Akio Konoshima oral history interview, July 21, 2009

Konoshima begins the interview speaking about his family background. As his father came over to the United States, Akio was born in Japan and brought over to California as an infant. They would move to Mountain View in northern California and lease…

Konoshima discusses the reasons for attending University of Wisconsin after the camps and his sister also attending. Next, he speaks about the effects of being born in Japan and not having the same rights that even Japanese Americans had, such as…

Konoshima begins by speaking about his time in occupied Japan. After spending time in the American concentration camps, he would be shipped to Tokyo as part of the Headquarters team. When arriving in Tokyo, he would remember the destruction of…

Konoshima discusses how he ended up joining the Army, despite not being an American citizen. He would not become a citizen until the McCarron-Walter Act would allow him to do so. Next, he discusses the importance of becoming a U.S. citizen and what…