1 00:00:06,506 --> 00:00:09,688 There are many stories that can be told about World War II, 2 00:00:09,688 --> 00:00:12,137 from the tragic to the inspring. 3 00:00:12,137 --> 00:00:15,017 But perhaps one of the most heartrending experiences 4 00:00:15,017 --> 00:00:17,494 was that of the Akune family, 5 00:00:17,494 --> 00:00:23,272 divided by the war against each other and against their own identities. 6 00:00:23,272 --> 00:00:25,880 Ichiro Akune and his wife Ukeyey 7 00:00:25,880 --> 00:00:29,473 immigrated to American from Japan in 1918 8 00:00:29,473 --> 00:00:31,108 in search of opportunity, 9 00:00:31,108 --> 00:00:34,609 opening a small grocery store in Central California 10 00:00:34,609 --> 00:00:36,634 and raising nine children. 11 00:00:36,634 --> 00:00:39,591 But when Mrs. Akune died in 1933, 12 00:00:39,591 --> 00:00:42,224 the children were sent to live with relatives in Japan, 13 00:00:42,224 --> 00:00:45,342 their father following soon after. 14 00:00:45,342 --> 00:00:47,366 Though the move was a difficult adjustment 15 00:00:47,366 --> 00:00:50,539 after having been born and raised in America, 16 00:00:50,539 --> 00:00:54,619 the oldest son, Harry, formed a close bond with his Grand Uncle, 17 00:00:54,619 --> 00:00:59,212 who taught him the Japanese language, culture and values. 18 00:00:59,212 --> 00:01:02,101 Nevertheless, as soon as Harry and his brother Ken 19 00:01:02,101 --> 00:01:03,966 were old enough to work, 20 00:01:03,966 --> 00:01:06,692 they returned to the country they considered home, 21 00:01:06,692 --> 00:01:09,104 settling near Los Angeles. 22 00:01:09,104 --> 00:01:15,344 But then, December 7, 1941, the attack on Pearl Harbor. 23 00:01:15,344 --> 00:01:16,883 Now at war with Japan, 24 00:01:16,883 --> 00:01:19,636 the United States government did not trust the loyalty 25 00:01:19,636 --> 00:01:25,548 of those citizens who had family or ancestral ties to the enemy country. 26 00:01:25,548 --> 00:01:31,192 In 1942, about 120,000 Japanese Americans living on the West Coast 27 00:01:31,192 --> 00:01:32,863 were stripped of their civil rights 28 00:01:32,863 --> 00:01:36,722 and forcibly relocated to internment camps, 29 00:01:36,722 --> 00:01:40,256 even though most of them, like Harry and Ken, were Nisei, 30 00:01:40,256 --> 00:01:44,102 American or dual citizens who had been born in the US 31 00:01:44,102 --> 00:01:46,578 to Japanese immigrant parents. 32 00:01:46,578 --> 00:01:50,982 The brothers not only had very limited contact with their family in Japan, 33 00:01:50,982 --> 00:01:56,017 but found themselves confined to a camp in a remote part of Colorado. 34 00:01:56,017 --> 00:01:57,822 But their story took another twist 35 00:01:57,822 --> 00:02:01,448 when recruiters from the US Army's military intelligence service 36 00:02:01,448 --> 00:02:06,174 arrived at the camp looking for Japanese-speaking volunteers. 37 00:02:06,174 --> 00:02:09,126 Despite their treatment by the government, 38 00:02:09,126 --> 00:02:12,179 Harry and Ken jumped at the chance to leave the camp 39 00:02:12,179 --> 00:02:15,676 and prove their loyalty as American citizens. 40 00:02:15,676 --> 00:02:17,341 Having been schooled in Japan, 41 00:02:17,341 --> 00:02:18,923 they soon began their service, 42 00:02:18,923 --> 00:02:20,914 translating captured documents, 43 00:02:20,914 --> 00:02:23,279 interrogating Japanese soldiers, 44 00:02:23,279 --> 00:02:26,107 and producing Japanese language propaganda 45 00:02:26,107 --> 00:02:29,869 aimed at persuading enemy forces to surrender. 46 00:02:29,869 --> 00:02:32,763 The brothers' work was invaluable to the war effort, 47 00:02:32,763 --> 00:02:35,238 providing vital strategic information 48 00:02:35,238 --> 00:02:38,409 about the size and location of Japanese forces. 49 00:02:38,409 --> 00:02:42,972 But they still faced discrimination and mistrust from their fellow soldiers. 50 00:02:42,972 --> 00:02:44,233 Harry recalled an instance 51 00:02:44,233 --> 00:02:47,403 where his combat gear was mysteriously misplaced 52 00:02:47,403 --> 00:02:50,999 just prior to parachuting into enemy territory, 53 00:02:50,999 --> 00:02:54,503 with the white officer reluctant to give him a weapon. 54 00:02:54,503 --> 00:02:57,780 Nevertheless, both brothers continued to serve loyally 55 00:02:57,780 --> 00:03:00,222 through the end of the war. 56 00:03:00,222 --> 00:03:06,422 But Harry and Ken were not the only Akune brothers fighting in the Pacific. 57 00:03:06,422 --> 00:03:08,820 Unbeknownst to them, two younger brothers, 58 00:03:08,820 --> 00:03:11,936 the third and fourth of the five Akune boys, 59 00:03:11,936 --> 00:03:16,079 were serving dutifully in the Imperial Japanese Navy, 60 00:03:16,079 --> 00:03:17,953 Saburo in the Naval Airforce, 61 00:03:17,953 --> 00:03:23,757 and 15-year-old Shiro as an orientation trainer for new recruits. 62 00:03:23,757 --> 00:03:28,961 When the war ended, Harry and Ken served in the allied occupational forces 63 00:03:28,961 --> 00:03:32,110 and were seen as traitors by the locals. 64 00:03:32,110 --> 00:03:34,839 When all the Akune brothers gathered at a family reunion 65 00:03:34,839 --> 00:03:38,240 in Kagoshima for the first time in a decade, 66 00:03:38,240 --> 00:03:42,420 it was revealed that the two pairs had fought on opposing sides. 67 00:03:42,420 --> 00:03:45,021 Tempers flared and a fight almost broke out 68 00:03:45,021 --> 00:03:47,427 until their father stepped in. 69 00:03:47,427 --> 00:03:49,568 The brothers managed to make peace 70 00:03:49,568 --> 00:03:53,686 and Saburo and Shiro joined Harry and Ken in California, 71 00:03:53,686 --> 00:03:57,224 and later fought for the US Army in Korea. 72 00:03:57,224 --> 00:03:59,953 It took until 1988 for the US Government 73 00:03:59,953 --> 00:04:03,130 to acknowledge the injustice of its internment camps 74 00:04:03,130 --> 00:04:06,691 and approve reparations payments to survivors. 75 00:04:06,691 --> 00:04:10,040 For Harry, though, his greatest regret was not having the courage 76 00:04:10,040 --> 00:04:15,273 to thank his Japanese Grand Uncle who had taught him so much. 77 00:04:15,273 --> 00:04:18,552 The story of the Akune brothers is many things: 78 00:04:18,552 --> 00:04:20,896 a family divided by circumstance, 79 00:04:20,896 --> 00:04:23,916 the unjust treatment of Japanese Americans, 80 00:04:23,916 --> 00:04:28,506 and the personal struggle of reconciling two national identities. 81 00:04:28,506 --> 00:04:32,645 But it also reveals a larger story about American history: 82 00:04:32,645 --> 00:04:37,749 the oppression faced by immigrant groups and their perseverance in overcoming it.