Goerner theorized that Earhart and Noonan ran out of fuel, crashed on Mili Atoll
Earhart was unhurt and Noonan was but Earhart aided him
On July 13, 1937, according to Goerner, the two were taken to shore by a Japanese fishing boat, then later to Saipan, which is the Japanese military headquarters in the Pacific, where they were questioned and later executed
Saipan
Executed
The Saipan theory states that Earhart and Noonan were forced to land near Saipan, when they landed, they were met by Japanese soldiers where they were taken, arrested, and executed as spies
However, this entire theory is based off the testimony of one woman who saw a white woman wearing men’s clothes some time before WWII
Although there has been no exact proof or positively identified corpses, there were 72 different people that claimed that Earhart and Noonan were executed in Saipan
According to many Saipanese, Earhart and Noonan were executed outside of the prison at Garapan as spies, but no one interviewed has claimed to witness the executions
Why would they? Earhart would have been too valuable of an asset to executed
Even though for Earhart as a citizen, if she were caught being a spy then she would be on her own
Josephine Blanco Akiyama, a Sapian native, claimed that she saw a plane crash in a harbor and she saw soldiers leading two passengers—a man and a woman—into the nearby woods where she heard two shots fired.
When American soldier invaded Saipan in 1944, they found a number of photographs of Earhart, including one of Earhart standing next to a Japanese airplane and another where she appeared next to a Japanese soldier
All of these pictures were given to the U.S. government where they either disappeared or became classified
Joaquina Cabrera was interviewed by Goerner and she had seen a “white lady and a man”
Prisoner
Possible reasons why Japanese held on to Earhart: hostage, pawn, negotiating or trading chip, or propaganda purposes
There is evidence that Earhart survived past July 2, 1937 (pictures of Earhart with Japanese and planes)
Irene Craigmile
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An alternate explanation claims that both Earhart and Noonan were freed into China, where they were repatriated to the U.S. and she underwent an identity change (Irene Craigmile Bolam)
While in Japan, there is a theory that Earhart adopted the name Irene Craigmile
Tokyo Rosa
On July 12, 1949, Iva Ikuko Toguri was arrested and charged for treason as Tokyo Rose
Joe Klass believed that Earhart was given the code name “Tokyo Rose” by the Japanese, who was then used as blackmail the United States into signing a treaty for Japan. Roosevelt denied the blackmail and caused her to receive the same treatment as all American spies captured by a foreign power—she was abandoned by her country
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While Earhart was on Saipan, she was referred to as “Tokyo Rosa
This was a term that meant “American spy lady”
Following the European D-Day, a woman’s voice was often heard broadcasting false information from Tokyo to American GIs when Japanese resistance was about to collapse
This voice was known throughout the Pacific as “Tokyo Rose”
Iva Ikuko Toguri D’Aquino was put on trial for eight overt actions towards the U.S.
When D’Aquino was convicted of treason as “Tokyo Rose”, she said that American POWs were forced to work in the station where she did, and there is a theory that Earhart had been one of the POWs but there is very little evidence. They were coerced to prepare and perform tasks in the broadcasting station
Even if they were not executed on Saipan, there is some compelling evidence that they were transported from Saipan and were held prisoner
Most of the evidence in the Earhart case has to deal with what someone says that they saw or heard, or what they heard from someone else talking about how they saw or heard something
In the years following her disappearance, radio operators claimed that they heard her calling for help after she landed
One of the most persistent rumors was that Earhart was a prisoner of the Japanese after the attack on Pearl Harbor
During World War II, people in the Pacific claimed to have seen Earhart in Japanese custody
Goerner heard from someone that they recalled seeing the Electra being destroyed on purpose and another person claimed that she was a prisoner until she died of dysentery and Noonan was executed
A journalist, Fred Goerner, went to Saipan and interviewed Natives. A few claimed that they saw two American pilots taken captive by the Japanese. However, these sources said that Earhart was not executed, she was held prisoner for months before dying of an illness