HISTORY
1989 – The 100th/442nd/MIS WWII Memorial Foundation was established. Comprised of Nisei veterans from World War II, its purpose was to raise funds to construct the first-of-its-kind memorial on the U.S. mainland in honor of the Japanese Americans who had served in segregated units during World War II. The memorial would include the names of all who served with the 100th Infantry Battalion, 442nd Regimental Combat Team, Military Intelligence Service (MIS), 522nd Field Artillery Battalion, 232nd Combat Engineer Company, and the 1399th Engineer Construction Battalion.
1989 - 1999 – Veterans spend 10 years fundraising, securing a location in Los Angeles' Little Tokyo district, garnering the support of veteran groups and the community nationally, and creating a comprehensive list of all the World War II Japanese American veterans who served overseas.
1990 - 1991 – Design competition held and architect Roger Yanagita's concept selected for the Go For Broke Monument design.
1995 – Go For Broke Monument ground dedication ceremony held at Central Avenue north of 1st Street.
1996 – New site location for Go For Broke Monument selected on northern end of Central Avenue (current location) where it would link the Los Angeles Civic Center via a pedestrian walkway.
1998 – Ground breaking ceremony held for the Go For Broke Monument.
June 5, 1999 – After much hard work, the Go For Broke Monument, a black, 40-feet-wide granite circle reaching nine feet high, engraved with the names of 16,000+ Nisei soldiers who served overseas during World War II, was dedicated to a crowd of more than 1,500 veterans, family members, dignitaries, friends, and media. On the monument, are the insignias of the 100th Infantry Battalion, 442nd Regimental Combat Team, Military Intelligence Service (MIS), 522nd Field Artillery Battalion, 232nd Combat Engineer Company, and the 1399th Engineer Construction Battalion.
Click here to view more pictures of the Monument.
