Kono was born in
Sacramento, California, on June 27, 1930. His family was of
Japanese descent and were
interned at
Tule Lake internment camp in 1942 during
World War II following the signing of
Executive Order 9066. Sickly as a child, the desert air helped Kono's
asthma. It was during the relocation that Kono was introduced to
weightlifting by neighbors including Noboru "Dave" Shimoda, a member of the Tule Lake weightlifting and bodybuilding club and brother of actor
Yuki Shimoda and his friends, Gotoh, Toda and Bob Nakanishi. After 3 years they were released and Kono finished
Sacramento High School. He later worked for the
California Department of Motor Vehicles and attended
Sacramento Junior College. Kono was drafted into the
U.S. Army in 1950 as a cook but remained in the United States during the
Korean War after officials learned of his Olympic potential. As a
private, he was first sent to
Camp Stoneman, then reassigned to
Fort Mason in San Francisco, California. ==Career==