This year marks the 70th anniversary of Marilyn’s whirlwind trip to Korea, as commemorated in an illustrated feature for Woman’s World.
Marilyn arrived at the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo on February 2nd, 1954, with husband Joe DiMaggio and his fellow baseball legend, Francis ‘Lefty’ O’Doul. Just two weeks after Marilyn and Joe’s surprise wedding in San Francisco, he and Lefty would be training baseball teams throughout Japan.
However, Marilyn quickly became the centre of attention for the press and crowds of fans. She visited Brady Air Base in Fukuoka on February 9th.
On February 15th, Marilyn began her 4-day tour of U.S. military bases in South Korea.
Marilyn with Cpl. Al Guastafeste, of Uniondale, Long Island, a pianist who led ‘Anything Goes,’ the five-piece band that played during her Korea appearances.
Marilyn in her makeshift dressing room at K-47 Air Force base in Chuncheon, Korea; and striking an alluring pose onstage.
Marilyn tries her hand at baseball with brothers Ernest and Manuel Abril of the Golden Dragons military team. Back home in California, the Abril Twins also played with the Colton Mercuries.
Above, at top: Marilyn serves lunch in a mess line to PFC James R. Goggin of Lesterville, Missouri, an army photographer. Next to Marilyn is Jean O’Doul, who accompanied her to Korea while their husbands remained in Japan.
And below: Marilyn was treated to some cake in the 2nd Infantry Division mess hall, near Seoul, on February 18, with Sgt. Harold Crawford of Columbus, Ohio to her right.
The Marilyn Report 