Nelson Takeo Akagi (1923-2020) was born on June 27, 1923, in Lindsay, California to Otoemon and Masano Takehara Akagi. The Akagis owned a farm in Lindsay. Nelson Akagi attended Lindsay High School, where he lettered in football, basketball, track, and tennis. He attended California Polytechnic State University, majoring in electrical engineering and minoring in mechanical engineering. His studies were interrupted in 1942 when the Akagi family was targeted by the United States government as enemy aliens. Forced to sell their farm and stripped of their rights as citizens, the Akagis were given a choice between imprisonment and working on a sugar beet farm in Parker, Idaho; they chose the latter. The family soon moved to Utah, where they worked on a farm in Draper, Utah.
In 1943, the United States government allowed Japanese Americans to enlist in the military. Nelson Akagi enlisted and served as a machine gunner and forward observer in the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, which fought primarily in southern France, which they helped to liberate from Nazi control, and in northern Italy. The 442nd was also among the United States troops who liberated Dachau concentration camp in Poland. Akagi was honorably discharged in 1946. Akagi moved to Utah to rejoin his family, and continued his education at the University of Utah. In 1965, Nelson Akagi converted to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. A member of the Japanese Dai Ichi Branch, he served as ward missionary, executive secretary, and in the High Priests Group leadership. In 1969, he married Atsuko Noda; together, they had three children. In 1974, Akagi married Lois Kilbourn Bennett. Akagi spent his career working as a machinist for Hercules, where he worked on intercontinental ballistic missiles; he retired in 1987. Additionally, Akagi worked on his family fruit farm in Draper until 1995, when the Akagi family decided to develop the land.
Akagi was a member of the American Legion Honor Guard and the Disabled American Veterans Chapter 6 Honor Guard. Throughout his life, he was involved in military organizations, commemorations, and reunions of the 442nd, including events held in Utah and around the world. In 2011, Akagi was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal for his military service, and in 2020, he received the French Legion of Honor. Nelson Akagi died on September 19, 2020. (Biography adapted from obituary).
The Nelson T. Akagi photograph collection consists of 1 box containing 32 black-and-white copy prints depicting Nelson Akagi's service in the United States Army during World War II. These prints are dated and most individuals from the 442nd Regimental Combat Team depicted within them are identified. The collection also contains 334 digital scans of black-and-white and color photographs of Nelson Akagi's life and family, other Army veterans, and Utah's Japanese American community. Topics include: a 2007 Day of Remembrance event for Ogden, Utah's Japantown; Japanese Americans at events held at the site of the Topaz concentration camp; Akagi's attendance at a 1994 commemoration of the 50th anniversary of liberation of southern France during World War II; Akagi and other veterans of the 442nd at Dachau concentration camp in Poland; and other travels to commemorative events taken by the surviving members of the 442nd. The collection also contains images of Nelson Akagi pursuing outdoor leisure activities such as fishing and skiing, as well as images of the Akagi family farm in Draper, Utah before and after development. In addition to photographs, the collection contains scans of documents related to Akagi's military service. The material in the collection spans from 1943 to 2007.
Arranged by subject
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Permission to publish material from the Nelson T. Akagi photograph collection must be obtained from the Special Collections Manuscript Curator.
Donated by Nelson Akagi in 2007.
Processed by Special Collections staff.
This collection forms part of the Mitsugi M. Kasai Memorial Japanese American Archive.