Akio Kai was born on April 28th, 1923, in Honolulu, Hawaii. His parents, Toichi and Suki, were from Japan. Akio had two brothers and one sister; he was the second eldest of his brothers, Nobuto and Yorito. His sister, the youngest, was named Violet.
According to an interview conducted with a family member of Akio, his father was a yard man, and his mother did not work. The family lived in a small shed-like house. The family was then residing in Honolulu, Hawaii. Akio began working at restaurants at a young age. Sometime before World War II, Toichi, Akio's father, passed away from an unknown illness. Soon after, his mother, Suki, left Hawaii and moved back to Japan with her youngest daughter, Violet.
Akio enlisted in the US Army when he was 20 years old, on September 15th, 1944, and was assigned to the 442nd Regimental Combat Team.
After the war, Akio moved to New York. At the age of 27, Akio was diagnosed with lung cancer. Akio Kai passed away one year later, on May 31st, 1951, in a Veterans hospital.

This biography was researched and written by students as part of the Digital Veterans Legacy Project at Loyola Marymount University, funded by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the National Cemetery Administration

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