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GO FOR BROKE EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION ANNOUNCES FLORAL TRIBUTE ENDOWMENT FOR JAPANESE AMERICAN WWII SOLDIERS INTERRED OVERSEAS
Attorney Ronald Yamada Established Fund for 100th/442nd and MIS Soldiers Interred in U.S. Cemeteries Abroad - First Floral Tributes to be Placed Memorial Day 2005
(TORRANCE, Calif. - May 11, 2005) - The Go For Broke Educational Foundation is proud to announce it has been selected to administer a floral tribute endowment for American World War II veterans of Japanese ancestry and their officers who were interred in U.S. cemeteries overseas. The fund was established by California attorney and appraiser Ronald Yamada, whose late father was a 442nd Regimental Combat Team (RCT) veteran, in February 2005 as a one-time tribute. But because of the overwhelming response and donations, floral tributes will continue to be placed every five years.
Yamada, who is also executive director of the Ted Tanouye Memorial Foundation and administrator of the Eiro Yamada Memorial Scholarship, decided to implement the fund after returning from the Epinal American Military Cemetery in France on Memorial Day 2004. He was deeply troubled to discover none of the 13 gravesites of the 100th Infantry Battalion and 442nd RCT at Epinal had floral tributes.
Since that visit, he set up a fund for all 39 Japanese American soldiers and their officers, who were not Asian, buried or memorialized in five European cemeteries, including the "Tablets of the Missing" interred overseas and one Military Intelligence Service soldier memorialized at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines. His initial goal was to raise $1099 in time for Memorial Day 2005, and within 48 hours of sending out a request for funds, he had exceeded that goal - all of these initial funds were from contributors of the post-WWII generation.
"While visiting the Epinal and Florence American cemeteries with veterans of the 100th/442nd, many stories struck a cord with me," said Yamada. "Immediately upon our arrival at the Florence American Cemetery, Sadaichi Kubota, a lieutenant and platoon leader of the 442nd RCT, located the grave of Pfc. Tadao 'Beanie' Hayashi and fell to his knees. He laid a silk lei carefully around a cross on his grave He lit some incense before clasping his hands together in Buddhist prayer. None of us approached him. It was his sacred moment."
Pfc. Beanie Hayashi, who volunteered from Poston II incarceration camp, accompanied Lt. Kubota during a reconnaissance detail. Kubota insisted Beanie stay behind to watch over the rest of the platoon, but Beanie was adamant on escorting him. While the two advanced through the hills, a single shot rang out and Beanie fell dead. If Kubota went out alone, the sniper would have had only one target. Kubota never forgot Beanie's sacrifice and promised to one day pay his respects at Beanie's grave. Nearly 59 years later, Kubota fulfilled his promise. Kubota stated he lived his life for two people; his and Beanie's. Sadly, Kubota passed away four months later.
Yamada added, "It is difficult to express the solemnity of an overseas American military cemetery, thus it is extremely important to remember those who gave the ultimate sacrifice to preserve the liberty of a free world."
There are 13 Japanese American soldiers and their officers interred or memorialized at the Epinal, France cemetery; 13 at the Florence, Italy cemetery; nine at the Sicily-Rome cemetery; two are buried at the Lorraine, France cemetery; one is memorialized at the Netherlands cemetery, and one at the Manila, Philippines cemetery. For a complete list of names, please contact the Go For Broke Educational Foundation's Resource Center at 310-328-0907 or email resource@goforbroke.org.
To make a contribution to the floral tribute endowment, please send checks payable to the Go For Broke Educational Foundation with a note clearly specifying it is for the floral tribute to P.O. Box 2590, Gardena, CA, 90247. For more information, please contact the Go For Broke Educational Foundation at 310-328-0907 or email esoldier@GoForBroke.org. The Go For Broke Educational Foundation is a nonprofit, 501(c)3 corporation.
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 Americans and civil liberties issues raised by those events. Currently the Educational Foundation's programs include An American Story Teacher Training Program, Hanashi Oral History Program, www.GoForBroke.org educational Web site, and Resource Center.
In 1989 Japanese American World War II veterans built the Go For Broke Monument, which would become 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. Today, under a new generation, the Go For Broke Educational Foundation continues to carry the torch through educational initiatives to perpetuate this important American story.
