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Contact: Diane Tanaka
310-222-5709 office

GO FOR BROKE EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION PRESENTS JAPANESE AMERICAN WWII VETERAN PANEL AT LONG BEACH PUBLIC LIBRARY

Free-to-Public Event Celebrates Asian Pacific American Heritage Month

Torrance, Calif. (May 1, 2003) - The Go For Broke Educational Foundation, in collaboration with the Long Beach Public Library and Historical Society of Long Beach, will host an informative and emotional panel discussion with Japanese American World War II veterans of the Military Intelligence Service (MIS), 100th Infantry Battalion/442nd Regimental Combat Team - plus a veteran of the 36th Infantry “Texas” Division or “Lost Battalion” who was rescued by the 100/442nd RCT in the forests of France and an internee who grew up in Terminal Island. Free to the public, the panel discussion will be held at the Long Beach Public Library on Thursday, May 29 from 6 - 7:30 p.m.

The panel discussion will focus on the Japanese American WWII experience, focusing on the veterans of the 100th, 442nd RCT and MIS. These gallant men will talk about their personal war experiences and reasons that led Japanese American men to fight for a country that initially classified them “enemy alien” and incarcerated their families behind barbed wire internment camps. Their stories will enlighten attendees of their valor, and explain why Japanese American WWII veterans will forever garner the respect of America.

An overview of the Japanese American tribulations from the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 to Executive Order 9066 that led to the evacuation and incarceration of more than 110,000 Japanese Americans will be provided by George Kiriyama, former LAUSD Board Member and educator. He will bridge the internment with the patriotism and heroics of the Japanese American veterans, a group of young men were able to rise up and defend a nation that so ill treated them to become the most highly decorated unit (100/442 RCT) in military history for its size and length of service.

Teachers, students, and the public are highly encouraged to attend this special, free panel.

The Long Beach Public Library/Main Library is located at 101 Pacific Avenue, Long Beach. Parking is available in the structure at the corner of Broadway and Chestnut and is free for the first 30 minutes. Parking for any portion of the next 90 minutes will cost $1.25 with ticket validation at the library. Please call 562-570-7500 for parking information.

For more information about the veteran panel session, please call the Go For Broke Educational Foundation at 310-328-0907 or go to www.GoForBroke.org.

The Go For Broke Educational Foundation institutes educational programs focused on the heroism and history of the Japanese American soldiers of World War II, as well as the forced evacuation and incarceration of Japanese American and civil liberties issues raised by those events. Currently the Educational Foundation’s programs include An American Story teacher training workshops and curriculum development, Hanashi Oral History Program, and select media projects. For more information, go to www.GoForBroke.org.

In 1989 Japanese American World War II veterans established the 100th/442nd/MIS WWII Memorial Foundation to build the Go For Broke Monument as an eternal tribute to the heroics of the segregated Japanese American units: 100th Infantry Battalion, 442nd Regimental Combat Team, MIS (Military Intelligence Service) and the many other men and women who served overseas during World War II. The Monument is located in downtown Los Angeles at Temple and Alameda streets.

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