Born in Honolulu in 1911, Isaac Akinaka entered the Army as a volunteer in 1941 and became a medic in the 100th Infantry Battalion. His courage and dedication to helping his wounded comrades has been chronicled in Thelma Chang’s book, I Can Never Forget – Men of the 100th/442nd (1991) and other publications.
Akinaka was a devout member of the Church of the Latter Day Saints. The Church encouraged keeping a journal and he became a prolific writer. His sons Kenneth, Vance and Bruce have generously made available their father’s seven diaries and the life history that he wrote in 1975. His diary ends at Camp Shelby as the Army will not allow journals to be kept when the battalion heads to the war zone.
Akinaka’s life history provides a chronicle of the life of a Japanese family in multicultural Hawaii before the war, discrimination faced after the war, his life in the Army, and his lifelong commitment to his faith.
Read Isaac Akinaka’s Diaries (PDFs):
Volume 1
Volume 2
Volume 3
Volume 4
Volume 5
Volume 6
Volume 7