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Go For Broke Monument Visitor’s Center Opens in Little Tokyo
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Visitor's Center Opening 2005
From left to right: Bill H. Seki, chairman, Go For Broke Educational Foundation; Sumi Hirasaki, Manabi Hirasaki, board member, Go For Broke Educational Foundation and supporters of the Go For Broke Monument Visitor's Center; and Christine Sato-Yamazaki, executive director and president, Go For Broke Educational Foundation.
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LOS ANGELES, Calif. (June 23, 2005) - The Go For Broke Educational Foundation proudly announces the Go For Broke Monument Visitor’s Center has officially opened to meet the needs of visitors who are looking for more historical resources and information on the American story of the 100th Infantry Battalion, 442nd Regimental Combat Team, Military Intelligence Service, and the other men and women listed on the Go For Broke Monument. Also debuted was the Go For Broke Monument mural, designed by Keri Kaba, Digital Media Designer of the Go For Broke Educational Foundation, and painted by WWII Japanese American veterans and wives, volunteers and Educational Foundation staff. The mural is an interpretive art piece that traces the WWII veteran’s history from incarceration, the war years, to the building of the Go For Broke Monument and to the purpose of it today for future generations. The Go For Broke mural is on display at the Visitor’s Center.
The Visitor’s Center, which is staffed by Go For Broke Educational Foundation employees, is a small office with a wealth of information to educate people of the Japanese American WWII veteran history. In addition to a resource library of books, two computer stations are available to conduct research as well as access www.GoForBroke.org and a new interactive computer exhibit on the Go For Broke Monument’s history, from the concept, to design phase and fundraising to the building of the Monument and its unveiling in June 1999. The computer stations also provide a monument name locator.
“The Go For Broke Educational Foundation realized the need for a resource to enhance visitor’s experiences to the Go For Broke Monument,” said Christine Sato-Yamazaki, executive director and president, Go For Broke Educational Foundation. “The Go For Broke Monument Visitor’s Center provides patrons with a wealth of information to ensure they understand the WWII Japanese American veteran story.”
The Go For Broke Monument Visitor’s Center is located 361 E. 1st Street, on the historic block of Little Tokyo adjacent to the soon to be opened National Center for the Preservation of Democracy. Hours are Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.; Saturdays and Sundays 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. To contact the Visitor’s Center please call 213-625-0780 or 310-328-0907, or email VisitorCenter@goforbroke.org.
The Go For Broke Monument is a 40-feet-wide, nine-feet-high gleaming granite sphere engraved with the names of more than 16,130 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. It is located in Los Angeles’ Little Tokyo district, on Temple and Alameda streets.
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, Resource Center, and Go For Broke Monument and Visitor’s 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.
