 00:02:58,840 Speaker 1: Kentucky born Rose Mundrow and her two children moved to 42 00:02:58,880 --> 00:03:02,760 Speaker 1: Michigan after her husband died. Rose had always been a 43 00:03:02,800 --> 00:03:06,440 Speaker 1: tomboy of sorts and handy with tools. Though Rose wanted 44 00:03:06,480 --> 00:03:09,960 Speaker 1: to become a pilot, she was passed over. Instead, she 45 00:03:10,040 --> 00:03:13,400 Speaker 1: took a job building b twenty four bombers. Later, she 46 00:03:13,520 --> 00:03:16,320 Speaker 1: became the only female member of a local aeronautics club. 47 00:03:16,840 --> 00:03:20,880 Speaker 1: Rose's work building the aircraft caught actor Walter pigeons Ie. 48 00:03:21,520 --> 00:03:25,239 Speaker 1: When Hollywood shot film footage to support war bonds, Rose 49 00:03:25,360 --> 00:03:30,640 Speaker 1: portrayed Rosie the Riveter, and there was yet another Rose. Rosalind. 50 00:03:30,720 --> 00:03:33,919 Speaker 1: P Walter came from a wealthy family. When the war 51 00:03:33,960 --> 00:03:37,800 Speaker 1: broke out, Rosalind went to work at the Vaught Aircraft Company. 52 00:03:38,000 --> 00:03:41,960 Speaker 1: Her dedication specific duty captured the attention of a newspaper columnist. 53 00:03:42,440 --> 00:03:45,480 Speaker 1: In turn, the column inspired two musicians to write the 54 00:03:45,520 --> 00:03:48,800 Speaker 1: song Rosie the Riveter, honoring all the women who worked 55 00:03:48,880 --> 00:03:52,960 Speaker 1: long and hard during wartime, Rosie had come to represent 56 00:03:53,040 --> 00:03:56,760 Speaker 1: the efforts of every working woman across America. And though 57 00:03:56,840 --> 00:03:59,880 Speaker 1: she wore a suit instead of a bandana, another one 58 00:04:00,040 --> 00:04:03,040 Speaker 1: and was about to overcome tremendous obstacles to make a 59 00:04:03,080 --> 00:04:09,320 Speaker 1: difference in wartime. I'm Lauren Vogelbaum. Welcome to American Shadows. 60 00:04:17,440 --> 00:04:20,800 Speaker 1: Like nearly three hundred thousand others. From the Canton region 61 00:04:20,800 --> 00:04:24,880 Speaker 1: in China, Margaret's parents immigrated to the United States hoping 62 00:04:24,960 --> 00:04:29,559 Speaker 1: to escape poverty. Her mother, Ah Jane, was just five 63 00:04:29,640 --> 00:04:33,880 Speaker 1: when she arrived. Her father, Chung Wong, also arrived when 64 00:04:33,920 --> 00:04:37,960 Speaker 1: he was young. Around that time, Presbyterian missionaries were at 65 00:04:37,960 --> 00:04:42,440 Speaker 1: work convincing Chinese communities to convert to Christianity. The church 66 00:04:42,480 --> 00:04:45,520 Speaker 1: believed that if the children grew up christian did be 67 00:04:45,640 --> 00:04:48,320 Speaker 1: more likely to marry within the church and raise future 68 00:04:48,320 --> 00:04:52,600 Speaker 1: generations of Presbyterians, who would in turn convert more immigrants. 69 00:04:53,520 --> 00:04:57,360 Speaker 1: Records show that Margaret's father attended a missionary in Los Angeles, 70 00:04:58,000 --> 00:05:01,360 Speaker 1: while little is known of his or her mother's childhoods. 71 00:05:01,360 --> 00:05:05,080 Speaker 1: A mission homes often housed and fed immigrant children and 72 00:05:05,120 --> 00:05:08,960 Speaker 1: then contracted them out as servants. They weren't allowed to 73 00:05:09,040 --> 00:05:13,640 Speaker 1: leave their assigned positions and received no pay. In eighteen 74 00:05:13,680 --> 00:05:17,200 Speaker 1: eighty six, Margaret's father was the only Chinese immigrant to 75 00:05:17,200 --> 00:05:20,480 Speaker 1: receive baptism. He and her mother met through the church 76 00:05:20,560 --> 00:05:24,880 Speaker 1: and married. They had eleven children together, though only seven 77 00:05:24,960 --> 00:05:30,360 Speaker 1: survived past childhood. Margaret Chung was born in eighteen eighty nine. 78 00:05:30,839 --> 00:05:33,680 Speaker 1: As the eldest, she helped care for her younger siblings. 79 00:05:34,360 --> 00:05:38,000 Speaker 1: Her father, desperate to keep his large family fed, started 80 00:05:38,080 --> 00:05:42,440 Speaker 1: his own business raising and selling produce. When that venture failed, 81 00:05:42,480 --> 00:05:45,839 Speaker 1: he tried selling traditional Chinese herbs or working in other 82 00:05:45,920 --> 00:05:50,919 Speaker 1: farmers fields to find jobs. They moved frequently. A Mexican 83 00:05:50,920 --> 00:05:54,080 Speaker 1: Americans were evicted to make room for other Americans heading 84 00:05:54,080 --> 00:05:58,160 Speaker 1: west a Chinese immigrants moved in to work as railroad laborers. 85 00:05:59,160 --> 00:06:04,200 Speaker 1: As population increased, racial tensions grew, sparking and anti Chinese 86 00:06:04,200 --> 00:06:09,279 Speaker 1: movement riots targeting Chinese Americans erupted in Los Angeles and 87 00:06:09,360 --> 00:06:13,920 Speaker 1: Santa Barbara. Like other immigrants, Chong Wong moved his family 88 00:06:14,000 --> 00:06:18,440 Speaker 1: into more Chinese populated communities for safety. In addition to 89 00:06:18,520 --> 00:06:21,640 Speaker 1: caring for her siblings, Margaret worked to help her family. 90 00:06:22,560 --> 00:06:26,240 Speaker 1: She also had an insatiable appetite for learning and studied hard, 91 00:06:26,560 --> 00:06:29,160 Speaker 1: hoping that one day she could become a doctor and 92 00:06:29,240 --> 00:06:32,760 Speaker 1: the medical missionary for the church. The church saw missionary 93 00:06:32,800 --> 00:06:36,279 Speaker 1: hospitals as a way to create converts while also tending 94 00:06:36,320 --> 00:06:40,800 Speaker 1: to them. Inspired by the community's charismatic local doctor who 95 00:06:40,800 --> 00:06:44,000 Speaker 1: wrote a bicycle to house calls, Margaret planned for her 96 00:06:44,000 --> 00:06:48,880 Speaker 1: future and scoped out colleges and scholarships. When the family 97 00:06:48,920 --> 00:06:51,920 Speaker 1: moved to Los Angeles in nineteen o two, Margaret took 98 00:06:51,960 --> 00:06:55,599 Speaker 1: care of her siblings and ailing parents while still attending school. 99 00:06:56,040 --> 00:06:58,760 Speaker 1: She earned a scholarship to the University of Southern California 100 00:06:58,839 --> 00:07:02,799 Speaker 1: from The l A Times by selling newspaper subscriptions. While 101 00:07:02,839 --> 00:07:07,080 Speaker 1: studying at usc Margaret also held a variety of jobs. 102 00:07:07,080 --> 00:07:10,840 Speaker 1: She worked at the school cafeteria, sold surgical instruments, and 103 00:07:11,120 --> 00:07:15,240 Speaker 1: entered debate contests that offered pride money. While women did 104 00:07:15,280 --> 00:07:18,880 Speaker 1: attend medical schools at the time, it wasn't the norm. 105 00:07:19,120 --> 00:07:23,080 Speaker 1: Several schools catering to only women closed their doors citing 106 00:07:23,080 --> 00:07:26,840 Speaker 1: the number of co ed medical colleges becoming available. While 107 00:07:26,880 --> 00:07:30,640 Speaker 1: Margaret attended classes at the university, she dressed in men's clothing, 108 00:07:30,880 --> 00:07:34,600 Speaker 1: complete with shirt, pants, jacket, and tie, and went by 109 00:07:34,600 --> 00:07:38,840 Speaker 1: the name Mike Tragedy struck when her mother passed away 110 00:07:38,840 --> 00:07:43,160 Speaker 1: from tuberculosis. Her father's health was also failing, and she 111 00:07:43,320 --> 00:07:46,920 Speaker 1: still had younger siblings who depended on her. Although she 112 00:07:47,000 --> 00:07:50,200 Speaker 1: still had two more years of school, Margaret refused to 113 00:07:50,240 --> 00:07:52,880 Speaker 1: give up her dream and managed to do it all. 114 00:07:53,560 --> 00:07:57,120 Speaker 1: In nineteen sixteen, she and her fellow students posed for 115 00:07:57,160 --> 00:08:01,280 Speaker 1: their graduation day photo. Margaret wore her hair slicked back 116 00:08:01,320 --> 00:08:05,120 Speaker 1: to look more like her male classmates, along with her clothing. 117 00:08:05,440 --> 00:08:08,600 Speaker 1: Anyone glancing at the photo wouldn't immediately know she was 118 00:08:08,640 --> 00:08:11,400 Speaker 1: the only woman in her class. With a hard earned 119 00:08:11,440 --> 00:08:15,160 Speaker 1: degree and a lifetime of preparation, Margaret applied to become 120 00:08:15,240 --> 00:08:19,160 Speaker 1: a medical missionary in China. At last, her dream of 121 00:08:19,200 --> 00:08:21,920 Speaker 1: working as a doctor for the Church seemed within her grasp. 122 00:08:22,760 --> 00:08:36,640 Speaker 1: Except for one detail. Her application was immediately rejected. The 123 00:08:36,679 --> 00:08:40,480 Speaker 1: rejection confused Margaret. All her life, the Church had led 124 00:08:40,480 --> 00:08:43,760 Speaker 1: her to believe she sought the highest honor by helping others. 125 00:08:44,360 --> 00:08:47,719 Speaker 1: Thinking that the rejection had been an oversight, she reapplied 126 00:08:48,160 --> 00:08:52,720 Speaker 1: several times. Finally, she learned that even in her home country, 127 00:08:52,920 --> 00:08:56,920 Speaker 1: the Church didn't want Chinese Americans, and especially women, to 128 00:08:57,000 --> 00:09:02,080 Speaker 1: work as medical missionaries. Though the rejections stung, Margaret kept 129 00:09:02,080 --> 00:09:06,120 Speaker 1: applying at hospitals around the country. She persisted even when 130 00:09:06,160 --> 00:09:10,400 Speaker 1: more rejections rolled in. Her schoolmate Agnes Shall, who had 131 00:09:10,400 --> 00:09:16,160 Speaker 1: won several prestigious awards, also received rejections. Meanwhile, male colleagues 132 00:09:16,240 --> 00:09:20,040 Speaker 1: quickly found employment in hospitals that specialized in women's care, 133 00:09:20,960 --> 00:09:24,400 Speaker 1: and despite her higher degree of medical training, Margaret took 134 00:09:24,440 --> 00:09:27,360 Speaker 1: a lower level internship as a surgical nurse at the 135 00:09:27,480 --> 00:09:31,560 Speaker 1: Santa Fe Railroad Hospital. While the patients were diverse, the 136 00:09:31,600 --> 00:09:36,319 Speaker 1: majority were Hispanic workers from Mexico. Though her coworkers often 137 00:09:36,360 --> 00:09:40,880 Speaker 1: treated them poorly, Margaret offered compassion. She continued to send 138 00:09:40,880 --> 00:09:45,040 Speaker 1: out applications. In nineteen sixteen, she received an offer from 139 00:09:45,160 --> 00:09:48,360 Speaker 1: doctor Bertha van Husen, a woman physician at the Mary 140 00:09:48,400 --> 00:09:52,560 Speaker 1: Thompson Women's and Children's Hospital in Chicago. Dr van Husen 141 00:09:52,720 --> 00:09:55,880 Speaker 1: was committed to helping other women doctors find work in 142 00:09:55,880 --> 00:09:58,439 Speaker 1: the field that they had been trained in. A van 143 00:09:58,520 --> 00:10:01,760 Speaker 1: Husen wasn't married and often referred to Margaret and the 144 00:10:01,760 --> 00:10:07,400 Speaker 1: others as her surgical daughters. Margaret settled right in her 145 00:10:07,520 --> 00:10:10,720 Speaker 1: personal dress code, continued use of the name Mike, and 146 00:10:10,920 --> 00:10:13,960 Speaker 1: popularity with some of the hospital staff raised a few 147 00:10:14,000 --> 00:10:19,360 Speaker 1: societal eyebrows, though in response, the hospital administration implemented a 148 00:10:19,400 --> 00:10:23,240 Speaker 1: new rule no two employees could sleep in the same bed. 149 00:10:23,800 --> 00:10:29,200 Speaker 1: While Margaret's autobiography doesn't mention the sleeping arrangements, it appears 150 00:10:29,280 --> 00:10:32,680 Speaker 1: that the hospital frowned on her sexual preference for women. 151 00:10:33,760 --> 00:10:36,800 Speaker 1: But in the early nineteen hundreds, women weren't supposed to 152 00:10:36,800 --> 00:10:39,920 Speaker 1: have much of a sex drive, and certainly not before marriage, 153 00:10:40,440 --> 00:10:44,080 Speaker 1: so two women living together drew far less suspicion than 154 00:10:44,200 --> 00:10:48,120 Speaker 1: two men. In addition to working at the hospital, Margaret 155 00:10:48,160 --> 00:10:52,800 Speaker 1: secured an internship at the Juvenile Psychopathic Institute. While other 156 00:10:52,880 --> 00:10:56,839 Speaker 1: doctors there rejected pro bono cases, she eagerly took them 157 00:10:56,880 --> 00:11:00,160 Speaker 1: on for the experience and to learn different treatment and 158 00:11:00,200 --> 00:11:04,600 Speaker 1: surgery methods. Even with the opportunities in the work, Margaret 159 00:11:04,679 --> 00:11:08,680 Speaker 1: felt there had to be more. She disliked Chicago's weather 160 00:11:08,840 --> 00:11:12,679 Speaker 1: and missed California, so when the news arrived that her 161 00:11:12,679 --> 00:11:15,920 Speaker 1: father had died from a street car accident, she resigned 162 00:11:15,960 --> 00:11:19,520 Speaker 1: from her position and returned home. She returned to the 163 00:11:19,520 --> 00:11:23,800 Speaker 1: Santa Fe Railroad Hospital as a staff surgeon. She also 164 00:11:23,880 --> 00:11:28,040 Speaker 1: built a thriving private practice. Most of her patients were poor, 165 00:11:28,400 --> 00:11:31,480 Speaker 1: but she never turned them away, even if they couldn't pay. 166 00:11:32,000 --> 00:11:36,000 Speaker 1: She excelled a surgery, A word of Margaret's ability to 167 00:11:36,040 --> 00:11:40,800 Speaker 1: perform surgeries that left smaller scars, attracted circus performers, banned 168 00:11:40,920 --> 00:11:46,360 Speaker 1: Hollywood professionals, actresses, Anime Wong, Mary Pickford, and others became 169 00:11:46,440 --> 00:11:51,640 Speaker 1: clients and eventually friends. Soon Margaret began hosting dinner parties 170 00:11:51,679 --> 00:11:55,479 Speaker 1: for her patients, further growing her clientele base and influence. 171 00:11:56,000 --> 00:11:59,040 Speaker 1: In the early nineteen twenties, she accompanied two clients to 172 00:11:59,080 --> 00:12:02,960 Speaker 1: San Francisco and instantly fell in love with the city. 173 00:12:03,200 --> 00:12:07,040 Speaker 1: In nineteen two, she left her job and moved to Chinatown. 174 00:12:07,720 --> 00:12:10,880 Speaker 1: Her luck of a husband, manner of dress, and training 175 00:12:10,920 --> 00:12:15,480 Speaker 1: in Western medicine was met with distrust among the Chinese community, 176 00:12:15,679 --> 00:12:18,920 Speaker 1: and still her practice thrived. She was one of the 177 00:12:18,960 --> 00:12:22,199 Speaker 1: few to be discreet while attending to women seeking abortions 178 00:12:22,240 --> 00:12:25,760 Speaker 1: and early forms of birth control. Margaret began a close 179 00:12:25,800 --> 00:12:30,960 Speaker 1: relationship with the openly gay poet Elsa Gidlow. Elsa was 180 00:12:31,080 --> 00:12:34,360 Speaker 1: in an open relationship, giving her freedom to pursue Margaret. 181 00:12:35,240 --> 00:12:39,040 Speaker 1: The two enjoyed dinners and lunches, fueling rumors about Margaret's 182 00:12:39,040 --> 00:12:42,640 Speaker 1: sexual preferences, Elsa wrote in her journal, but the two 183 00:12:42,640 --> 00:12:46,840 Speaker 1: shared a passionate kiss. She brought Margaret flowers and wrote 184 00:12:46,840 --> 00:12:50,080 Speaker 1: her poetry, and Margaret took Elsa for car rides throughout 185 00:12:50,080 --> 00:12:53,480 Speaker 1: the city in her new convertible. The community began to 186 00:12:53,520 --> 00:12:56,880 Speaker 1: talk about them. Though Elsa and Margaret seemed to share 187 00:12:56,880 --> 00:13:00,720 Speaker 1: each other's affection, Margaret knew the career and practice she 188 00:13:00,760 --> 00:13:04,400 Speaker 1: had fought so hard for couldn't survive a scandal. After 189 00:13:04,559 --> 00:13:09,040 Speaker 1: ending the relationship with Elsa, Margaret fully dedicated herself to work. 190 00:13:19,760 --> 00:13:23,960 Speaker 1: When U. S. Navy Reserves Ensign Stephen G. Bancroft came 191 00:13:24,000 --> 00:13:26,920 Speaker 1: to her with an odd request in the early nineteen thirties, 192 00:13:27,600 --> 00:13:30,840 Speaker 1: Margaret couldn't have foreseen how the turn of events would 193 00:13:30,920 --> 00:13:34,320 Speaker 1: shape the rest of her life. A few Americans knew 194 00:13:34,400 --> 00:13:38,400 Speaker 1: that the Japanese had invaded Manchuria, northeastern region of China 195 00:13:38,600 --> 00:13:43,640 Speaker 1: in one and the strike was successful, encouraging the Japanese 196 00:13:43,640 --> 00:13:47,680 Speaker 1: to attack Shanghai. Bancroft wanted to go abroad to fight 197 00:13:47,679 --> 00:13:51,000 Speaker 1: the Japanese and asked if Margaret could make arrangements with 198 00:13:51,040 --> 00:13:55,800 Speaker 1: the Chinese military. American born Margaret didn't have the influence 199 00:13:55,840 --> 00:13:59,680 Speaker 1: their connections he needed, but curious and impressed with this 200 00:13:59,760 --> 00:14:02,880 Speaker 1: call us, she invited him and his housemates to dinner, 201 00:14:03,280 --> 00:14:06,000 Speaker 1: and Bancroft arrived with a handful of pilots, all in 202 00:14:06,040 --> 00:14:08,960 Speaker 1: their twenties, and Margaret and her guests hit it off 203 00:14:09,000 --> 00:14:12,240 Speaker 1: so well that she invited them back. For months. The 204 00:14:12,280 --> 00:14:15,160 Speaker 1: group went on camping and hunting trips and continued to 205 00:14:15,200 --> 00:14:19,840 Speaker 1: dine together. Before Bancroft and the pilots, Margaret's personal life 206 00:14:19,880 --> 00:14:24,000 Speaker 1: had suffered. The men provided her with much needed companionship, 207 00:14:24,280 --> 00:14:27,520 Speaker 1: and the group grew close. They spent so much time 208 00:14:27,520 --> 00:14:31,240 Speaker 1: together that during one particular dinner, a young pilot announced 209 00:14:31,280 --> 00:14:34,040 Speaker 1: that they had decided to adopt Margaret as their surrogate mother, 210 00:14:34,440 --> 00:14:37,440 Speaker 1: and then he kidded her, saying that they had no father. 211 00:14:38,320 --> 00:14:41,040 Speaker 1: Margaret quipped back that this made them all her fair 212 00:14:41,080 --> 00:14:45,840 Speaker 1: haired bastards. The group broke into laughter. The name stuck, 213 00:14:46,120 --> 00:14:51,520 Speaker 1: and Doctor Margaret Chung quickly became Mom Chung. By seven, 214 00:14:51,640 --> 00:14:56,040 Speaker 1: she had over five hundred sons and the media's wrapped attention. 215 00:14:56,600 --> 00:15:00,360 Speaker 1: In nine, her devotion to her son's inspired Holly Would 216 00:15:00,480 --> 00:15:04,400 Speaker 1: and the film King of Chinatown. The movie starred Margaret's 217 00:15:04,440 --> 00:15:08,560 Speaker 1: friend and client anime Wong. The comic book series Real 218 00:15:08,640 --> 00:15:12,800 Speaker 1: Heroes followed in it. Margaret's likeness shared pages with President 219 00:15:12,840 --> 00:15:16,760 Speaker 1: Franklin D. Roosevelt. Margaret became the center point for Chinese 220 00:15:16,760 --> 00:15:20,680 Speaker 1: American relations during the start of World War two. By 221 00:15:21,560 --> 00:15:24,520 Speaker 1: one she had covertly drafted a hundred pilots that made 222 00:15:24,600 --> 00:15:28,880 Speaker 1: up the famous Flying Tigers Squadron. The Flying Taggers flew 223 00:15:29,040 --> 00:15:33,760 Speaker 1: p forty Tomahawk fighters, all flying under Chinese colors. The 224 00:15:33,840 --> 00:15:36,920 Speaker 1: nose of each had been painted with rows of gleaming teeth. 225 00:15:37,520 --> 00:15:42,119 Speaker 1: Bounties were awarded to pilots for their aerial victories. All told, 226 00:15:42,160 --> 00:15:46,960 Speaker 1: Margaret adopted thousands of pilots, along with submariners and even admirals. 227 00:15:47,520 --> 00:15:51,520 Speaker 1: Celebrities followed, including a young Ronald Reagan and Robert Young, 228 00:15:52,120 --> 00:15:54,840 Speaker 1: and she referred to them as Kiwi's since the movie 229 00:15:54,840 --> 00:15:59,080 Speaker 1: stars were flightless and didn't serve as pilots. Her group 230 00:15:59,080 --> 00:16:03,280 Speaker 1: of Kiwi's grew three hundred and consisted of celebrities, politicians, 231 00:16:03,360 --> 00:16:07,440 Speaker 1: and various military personnel. And though her number of sons 232 00:16:07,520 --> 00:16:10,760 Speaker 1: had grown well into the thousands, she had considered each 233 00:16:11,040 --> 00:16:14,440 Speaker 1: true family. Letters and gifts from the men filled her 234 00:16:14,480 --> 00:16:18,440 Speaker 1: office for the U. S government. Margaret made for great 235 00:16:18,520 --> 00:16:22,720 Speaker 1: propaganda for her fair haired bastard sons. She had become 236 00:16:22,760 --> 00:16:27,720 Speaker 1: a compassionate surrogate mother. Margaret thrived in her personal life, 237 00:16:27,800 --> 00:16:30,840 Speaker 1: no longer felt empty. She was free to wear what 238 00:16:30,920 --> 00:16:34,040 Speaker 1: she wanted among her sons and engaged in more masculine 239 00:16:34,040 --> 00:16:38,920 Speaker 1: hobbies and interests. The public no longer scrutinized her. After 240 00:16:39,000 --> 00:16:43,520 Speaker 1: the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor in she sent thousands of 241 00:16:43,560 --> 00:16:46,600 Speaker 1: care packages to those sons sent to fight in the war. 242 00:16:47,840 --> 00:16:51,680 Speaker 1: Additions to her famous sons included John Wayne and Admirals 243 00:16:51,720 --> 00:16:56,800 Speaker 1: William Bull Halsey and Chester W. Nimitz. Her family grew 244 00:16:56,960 --> 00:17:01,440 Speaker 1: by including daughters like Amelia Earhart. In nineteen forty three, 245 00:17:01,800 --> 00:17:05,280 Speaker 1: an elite group of submariners known as the Golden Dolphins 246 00:17:05,280 --> 00:17:08,840 Speaker 1: were added. She presented each of the members, who included 247 00:17:08,880 --> 00:17:12,919 Speaker 1: Henry Fonda, with a leather notebook. She wrote letters to 248 00:17:12,960 --> 00:17:16,080 Speaker 1: those sent to fight overseas and gifted her pilots with 249 00:17:16,280 --> 00:17:19,840 Speaker 1: a small jade Buddha on a neck chain. Her role 250 00:17:20,000 --> 00:17:24,520 Speaker 1: wasn't limited to recruitment letters and care packages. Margaret tended 251 00:17:24,560 --> 00:17:27,919 Speaker 1: to the injured, and she helped create and promote fundraising 252 00:17:27,920 --> 00:17:32,040 Speaker 1: events for humanitarian efforts, including the popular Rice Full parties. 253 00:17:32,920 --> 00:17:35,760 Speaker 1: Women's rights were still near and dear to her, and 254 00:17:35,880 --> 00:17:40,080 Speaker 1: Margaret lobbied for women's inclusion in the military. Her efforts 255 00:17:40,119 --> 00:17:43,720 Speaker 1: paid off, and in nineteen forty two, the military created 256 00:17:43,720 --> 00:17:46,960 Speaker 1: a reserve corps in the Navy called WAVES, or Women 257 00:17:47,080 --> 00:17:52,000 Speaker 1: Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service. Her application to WAVES was 258 00:17:52,040 --> 00:17:56,320 Speaker 1: rejected due to her race and reported sexuality. All of 259 00:17:56,359 --> 00:18:00,520 Speaker 1: these pulls on her time affected her practice. When fair 260 00:18:00,560 --> 00:18:03,399 Speaker 1: haired Bastard children learned she could no longer pay for 261 00:18:03,480 --> 00:18:07,000 Speaker 1: her home, they pitched in to pay her mortgage. Her 262 00:18:07,040 --> 00:18:10,359 Speaker 1: adopted children often visited her when they returned home, and 263 00:18:10,600 --> 00:18:14,280 Speaker 1: Mom Chung prepared dinners for them, and when she retired 264 00:18:14,320 --> 00:18:17,400 Speaker 1: from practice, they pitched and again, buying her a home 265 00:18:17,480 --> 00:18:20,800 Speaker 1: out in Marin County. Mom Chung took to her new 266 00:18:20,840 --> 00:18:24,960 Speaker 1: home and old age with grace, for her home was 267 00:18:25,000 --> 00:18:29,119 Speaker 1: where of love blossomed, and though she became increasingly frail, 268 00:18:29,640 --> 00:18:32,760 Speaker 1: she was always delighted when her children, whom she loved 269 00:18:32,800 --> 00:18:49,520 Speaker 1: so deeply, came home for dinner. Margaret Chung lead a 270 00:18:49,600 --> 00:18:52,919 Speaker 1: full life. She retained the love of her heritage and 271 00:18:52,960 --> 00:18:57,360 Speaker 1: committed herself to Chinese American communities while remaining very patriotic. 272 00:18:57,920 --> 00:19:01,520 Speaker 1: She had been a caring daughter, insist, a hard working student, 273 00:19:02,119 --> 00:19:05,600 Speaker 1: an intern and nurse dedicated to helping those less fortunate, 274 00:19:06,119 --> 00:19:09,240 Speaker 1: a devoted physician, and a staunch supporter of women's rights. 275 00:19:10,000 --> 00:19:13,840 Speaker 1: Margaret changed social norms with her sexuality and broke glass 276 00:19:13,840 --> 00:19:18,000 Speaker 1: ceilings in her professional life. But nineteen fifties brought changes 277 00:19:18,040 --> 00:19:21,719 Speaker 1: to America. While most of her adopted sons and daughters 278 00:19:21,760 --> 00:19:25,080 Speaker 1: remained loyal, the public began to see those of Chinese 279 00:19:25,080 --> 00:19:28,359 Speaker 1: heritage as part of the Red Scare. She wrote an 280 00:19:28,359 --> 00:19:32,040 Speaker 1: autobiography that sold few copies, where it would have likely 281 00:19:32,080 --> 00:19:35,920 Speaker 1: been a best seller a decade before. In nineteen fifty eight, 282 00:19:36,119 --> 00:19:39,159 Speaker 1: after feeling unwell for some time, she went to the doctor. 283 00:19:39,960 --> 00:19:44,119 Speaker 1: The resulting tests revealed a varying cancer. It would be 284 00:19:44,160 --> 00:19:46,880 Speaker 1: decades before the medical world would develop a more effective 285 00:19:46,880 --> 00:19:52,040 Speaker 1: treatment against this highly aggressive and deadly disease. Margaret didn't 286 00:19:52,080 --> 00:19:54,640 Speaker 1: need the doctors to tell her that surgery was just 287 00:19:54,880 --> 00:20:00,280 Speaker 1: borrowed time. She underwent the procedure anyway. After recouper eating, 288 00:20:00,440 --> 00:20:04,240 Speaker 1: Margaret went home to plan one last event. Her funeral. 289 00:20:05,760 --> 00:20:09,520 Speaker 1: Vice Admiral Charles Lockwood visited after her surgery and noted 290 00:20:09,560 --> 00:20:12,640 Speaker 1: that she was in good spirits. Her prognosis of five 291 00:20:12,680 --> 00:20:16,000 Speaker 1: months to live didn't bother her in the least. Margaret 292 00:20:16,080 --> 00:20:20,800 Speaker 1: Chung passed away on January five, ninety nine. Her sons 293 00:20:20,800 --> 00:20:23,840 Speaker 1: and daughters ensured that her funeral went precisely how she 294 00:20:23,880 --> 00:20:28,480 Speaker 1: had planned. Admiral Nimitz and his wife, Catherine, attended. The 295 00:20:28,520 --> 00:20:31,560 Speaker 1: Admiral's wife noted in her journal that hundreds of people 296 00:20:31,680 --> 00:20:34,080 Speaker 1: of all races and walks of life came to pay 297 00:20:34,119 --> 00:20:37,800 Speaker 1: their respects to Mom Chung and say their final goodbyes. 298 00:20:38,720 --> 00:20:43,520 Speaker 1: San Francisco's Mayor to admirals, including Nimmits, a couple of privates, 299 00:20:43,680 --> 00:20:47,239 Speaker 1: and an ensign were her paul bearers. They laid her 300 00:20:47,280 --> 00:20:52,200 Speaker 1: casket into her final resting place. Later, Admiral Lockwood wrote 301 00:20:52,240 --> 00:20:56,960 Speaker 1: one last tribute, God bless and rest her very beautiful soul. 302 00:20:57,640 --> 00:21:02,359 Speaker 1: There will never be another Mom Chung. There's more to 303 00:21:02,400 --> 00:21:05,359 Speaker 1: this story. Stick around after this brief sponsor break to 304 00:21:05,400 --> 00:21:16,320 Speaker 1: hear all about it. There's another Rose who became nearly 305 00:21:16,359 --> 00:21:19,800 Speaker 1: as famous as Rosie the Riveter, though for different reasons. 306 00:21:20,040 --> 00:21:23,760 Speaker 1: At least in the beginning. Iva Toguri was born on 307 00:21:23,840 --> 00:21:28,560 Speaker 1: Independence Day of nineteen sixteen. Her father, June, had immigrated 308 00:21:28,560 --> 00:21:34,520 Speaker 1: from Japan in eight Fumi. Her mother followed in. As 309 00:21:34,560 --> 00:21:38,359 Speaker 1: a child, Iva enjoyed her time as a girl scout. Later, 310 00:21:38,400 --> 00:21:41,600 Speaker 1: she turned her attention to education, receiving a degree in 311 00:21:41,680 --> 00:21:46,560 Speaker 1: zoology from the University of Southern California in ninety Iva's 312 00:21:46,600 --> 00:21:50,320 Speaker 1: life was full of family and friends and active social life, 313 00:21:50,880 --> 00:21:53,840 Speaker 1: but that changed when her aunt in Japan became ill 314 00:21:53,960 --> 00:21:58,199 Speaker 1: in ninety one and needed help recovering. Iva packed her 315 00:21:58,240 --> 00:22:01,280 Speaker 1: bags and boarded a ship from San Pedro with only 316 00:22:01,320 --> 00:22:04,920 Speaker 1: a certificate of identification as proof of her citizenship. When 317 00:22:04,920 --> 00:22:08,280 Speaker 1: her aunt recovered, Iva contacted the U. S. Vice Consul 318 00:22:08,400 --> 00:22:12,119 Speaker 1: in Japan for a passport to return home. The paperwork 319 00:22:12,280 --> 00:22:15,600 Speaker 1: was still in progress when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. The 320 00:22:15,680 --> 00:22:18,920 Speaker 1: Japanese government insisted that she renounced her U S citizenship. 321 00:22:19,280 --> 00:22:24,320 Speaker 1: Iva refused. As punishment, Iva was declared an enemy alien 322 00:22:25,400 --> 00:22:28,680 Speaker 1: without a war card, that is, a government issued card 323 00:22:28,720 --> 00:22:31,640 Speaker 1: that would have allowed her to receive food and other necessities. 324 00:22:31,960 --> 00:22:35,439 Speaker 1: Iva needed a job. The Domain News Agency offered her 325 00:22:35,520 --> 00:22:39,200 Speaker 1: position as a typist. Soon after, she learned that her 326 00:22:39,240 --> 00:22:42,000 Speaker 1: parents and other Japanese Americans had been taken to an 327 00:22:42,000 --> 00:22:46,520 Speaker 1: internment camp in Arizona. She also learned that Allied soldiers 328 00:22:46,520 --> 00:22:49,200 Speaker 1: had been taken to a Japanese prisoner of war camp 329 00:22:49,359 --> 00:22:53,120 Speaker 1: known for their horrific treatment. Iva took a second job 330 00:22:53,200 --> 00:22:57,280 Speaker 1: with the propagandist radio station Radio Tokyo. The station had 331 00:22:57,320 --> 00:23:01,760 Speaker 1: forced three prisoners, Australian Captain char Girl's cousins, American Captain 332 00:23:01,840 --> 00:23:06,040 Speaker 1: Wallace Ince, and Philippine Lieutenant Normando Reyes, to go on 333 00:23:06,119 --> 00:23:09,600 Speaker 1: air and demoralize American troops who might listen to their show, 334 00:23:09,880 --> 00:23:13,679 Speaker 1: called The Zero Hour. Iv A befriended the men and 335 00:23:13,800 --> 00:23:17,320 Speaker 1: smuggled them food. Unaware of the friendship, the station assigned 336 00:23:17,320 --> 00:23:20,000 Speaker 1: her to work on the show with the men. Going 337 00:23:20,040 --> 00:23:23,679 Speaker 1: by the pseudonym Orphan Anne or Orphan Annie, Iva played 338 00:23:23,760 --> 00:23:27,680 Speaker 1: music and assisted in a few comedy sketches. After shows 339 00:23:27,720 --> 00:23:31,800 Speaker 1: that received criticism for their poor English grammar, responsibility for 340 00:23:31,840 --> 00:23:36,000 Speaker 1: writing the scripts fell the cousins, Ins and Reyes. The 341 00:23:36,080 --> 00:23:38,920 Speaker 1: language barrier worked in the men's favor, and they took 342 00:23:38,920 --> 00:23:43,119 Speaker 1: to using double entendres and sarcasm in their scripts. Iva 343 00:23:43,200 --> 00:23:46,840 Speaker 1: also joined in telling any Allied forces listening that she 344 00:23:47,000 --> 00:23:50,919 Speaker 1: was their best enemy. In short, she told listeners that 345 00:23:51,000 --> 00:23:54,280 Speaker 1: she was on their side. Japanese officials never caught on. 346 00:23:54,760 --> 00:23:57,560 Speaker 1: Iva's voice became well known during the show's a year 347 00:23:57,600 --> 00:24:01,000 Speaker 1: and a half run, though her identity remained into mystery. 348 00:24:01,160 --> 00:24:05,359 Speaker 1: Troops began calling her and other unknown Japanese women propagandists 349 00:24:05,720 --> 00:24:12,439 Speaker 1: Tokyo rose In Iva married one Philippe Takino, who she 350 00:24:12,520 --> 00:24:16,320 Speaker 1: met through the station, and with the war over, Iva 351 00:24:16,400 --> 00:24:19,879 Speaker 1: looked forward to returning home. Though she had little money, 352 00:24:20,320 --> 00:24:23,439 Speaker 1: time was not on her side. She needed to get 353 00:24:23,520 --> 00:24:26,080 Speaker 1: home to her parents, and the US was looking for 354 00:24:26,160 --> 00:24:31,040 Speaker 1: radio propagandists, so when two reporters offered up two thousand 355 00:24:31,119 --> 00:24:35,800 Speaker 1: dollars for an interview with the mysterious Tokio, rose Iva answered. 356 00:24:36,560 --> 00:24:40,200 Speaker 1: She never received a penny, though, and US officials and 357 00:24:40,280 --> 00:24:44,520 Speaker 1: Yokohama quickly arrested her. They kept Iva in custody for 358 00:24:44,560 --> 00:24:48,120 Speaker 1: a year while General Douglas MacArthur's staff and the FBI 359 00:24:48,240 --> 00:24:52,359 Speaker 1: investigated her. Neither found any evidence that suggested she had 360 00:24:52,359 --> 00:24:57,080 Speaker 1: committed treason. Iva, now pregnant, was free to return home. 361 00:24:57,760 --> 00:25:00,840 Speaker 1: News for clearance and her interview detail allowing her attempts 362 00:25:00,880 --> 00:25:04,600 Speaker 1: to help the POWs and Allied forces had spread across 363 00:25:04,640 --> 00:25:09,360 Speaker 1: the country, but radio personality and gossip columnist Walter Winchell 364 00:25:09,800 --> 00:25:13,960 Speaker 1: launched a campaign against her. His rhetorics sold plenty of 365 00:25:14,000 --> 00:25:17,199 Speaker 1: newspapers and gained him the support of the American Legion. 366 00:25:17,640 --> 00:25:21,280 Speaker 1: Even those in General Douglas's army of counter intelligence couldn't 367 00:25:21,280 --> 00:25:25,200 Speaker 1: convince them of her innocence, Winchell and the Legion pushed 368 00:25:25,240 --> 00:25:29,760 Speaker 1: to try Iva on US soil. On September twenty five, 369 00:25:31,440 --> 00:25:36,080 Speaker 1: Iva was arrested on eight counts of treason. The prosecution 370 00:25:36,160 --> 00:25:39,719 Speaker 1: found Japanese Americans who claimed Iva had bad mouth to 371 00:25:39,720 --> 00:25:44,040 Speaker 1: the United States during her broadcasts. The testimony didn't match 372 00:25:44,119 --> 00:25:47,760 Speaker 1: the broadcasts, but that didn't matter to the court. Neither 373 00:25:47,800 --> 00:25:50,440 Speaker 1: did the rumor that the witnesses had been coached. Her 374 00:25:50,480 --> 00:25:53,439 Speaker 1: citizenship was revoked and the court sentenced her at a 375 00:25:53,480 --> 00:25:56,640 Speaker 1: time in the Federal Reformatory for Women in West Virginia. 376 00:25:57,119 --> 00:26:02,000 Speaker 1: After six years and two months, she was granted role. Afterward, 377 00:26:02,240 --> 00:26:05,800 Speaker 1: I've relocated to Chicago and worked for her father, though 378 00:26:05,960 --> 00:26:10,399 Speaker 1: she could never restore her reputation, at least not until 379 00:26:10,520 --> 00:26:14,720 Speaker 1: nineteen sixty nine, when Sixty Minutes investigated her story of 380 00:26:14,760 --> 00:26:18,879 Speaker 1: prompting the change she saw President gerald Ford pardoned her 381 00:26:19,080 --> 00:26:24,639 Speaker 1: in and in two thousand and six, just months before 382 00:26:24,640 --> 00:26:28,199 Speaker 1: her death, the World War Two Veterans Committee presented the 383 00:26:28,320 --> 00:26:31,919 Speaker 1: ninety year old Iva with the Edward J. Hurleyhy Citizenship 384 00:26:31,960 --> 00:26:43,840 Speaker 1: Award for her courage, spirit and unyielding patriotism. American Shadows 385 00:26:43,960 --> 00:26:47,560 Speaker 1: is hosted by Lauren Vogelbaum. This episode was written by 386 00:26:47,560 --> 00:26:51,720 Speaker 1: Michelle Muto, researched by Ali Steed, and produced by Miranda 387 00:26:51,800 --> 00:26:56,680 Speaker 1: Hawkins and Trevor Young, with executive producers Aaron Mackey, Alex Williams, 388 00:26:56,720 --> 00:27:00,159 Speaker 1: and Matt Frederick. To learn more about the show at 389 00:27:00,160 --> 00:27:02,919 Speaker 1: grim and mil dot com. From more podcasts from I 390 00:27:03,000 --> 00:27:06,879 Speaker 1: Heeart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or 391 00:27:06,920 --> 00:27:13,320 Speaker 1: wherever you get your podcasts. H