Patrick Aki oral history interview, part 1 of 5, February 25, 2011

Aki begins the interview talking about his family, both of his parents were Nisei and had decided to settle in Kauai, his father being a politician, while his mother was a schoolteacher. As a child, he would grow up liking geography, while his brother would be the disciplinarian of the family. Growing up, he would sometimes be a golf caddy for extra money so he could hang out with his friends, never really dealing with discrimination except for a couple of incidences. After this, he would be taken to Honolulu to attend St. Louis High School, but would end up heading back to Kauai to finish up his schooling. After this, he would begin working on the pineapple cannery, before heading back to Honolulu to find other work. He would then get a job with a construction company on Wake Island, where he would receive a letter from his father that a war was coming between the United States and Japan and if it happens, he should do his duty and join the Marines.

video/m4v

0:55:17

2011OH1032_01_Aki

http://www.goforbroke.org/oral_histories/mp4/1032-Aki-Patrick-1.m4v

1924 Feb 20

Yes