Kenjiro Akune oral history interview, January 9, 1999

Akune begins with describing his childhood and family. He moved to Japan at the age of ten, after his mother passed away. When he turned fifteen, he returned to the United States to help his father.

Akune recalls his experiences on a dairy farm life before the attack on Pearl Harbor. He describes the affects of Pearl Harbor on the Japanese American community. He also describes his experience at the Merced Temporary Detention Facility and…

Akune discusses his reasoning for volunteering to serve in the military. He discusses Military Intelligence Service Language School at Camp Savage, Mississippi before being shipped out for basic training.

Akune describes his basic training at Camp Shelby, Mississippi and his life on a liberty ship before landing in Perth, Australia, his assignment working on a propaganda project and his duties as a part of a propaganda project and interrogating…

Akune discusses his experiences interrogating Japanese Prisoners of War (POWs) and assisting the British Army with "flushing" Japanese soldiers and situations in which he faced discrimination in the military.

Akune continues his experiences in the Military Intelligence Service (MIS) as an interrogator. He discusses some of his experiences interrogating soldiers and also talking to "comfort girls." He describes escorting Prisoners of War (POWs) from China…

Akune discusses his service during the Post-war Occupation of Japan -- he was a translator for the war crime trials. He introduces his wife and family. He ends by sharing a message to future generations and the importance of the Nisei veteran story.