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GENERAL ERIC SHINSEKI TO DELIVER KEYNOTE
AT GO FOR BROKE EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION’S "EVENING OF
ALOHA" GALA DINNER
November 6 Event to also Feature Hawaii’s
Top Chefs and Music
(TORRANCE, Calif. - October 5, 2004) - The Go
For Broke Educational Foundation is pleased to announce that General
Eric K. Shinseki (USA Retired) will be keynote speaker at its
3rd annual Evening of Aloha gala dinner. The event will be held
on Saturday, November 6 at the The Ritz-Carlton, Huntington Hotel
& Spa at 1401 South Oak Knoll Avenue in Pasadena, CA. Evening
of Aloha, which is sponsored by Michelob, will feature a sumptuous
four-course dinner prepared by world-renowned Hawaii chefs Alan
Wong (Alan Wong Restaurant, The Pineapple Room, The Hualalai Grille
by Alan Wong) and Roy Yamaguchi (Roy’s Restaurants worldwide).
Tickets are sold out.
General Shinseki, who served as the United States Army’s
34th Chief of Staff from 1999-2003, is a Board of Governor for
the Go For Broke Educational Foundation and this will be his first
Evening of Aloha attendance. As keynote speaker, he will address
the Nisei veterans’ legacy and how he attributes his success
to the sacrifices and contributions of the men and women whose
military service preceded his, specifically during World War II
and the Korean War. His message will hold accountable the current
generation to preserve the story of the Nisei veterans to inspire
future Americans to rise to their own.
Before his retirement in August 2003, General Shinseki served
in the U.S. Army for 38 years. During his illustrious career he
served in a succession of command and staff assignments worldwide,
including two combat tours in Vietnam. At the height of the Cold
War and post-Cold War Europe, General Shinseki spent more than
10 years there, ending with simultaneous command of three major
European headquarters: U.S. Army/Europe and NATO Land Forces/Central
Europe, both headquartered in Heidelberg, Germany; and the NATO-led
Peace Stabilization Force/Bosnia-Herzegovina, headquartered in
Sarajevo. In November 1998, he returned to the U.S. to serve as
Vice Chief of Staff, prior to his appointment as Chief of Staff
in June 1999. He received his master’s degree in English
literature from Duke University and his bachelor’s degree
in engineering from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. His
U.S. Military distinctions include a Distinguished Service Medal,
Legion of Merit, Bronze Star, and Purple Heart.
In addition to General Shinseki’s keynote address and fabulous
dinner, guests of Evening of Aloha will be treated to entertainment
by The Makaha Sons, a blend of six-string guitar, twelve-string
guitar and upright bass flavored with smooth harmonies and sharp
wit. Making special guest performances are ukulele virtuoso Jake
Shimabukuro and Keali’i O Nalani, an award-winning Polynesian
dance group. The night’s Mistress of Ceremonies is Miss
Universe 1997, Brook Mahealani Lee.
The event is sold out, but for information contact the Go For
Broke Educational Foundation at 310-328-0907 or eveningofaloha@goforbroke.org.
The Ritz-Carlton, Huntington Hotel & Spa, is located at 1401
South Oak Knoll Avenue in Pasadena, CA.
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 established the
100th/442nd/MIS WWII Memorial Foundation to build the Go For Broke
Monument, which today is 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 the Little Tokyo district of
downtown Los Angeles at Temple and Alameda Streets.
