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Satoru C. Shimoda

ASQDE President - 1978-1980

Satoru C. "John" Shimoda was the 15th President of the American Society of Questioned Document Examiners.​


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Mr. Shimoda was born in Oregon in 1919.  During World War II, he served in the highly decorated 442nd Infantry Regiment, which was made up almost entirely of second-generation Japanese soldiers. 

After the war, he worked in Army counter-intelligence and later as a criminal investigator. 

​Mr. Shimoda began his questioned document examination career in the U.S. Army Crime Laboratory in the 1950's. He also trained with Albert D. Osborn and Frank Murphy. 

​Upon retirement from the Army, he became the Assistant Director of the United States Postal Inspection Service Western Region Crime Laboratory and was later appointed as Director of the laboratory.  Among his many major cases was the famous San Francisco "Zodiac" case.  He retired in 1999 after 32 years with the postal laboratory.
Mr. Shimoda was a Life Member of the ASQDE. 

He was one of the first Diplomates of the American Board of Forensic Document Examiners.  He was a Retired Fellow of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences and was also a Life Member of the California Division of the International Association for Identification. 

In 2007, John Shimoda received the Albert S. Osborn Award of Excellence in recognition of his distinguished career and the many contributions he made to both the ASQDE and the profession as a whole.

Mr. Shimoda passed away in 2020, just a few months after his 100th birthday.

 
Derived in part from "Satoru C. 'John' Shimoda: The 2007 Albert S. Osborn Award Recipient," by Robert J. Muehlberger and Frank E. Franck, published in The Society News, November 2007, and "Crimelab Sleuth Turns in His Badge After 55 Years of Service," by Sharon Green Patton, published in the March/April 2000 issue of Postal Life magazine.

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The American Society of Questioned Document Examiners is a nonprofit professional membership organization of forensic document examiners and specialists from all over the world. 

​The ASQDE was founded in 1942 and is the oldest and most prestigious organization of its kind. 

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  • About ASQDE
    • ASQDE Awards >
      • Albert S. Osborn Award
      • Linton Godown Award
    • Bylaws & Code of Ethics
    • Executive Committee
    • Goals & Legacy
    • Origin of the ASQDE
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Contact
  • Conference
    • 2025 Conference
  • Find An Expert
    • Experts in the U.S.
    • Experts outside the U.S.
  • Membership
    • Member List
    • Join the ASQDE
    • Member Log-in
  • Journal of the ASQDE
  • QD Resources
    • FDE Job Openings
    • Hunter Handwriting Book
    • Haas Typewriter Atlas
    • Resource Center
    • Forensic Organizations
    • Topics of Interest
    • Digital Library
    • Educational Calendar
    • FDE Only (password required)