Dates: 1912-1993
The papers of John G. Brannon consist of legal documents, memoranda, correspondence, printed materials, reports, tables, maps, photographs, and other items relating to Brannon's work as a defense counsel at the Japanese War Crimes trials after World War II.
Size: 7 linear feet, 10 linear inches (about 14,400 pages).
Access: Open.
Copyright: The donor gave to the U.S. government her copyrights in this material and in any other material received by the U.S. government and maintained in a depository administered by the National Archives and Records Administration. Documents created by U.S. government officials in the course of their duties are in the public domain. Copyright interest in other documents presumably belongs to the creators of those documents, or their heirs.
Processed by: Jim Armistead (2012)
[ Top of the page | Administrative Information | Biographical Sketch | Collection Description | Series Descriptions | Folder Title List ]
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1913 (August 8) |
Born John Gregory Brannon, Kansas City, Missouri. |
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1935 |
Received Bachelor's degrees in Education, Physics, Chemistry and Political Science, Central Missouri State Teacher's College. |
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1939 |
Doctor of Jurisprudence, Kansas City School of Law. |
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1941 |
Chief Deputy, Civil Division, Jackson County (Missouri) Sheriff's Office. |
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1946-1948 |
Defense Counsel, International Military Tribunal for the Far East. |
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1949 |
Assistant Missouri Attorney General |
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1950 |
Chief of Missouri Attorney General's Antitrust Division |
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c. 1950-1985 |
Lawyer for Dorsey, Brannon and Dorsey |
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1987 (August 13) |
Died, Kansas City, Missouri |
The John G. Brannon Papers include legal documents, maps, memoranda, correspondence, newspaper and magazine clippings, photographs, and other items primarily related to his role as a defense attorney for Japanese defendants during the Tokyo War Crimes Trial which was held after World War II. The papers are arranged alphabetically in a single series.
Much of the collection consists of documents that were compiled as evidence at the Tokyo trial, which was held before the International Military Tribunal for the Far East. Also included are lists of exhibits, press clippings, correspondence, and other materials relating to the trial. There are files in the collection for Japanese defendants whom Mr. Brannon represented before the tribunal, such as Admiral Osami Nagano (who died during the trial), Admiral Shigetaro Shimada, Koichi Kido, and Shigenori Togo.
Also included in the collection is a comprehensive list of Japanese military and civilian leaders before and during World War II and a complete list of Japanese warships, including those built during the war. Some of the documents refer to the actions these warships were involved in as well as their final dispositions. There are specifications of many of the major warships used by both the Japanese and the United States during the war. Several files in the collection contain detailed accounts in both Japanese and English of the death of Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto when the airplane he was on was shot down by United States fighter planes in 1943. Also included is a detailed set of Japanese military plans which show various submarine and mine-laying operations during the war. Testimony concerning Japan's pre-war preparations, reasons for going to war, and prisoner of war (POW) policies are included as well. There are photographs and other materials in the collection concerning a set of knives which were presented by Admiral Yamamoto to his staff as gifts of gratitude during the war.
Mr. Brannon maintained correspondence with both friends and former defendants after he returned to the United States following the trial. There are both letters and Christmas cards sent to Brannon from his Japanese friends. Copies of several letters which Japanese people sent to General Douglas MacArthur thanking him for his leadership as Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers (SCAP) in Japan are included. Correspondence between Brannon and Japanese Prince Nobuhito Takamatsu is included. Much of the information in this collection was recorded in Japanese.
There are five photograph albums in the collection containing photographs of the different lawyers and defendants who were involved in the IMTFE. Included is a photograph of Mr. Brannon with Japanese Generals Hideki Tojo and Kenryo Sato which was autographed by all three men. The original photographs in this collection have been transferred to the Truman Library's audiovisual collection. A large scroll with a thank-you message from Admiral Shimada has been transferred to the museum's collection.
More information about war crimes trials can be found at the Harry S. Truman Library in the papers of Harry S. Truman (Official File), Katherine Fite Lincoln, Samuel I. Rosenman, and John C. Young.
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Container Nos. |
Series |
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1-18 |
SUBJECT FILE, 1912-1993 Legal documents, maps, memoranda, correspondence, newspaper and magazine clippings, photographs, and other items. Arranged alphabetically. |
Box 1
- American Fair Trade Council
- Articles
- Attorney General
- Bill for the Partial Amendment of the Civil Code
- Blueprints
- Business Cards
- Christmas Cards, 1959-1976
- Christmas Cards, Undated
- Clippings
- Clippings, 1947-1948
Box 2
- Clippings, 1948-1949
- Concurring Opinion by Judge from Philippines
- Conferences Regarding Procedure Regarding Summation
- Correspondence [1 of 2]
- Correspondence [2 of 2]
- Criminal Conspiracy in the Japanese War Crimes Trials
- Curriculum Vitae of Defendants
- Defense Division I
- Defense Division II
- Defense Division III
- Defense Division IV
- Defense Division V
Box 3
- Defense Documents, 100-199
- Defense Documents, 200-299 [1 of 2]
- Defense Documents, 200-299 [2 of 2]
- Defense Documents, 300-399
- Defense Documents, 400-499
- Defense Documents, 500-599 [1 of 2]
- Defense Documents, 500-599 [2 of 2]
Box 4
- Defense Documents, 600-699 [1 of 2]
- Defense Documents, 600-699 [2 of 2]
- Defense Documents, 700-799
- Defense Documents, 800-899
- Defense Documents, 900-999
- Defense Documents, 1000-1099
- Defense Documents, 1100-1199
Box 5
- Defense Documents, 1200-1299
- Defense Documents, 1400-1499
- Defense Documents, 1500-1599
- Defense Documents, 1600-1699
- Defense Documents, 1700-1799
- Defense Documents, 1800-1899
- Defense Documents, 1900-1999 [1 of 2]
- Defense Documents, 1900-1999 [2 of 2]
- Defense Documents, 2000-2099
Box 6
- Defense Documents, 2100-2199
- Defense Documents, 2200-2299
- Defense Documents, 2400-2499
- Defense Documents, 2500-2599
- Defense Documents, 2600-2699
- Defense Documents, 2700-2799
- Defense Documents, 2800-2899
- Defense Documents, 2900-2999
- Defense Documents, 3000-3099 [empty folder]
- Defense Documents, 3100-3199
- Dissenting Judgment of the Member from France
- Dockets and Chronology of Proceedings and Pleadings
Box 7
- Documents, 1-999 [1 of 2]
- Documents, 1-999 [2 of 2]
- Documents, 1000-1999 [1 of 3]
- Documents, 1000-1999 [2 of 3]
- Documents, 1000-1999 [3 of 3]
- Documents 2000-2999 [1 of 2]
- Documents 2000-2999 [2 of 2]
Box 8
- Documents, 3000-3999
- Documents, 4000-4999
- Documents, 6000-6999 [1 of 2]
- Documents, 6000-6999 [2 of 2]
- Documents, 7000-7999
- Documents, 9000-9999
- Enomoto, Juji
- Errata Sheets
- Exhibits
Box 9
- Exhibits Index [1 of 3]
- Exhibits Index [2 of 3]
- Exhibits Index [3 of 3]
- Filing Codes
- Hague and Paris Conventions
- Hague Convention III
- Handwritten Documents
- Indictments
Box 10
- International Military Tribunal Documents [1 of 5]
- International Military Tribunal Documents [2 of 5]
- International Military Tribunal Documents [3 of 5]
- International Military Tribunal Documents [4 of 5]
- International Military Tribunal Documents [5 of 5]
- International Military Tribunal Judgment
Box 11
- International Military Tribunal Overall Conspiracy [1 of 2]
- International Military Tribunal Overall Conspiracy [2 of 2]
- Isobe, Taro
- Iwaski, Asashichi
- Japanese Cabinet Personnel
- Japanese Language Documents
- Kansase, Thomas
- Kido, Koichi
- Kojima, Toshitsugu
- Kondo, Shinsuke
- Kuwabara, Yoshiki
- Legal Documents
- Manuscripts
- Memoirs of Prince Konoye
- Memorabilia
Box 12
- Memoranda [1 of 2]
- Memoranda [2 of 2]
- Metalic Moving Eyes
- Motions, Arguments, Decisions, Objections Index
- Mukawa, Nisaburo
- Muto, Akira
- Nagano, Osami [1 of 2]
- Nagano, Osami [2 of 2]
- Nagashima, Yoshigi
- Names Mentioned in Interrogations
- Nomura, Kichisaburo
- Obara, Junichi
Box 13
- On the Formation of the Anti-Japanese Joint Encirclement by Great Britain, the United States and the Netherlands
- Opening Statement of the Pacific Phase
- Opinion of Judge from Netherlands
- Order of Proof
- Personal
- Personnel Directory - IMTFE, IPS, Defense
- Photo Albums [1 of 5]
- Photo Albums [2 of 5]
Box 14
- Photo Albums [3 of 5]
- Photo Albums [4 of 5]
- Photo Albums [5 of 5]
- Photos
- Printed Material
- Prisoners of War
- Progress in General of the 2nd Preliminary Conference
- Pruett, Joe
- Reply of Prosecution to Defense Summation
- Research Material [1 of 2]
Box 15
- Research Material [1 of 2]
- Richardson, James
- Sawamoto, Yorio
- Separate Opinion of the President
- Shiba, Katosuo
- Shimada, Shigetaro [1 of 6]
- Shimada, Shigetaro [2 of 6]
- Shimada, Shigetaro [3 of 6]
Box 16
- Shimada, Shigetaro [4 of 6]
- Shimada, Shigetaro [5 of 6]
- Shimada, Shigetaro [6 of 6]
- Specifications for Japanese and United States Warships
- Stamp Collection
- Supreme Court
- Suzuki, P. I.
- Suzuki, Suguru
- Takahashi, [Yoshitsugu]
- Takamatsu, Prince Nobuhito
- Takata, Toshitane
Box 17
- Testimony Concerning the Death and Disposition of Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto
- Togo, Shigenori
- Tojo, Hideki
- Tomioka, Sadatoshi
- Tomita, Kenji
- Totsuka, Michitaro
- Toyoda, Soemu
- Toyoda, Soemu-Transcript [1 of 3]
- Toyoda, Soemu-Transcript [2 of 3]
- Toyoda, Soemu-Transcript [3 of 3]
- Toys and Dolls
Box 18
- Transcripts of Proceedings
- Treaties
- Wakamatsu, Makato
- Watanabe, Yasuji
- Wenneker, Paul
- Witnesses
- Yamamoto, Chikao
- Yano, Shikazo
- Yoshida, Hidemi