# @jonendow on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/BOviKcyAaGw
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/12582167-jonendow-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/thumbnails/da1753c818.jpg
- **Posted:** 2017-01-02T00:58:35.000+00:00

## Caption

Thanks to staceyhayashi I had the pleasure to meet Ken Akune at lunch.
He is such a humble and gracious person, I will never forget his story.
Before Ken served in the Military Intelligence Service during WWII he and his brother remained in the US after his father and family returned to Japan.
After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Ken and his brother were sent to the internment camp in Colorado. He and his brother later enlisted and served as Military Intelligence Service (MIS). Basically a spy collecting, translating and analyzing Japanese intel. After the war ended, Ken told me he was in Japan during the US occupation. He said he was in a building in Tokyo waiting for an elevator, and as it open he amazingly found his brother that he hadn’t seen for over 2 years. His brother told him that the trains were free for soldiers and they should go south to visit their family.
During his service Ken mentioned that he always worried about the idea of finding his younger brothers in battle and what would happen. He did not know that his younger brother was in the final stages of Kamikaze training. Luckily for his brother one of the main officers was friends with his father and found out his brother was in training and pulled him out to become his personal driver. This conversation happened over dinner and all four brothers stood up at the table ready to defend their honor. Ken’s father slammed his fist on the table and said that the war is now over and there would be no more discourse of it again. Ken laughed and said they never talked about it again. After a few moments he smiled and said the other brothers eventually moved to the US to be together. 
A few weeks later I had the opportunity to make a portrait of Ken at an event. I had to grab him by the arm and set him in front of the camera. The whole time he kept asking if I was finished and how he didn't like his photo taken. I only got to take 6 photos and this was the last image. 
#PearlHarbor #PearlHarbor75 #Veteran #Vet #442nd #100thBatallion #MilitaryIntelligenceService
#GoForBroke #OnePukaPuka #JapaneseAmerican #Nissei #Sansei #Manzanar #Military #Hero
#Portrait #PortraitPhotography
#Photography

## Stats

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- **Likes:** 81
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## Tags

vet, 100thbatallion, militaryintelligenceservice, photography, portraitphotography, portrait, 442nd, sansei, pearlharbor75, nissei, veteran, manzanar, military, onepukapuka, goforbroke, hero, pearlharbor, japaneseamerican

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