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VETERANS GATHERED AT GO FOR BROKE MONUMENT
TO COMMEMORATE 5TH ANNIVERSARY
Retired Army General David A. Bramlett
And Medal of Honor Recipient George Sakato Featured at Free Event
Attended by 500 Veterans, Family, Friends
TORRANCE, Calif. (June 5, 2004) – In a
week that featured a remembrance of World War II with the National
Monument dedication in Washington and on the eve of the 60th anniversary
of the D-Day invasion, downtown Los Angeles celebrated its World
War II veterans at the 5th anniversary of the Go For Broke Monument
in Little Tokyo. With Ted Chen, KNBC-TV reporter serving as master
of ceremonies, the Go For Broke Educational Foundation hosted
“Honoring Our Heroes,” at the Go For Broke Monument
in remembrance of the heroics and patriotism of the Japanese American
soldiers from World War II.
“This event was truly a success,” said Christine
Yamazaki, executive director and president, Go For Broke Educational
Foundation. “Though we gather each year to pay tribute to
the Japanese American veterans of WWII – those who did not
make it back as well as those who lived to share their stories
– it is important that their selfless sacrifices and gallantry
to make America a better place for us all must be remembered everyday.
The Go For Broke Monument is a fitting icon to pay tribute to
them and to the notion that America is a country that has learned
from past actions to ensure its ideals of equality live in all
of us.
The Go For Broke Monument, which was dedicated five years to
the day (June 5, 1999), is a 40-feet-wide, nine-feet-high gleaming
granite sphere engraved with the names of the 16,126 Japanese
American soldiers from the segregated units: the 100th Infantry
Division, 442nd Regimental Combat Team, Military Intelligence
Service, 522nd Field Artillery Battalion, 1399th Engineer Construction
Battalion, and 232nd Combat Engineer Company, their officers and
Nisei women who served in the U.S. Military during World War II.
The monument anniversary, which was attended by more than 500
veterans, family members, friends and community, paid tribute
this year to the 21 Japanese American Medal of Honor recipients,
20 of whom received the medal 55 years later in June 2000 by President
Clinton. Denver resident and 442nd veteran George T. “Geo”
Sakato, one of the four living Medal of Honor recipients, provided
a gripping account of his extraordinary heroism that led to the
U.S. Army’s highest decoration.
This year’s keynote
address was given by retired Army General David A. Bramlett.
Bramlett, who spoke about the significant contributions of the
Nisei soldiers to the war efforts during WWII, is a decorated
veteran with and an extensive list of command and staff positions
during his more than 34? years of active commissioned service.
The Educational Foundation awarded the 2004 Go For Broke Award
to Los Angeles City Councilmember Jan Perry. Perry spent many
years supporting the veterans efforts to build the Go For Broke
Monument as chief-of-staff to Rita Walters and currently in her
position as Councilmember for Los Angeles’ 9th District.
She was presented with the award at the anniversary event.
As a representative of today’s young generation of Americans
seeking to understand the Nisei WWII veteran story was 14-year-old
Tracy Empson of Lake Elsinore, Calif. She is the 2003 National
History Day first place award winner for her self-produced documentary,
“Decision of Conscience,” which garnered her the U.S.
Department of Education’s top history prize. Her film featured
some of the Nisei WWII veteran docents of the Go For Broke Monument.
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. For information visit
the Web site or email esoldier@goforbroke.org.
