0:00:06.506,0:00:09.688 There are many stories[br]that can be told about World War II, 0:00:09.688,0:00:12.137 from the tragic to the inspring. 0:00:12.137,0:00:15.017 But perhaps one [br]of the most heartrending experiences 0:00:15.017,0:00:17.494 was that of the Akune family, 0:00:17.494,0:00:23.272 divided by the war against each other[br]and against their own identities. 0:00:23.272,0:00:25.880 Ichiro Akune and his wife Yukiye 0:00:25.880,0:00:29.473 immigrated to America[br]from Japan in 1918 0:00:29.473,0:00:31.108 in search of opportunity, 0:00:31.108,0:00:34.609 opening a small grocery store[br]in central California 0:00:34.609,0:00:36.634 and raising nine children. 0:00:36.634,0:00:39.591 But when Mrs. Akune died in 1933, 0:00:39.591,0:00:42.224 the children were sent to live[br]with relatives in Japan, 0:00:42.224,0:00:45.342 their father following soon after. 0:00:45.342,0:00:47.366 Though the move was a difficult adjustment 0:00:47.366,0:00:50.539 after having been born [br]and raised in America, 0:00:50.539,0:00:54.619 the oldest son, Harry, formed a close bond[br]with his grand uncle, 0:00:54.619,0:00:59.212 who taught him the Japanese language,[br]culture and values. 0:00:59.212,0:01:02.101 Nevertheless, as soon as Harry[br]and his brother Ken 0:01:02.101,0:01:03.966 were old enough to work, 0:01:03.966,0:01:06.692 they returned to the country[br]they considered home, 0:01:06.692,0:01:09.104 settling near Los Angeles. 0:01:09.104,0:01:15.344 But then, December 7, 1941,[br]the attack on Pearl Harbor. 0:01:15.344,0:01:16.883 Now at war with Japan, 0:01:16.883,0:01:19.636 the United States government[br]did not trust the loyalty 0:01:19.636,0:01:25.548 of those citizens who had family[br]or ancestral ties to the enemy country. 0:01:25.548,0:01:31.192 In 1942, about 120,000 Japanese Americans[br]living on the West Coast 0:01:31.192,0:01:32.863 were stripped of their civil rights 0:01:32.863,0:01:36.722 and forcibly relocated [br]to internment camps, 0:01:36.722,0:01:40.256 even though most of them, [br]like Harry and Ken, were Nisei, 0:01:40.256,0:01:44.102 American or dual citizens [br]who had been born in the US 0:01:44.102,0:01:46.578 to Japanese immigrant parents. 0:01:46.578,0:01:50.982 The brothers not only had very limited[br]contact with their family in Japan, 0:01:50.982,0:01:56.017 but found themselves confined[br]to a camp in a remote part of Colorado. 0:01:56.017,0:01:57.822 But their story took another twist 0:01:57.822,0:02:01.448 when recruiters from the US Army's[br]military intelligence service 0:02:01.448,0:02:06.174 arrived at the camp looking for[br]Japanese-speaking volunteers. 0:02:06.174,0:02:09.126 Despite their treatment by the government, 0:02:09.126,0:02:12.179 Harry and Ken jumped [br]at the chance to leave the camp 0:02:12.179,0:02:15.676 and prove their loyalty [br]as American citizens. 0:02:15.676,0:02:17.341 Having been schooled in Japan, 0:02:17.341,0:02:18.923 they soon began their service, 0:02:18.923,0:02:20.914 translating captured documents, 0:02:20.914,0:02:23.279 interrogating Japanese soldiers, 0:02:23.279,0:02:26.107 and producing Japanese [br]language propaganda 0:02:26.107,0:02:29.869 aimed at persuading [br]enemy forces to surrender. 0:02:29.869,0:02:32.763 The brothers' work was invaluable[br]to the war effort, 0:02:32.763,0:02:35.238 providing vital strategic information 0:02:35.238,0:02:38.409 about the size [br]and location of Japanese forces. 0:02:38.409,0:02:42.972 But they still faced discrimination[br]and mistrust from their fellow soldiers. 0:02:42.972,0:02:44.233 Harry recalled an instance 0:02:44.233,0:02:47.403 where his combat gear [br]was mysteriously misplaced 0:02:47.403,0:02:50.999 just prior to parachuting [br]into enemy territory, 0:02:50.999,0:02:54.503 with the white officer reluctant[br]to give him a weapon. 0:02:54.503,0:02:57.780 Nevertheless, both brothers [br]continued to serve loyally 0:02:57.780,0:03:00.222 through the end of the war. 0:03:00.222,0:03:06.422 But Harry and Ken were not the only Akune[br]brothers fighting in the Pacific. 0:03:06.422,0:03:08.820 Unbeknownst to them, two younger brothers, 0:03:08.820,0:03:11.936 the third and fourth [br]of the five Akune boys, 0:03:11.936,0:03:16.079 were serving dutifully [br]in the Imperial Japanese Navy, 0:03:16.079,0:03:17.953 Saburo in the Naval Airforce, 0:03:17.953,0:03:23.757 and 15-year-old Shiro as[br]an orientation trainer for new recruits. 0:03:23.757,0:03:28.961 When the war ended, Harry and Ken[br]served in the allied occupational forces 0:03:28.961,0:03:32.110 and were seen as traitors by the locals. 0:03:32.110,0:03:34.839 When all the Akune brothers[br]gathered at a family reunion 0:03:34.839,0:03:38.240 in Kagoshima for [br]the first time in a decade, 0:03:38.240,0:03:42.420 it was revealed that the two pairs[br]had fought on opposing sides. 0:03:42.420,0:03:45.021 Tempers flared [br]and a fight almost broke out 0:03:45.021,0:03:47.427 until their father stepped in. 0:03:47.427,0:03:49.568 The brothers managed to make peace 0:03:49.568,0:03:53.686 and Saburo and Shiro joined[br]Harry and Ken in California, 0:03:53.686,0:03:57.224 and later fought for the US Army in Korea. 0:03:57.224,0:03:59.953 It took until 1988 for the US government 0:03:59.953,0:04:03.130 to acknowledge the injustice [br]of its internment camps 0:04:03.130,0:04:06.691 and approve reparations payments[br]to survivors. 0:04:06.691,0:04:10.040 For Harry, though, his greatest regret[br]was not having the courage 0:04:10.040,0:04:15.273 to thank his Japanese grand uncle[br]who had taught him so much. 0:04:15.273,0:04:18.552 The story of the Akune brothers [br]is many things: 0:04:18.552,0:04:20.896 a family divided by circumstance, 0:04:20.896,0:04:23.916 the unjust treatment [br]of Japanese Americans, 0:04:23.916,0:04:28.506 and the personal struggle of reconciling[br]two national identities. 0:04:28.506,0:04:32.645 But it also reveals a larger story[br]about American history: 0:04:32.645,0:04:37.749 the oppression faced by immigrant groups[br]and their perseverance in overcoming it.