Colonel Joseph "Joe" Frank Sartiano (1913-2017) was a OSS/CIA officer. The Joseph Frank Sartiano papers contains Class B and C WWII Tribunal investigation reports, court cases, inventories, photographs of Sartiano's personal life in Japan and war criminal executions, interviews of Japanese WWII war criminals, and personal documents of Sartiano's military history.

Colonel Joseph "Joe" Frank Sartiano (25 October 1913 - 9 February 2017) was a OSS/CIA officer born to Italian immigrant parents. As an OSS officer, he worked behind enemy lines, orchestrating and carrying out partisan activities, rescuing downed Allied pilots and leading both American and British units on intelligence gathering patrols in Italy. For his actions, Joe was awarded the United States Silver Star and from the United Kingdom, The British Military Cross, both for gallantry in action. In addition, he was awarded the Bronze Star and the Combat Infantry Badge. At the end of hostilities in Europe, Joe volunteered for service in Japan. Based upon his OSS experience in Italy, he was recruited to join the team of American military officers investigating Japanese war crimes, and spent the next five years living in Japan conducting interviews and investigations that led to the prosecution of war crime offenders. In early 1950, after returning to the United States, Joe was asked to become a member of the recently established Central Intelligence Agency which sought former OSS officers to join its ranks. As a result of his work in Saigon for the CIA, he was awarded the South Vietnamese National Police Medal of Honor and Congressional Gold Medal for his participation in the OSS. Sartiano passed away at the age of 103.

2 manuscript boxes (0.83 Linear Feet)

For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Library & Archives.

The collection is open for research; materials must be requested in advance via our reservation system. If there are audiovisual or digital media material in the collection, they must be reformatted before providing access.