August 14, 1944

This is the best known of her broadcasts, having less reception interference and more availability than any other known recordings of "The Zero Hour".

August 15, 1944

This broadcast suffered more broadcast interference and media damage than other broadcasts of this period, but though not completely remastered, it has instead been specially enhanced digitally for optimum volume and RealAudio playback.

August 16, 1944

This broadcast was lost in the maze of entries on the shelves of the National Archives until I chanced on it. It's the best example known of her actively and often exhuberantly sabotaging her broadcasts (perhaps that's why it was so hard to find?). One of her best, though the original was in terrible condition. This soundfile was made from a partially restored version of my fully remastered broadcast - a good third of it was nearly inaudible in the original, while most of the rest was quite overmodulated. It's an extremely topical historical artifact - it handles the Battle of Saipan during some of the worst of the fighting with a skit that Iva makes into one of her most memorable sabotages.

September 10, 1944

This broadcast was made possible through a copy provided by Dafydd Dyar of the Sayonara, "Tokyo Rose" -- Hello Again, "Orphan Ann" Page. The original suffered from much groove deterioration, though largely unscratched, and recorded using high quality equipment, making it one of the best available recordings of a "Zero Hour" broadcast. Reception too is better than average.

June 15, 1945

Though the source media was nearly all inaudible, this broadcast too has been brought back to life after having been digitally enhanced for optimum volume and RealAudio playback. It is the first broadcast recording available of "The Zero Hour" after Radio Tokyo was reduced back to broadcasting on two rather than three shortwave bands. It is also representative of the show's format during this period, which has adopted a more plaintive tone and overt propaganda message. Iva, however, continues to keep her honor without stain - this is the first recording available of her broadcasting after having been forced from her virtual asylum at Sophia University Church College.

August 9, 1945

Broadcast three days after the dropping of the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, and on the very same day as the Nagasaki atomic bombing, this "Zero Hour" broadcast tries & clearly fails to put a cheerful face on the show. There is even mention of the atomic bomb during a comic skit with P.O.W. "Joe" that attempts to make light of it, and may in fact be the first recorded mention of the Bomb on Radio Tokyo. The show is even more plaintive than that of June 15th, and sounds both rushed and threadbare. Iva, on the other hand, sounds far less strained than her fellow broadcasters - she knew that the end of the war was near & that her boys were going to win it. Her segue to a Kaye Keyser medley of songs about mothers and fathers is noteworthy - Iva's mother passed away en route to an American Internment Camp while Iva was stuck in Japan, which Iva learned of from a monitored American broadcast. Listen to her voice during this segue. Digitally enhanced for optimum volume and RealAudio playback from what may be the worst deteriorated of available "Zero Hour" recordings.

August 11, 1945

When peace is mere days away, one can afford to be flippant, and Iva is, as she "oils 'The Wheels of Industry' for just a few more minutes". There is nonetheless a strange mix of tension and exhaustion apparent throughout the broadcast. There are eerie moments such as when the M. C. kids P.O.W. "Joe" about not having to fire him again soon - during the closing days of the war, the execution of the Allied P.O.W. broadcasters appeared imminent. Cheek is still present too, especially during news commentary on "the new type bomb". This is the last known recording of "Orphan Ann" on "The Zero Hour", and one of the last "Zero Hour" broadcasts. Digitally enhanced for optimum volume and RealAudio playback from one of the least deteriorated of available "Zero Hour" recordings.






Wavs from "The Zero Hour"