In 1964 George Akimoto worked at the Huerta Design Association in Los Angeles as a freelance artist.

Huerta Design Association Staff: Left to right in the first row - George Akimoto, Bart Doe, Ken Smith. Second row - Terry Huhtoon, unknown, Fred Tanaka. Third row - Roy Schroeder, Bill Hrapchak, Hector Huerta, Herb Hayakawa. Fourth row - Rodger Johnson, Howard Bullock. Fifth row - Gene Farnsworth, Carlos Huerta, Terry Smith. George Akimoto personal collection courtesy of his daughter Tracy Williams

George Akimoto was a member of the Society of Illustrators.  On February 1, 1901, nine artists and one businessman founded the Society of Illustrators with the following credo: “The object of the Society shall be to promote generally the art of illustration and to hold exhibitions from time to time.”  At a time when illustration was in what has been called its Golden Age, the first monthly dinners were attended by prominent artists including Howard Pyle, Maxfield Parish, N.C. Wyeth, Charles Dana Gibson, Frederic Remington, James Montgomery Flagg, Howard Chandler Christy and special guests such as Mark Twain and Andrew Carnegie. The Society of Illustrators is the oldest nonprofit organization dedicated to the art of illustration in America. Notable Society members have been N.C. Wyeth, Rube Goldberg, and Norman Rockwell, among many others.

Artwork from other famous members of the Society of Illustrators, J.M Flagg (top) and Norman Rockwell (bottom).

In 1954, as part of the U.S. Air Force Art Program, illustrators were given the opportunity to travel around the world to military facilities and exercises to record these events and donate their works to a “grateful nation.” While most trips were benign for the participating artist, in early 1968 during the Tet Offensive in Vietnam, some artists were caught in the fighting. Thousands of paintings have been contributed to the program over the years. In 1969 George Akimoto participated in the U.S. Air Force Art Program in Vietnam.  

George Akimoto's passport used while participating in the U.S. Air Force Art Program in Vietnam.  From the George Akimoto personal collection courtesy of his daughter Tracy Williams.

Badge and patch of the U.S. Air Force Art Program in Vietnam.  From the George Akimoto personal collection courtesy of his daughter Tracy Williams.

George Akimoto in front of a North American Rockwell OV-10 Bronco. From the George Akimoto personal collection courtesy of his daughter Tracy Williams.

George Akimoto contributed eleven paintings to the United States Air Force Art Collection in Pentagon in the period of 1964-1972.

"Armed Forces Day at Edwards Air Force Base” by George Akimoto 1964. Courtesy U.S. Department of the Air Force. 

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