Family of Naval Academy Lt. hope to bring him home from Japan
The family of Lt. Ridge Alkonis is pleading with President Joe Biden to help bring their husband father home from Japan.
The lieutenant is a specialist in undersea warfare, who was helping protect Japan's shores in May 2021 when tragedy struck.
Alkonis, his wife and children had just hiked scenic Mount Fuji in central Honshu, Hapan.
He was driving back down when his family says he blacked out behind the wheel and crashed into parked cars, killing two Japanese people.
Navy doctors concluded that the lieutenant suffered from acute mountain sickness - a medical emergency.
However, Japanese authorities never examined him and a judge eventually determined that the lieutenant fell asleep, and convicted him of negligence.
Lt. Alkonis was sentenced to three years in prison and is still behind bars.
His father, retired Los Angeles County Fire Chief Derek Alkonis, has been pleading with the Biden administration to help bring his son home.
Chief Alkonis shared the only letter he's been able to get from his son since his surrender. In it the lieutenant, who's also a musician, says he sings hymns and reads scriptures to stay strong. The chief says Ridge first fell in love with Japan as a young man on a church mission trip.
He believes the Biden Administration can find a resolution by calling Japan's Prim Minister, Fumio Kishida.
"He was in a traumatic car accident, arrested and denied medical car, interrogated for eight hours a day (edit) not having outside access to outside counsel," Brittany Alkonis, Lt. Alkonis' wife, told CBSLA Reporter Kara Finnstrom.
For months, she and the couple's children have been living in Washington D.C. She has set up shop outside the White House on a daily basis in hopes of getting the President and Vice President to take action.
U.S lawmakers heard the family's message. In fact, more than twenty members of Congress signed measures appealing for the his release, claiming that diplomatic agreements were violated.
Last month, Vice President Kamala Harris met with Brittany. But a year and half have passed since the accident and the lieutenant's family are concerned about their loved one.
The family followed Japanese custom and offered restitution. Advocates for the Alkonis' say the lieutenant received a harsher sentence than Japan's judicial norm and noted that there is a history of resentment against U.S. military personnel.
For Americas military to keep serving Japan, both countries need to find a way to bring Ridge home.
"The wish I have now is that my son makes it home for the holidays. I tell myself I shouldn't believe it will happen it, but it's all I can think about," Lt. Alkonis' mother said.
As the nation honors veterans this weekend, some good news for Lt. Alkonis' family is that they are back in Japan and can visit him.
However, at the same time under the Department of Defense policy, he is about to lose pay and benefits. The department tells us they are reviewing his request to extend that.
