Accession Inventory of the Joseph Frank Sartiano papers
Finding aid prepared by Jessica Yu
Hoover Institution Library and Archives
© 2022
434 Galvez Mall
Stanford University
Stanford, CA 94305-6003
hoover-library-archives@stanford.edu
Title: Joseph Frank Sartiano papers
Date (inclusive): 1942-1949
Collection Number: 2019C96
Contributing Institution: Hoover Institution Library and Archives
Language of Material: In English
Physical Description:
2 manuscript boxes
(0.83 Linear Feet)
Abstract: 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.
Creator:
Sartiano, Joseph
Frank, 1913-2017
Physical Location: 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.
For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Library &
Archives.
Acquired by the Hoover Institution Library & Archives in 2022.
[Identification of item], Joseph Frank Sartiano papers, [Box no., Folder no. or
title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
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.
Scope and Content of Collection
The collection is composed of Class B and C WWII Tribunal investigation reports;
court cases of the General Headquarters Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers Case
reports on the murder of American fliers on the Island of Ishigake, Okinawa;
inventories of movable objects of Japanese facilities used during WWII by dissolved
organizations; photographs of Sartiano's personal life in Japan and war criminal
executions; interviews of Japanese WWII war criminals in Yokohama, Japan, including
interviews with Japanese officers, medical personnel and others; and personal
documents of Sartiano's military history and his application for employment with the
new Central Intelligence Agency.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
War crime trials -- Japan
War criminals -- Japan
World War, 1939-1945 -- Atrocities
-- Japan
Intelligence officers
Interviews
Photographs
Supreme Commander for the
Allied Powers
Accession Inventory
An accession inventory is a basic description of an archival collection for
which a detailed finding aid has yet to be created. No attempt at
intellectual arrangement has been made. The depth of description varies
depending on the format of the materials and the amount of pre-existing
description received when the materials were acquired. A collection might
also be labeled an "Accession Inventory" if it is fully digital and the
digital files have yet to be processed.
Paper material
box 1
box 2
1946-1949
This box includes investigation reports, transcripts of testimonies,
legal documents, and photographs. The following is a list of
original enclosure titles contained in the box: "Personal Reports of
Major Sartiano, Chief, Fukuoka Branch Office"; "Murder of three
American fliers on Ishi Ka-ke Jima, Reports by Dyer, Sartiano, Lynn,
Bardard. Case Closed, 41 sentenced to death by hanging at Yokohama,
Case No. 876."