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GO FOR BROKE NATIONAL EDUCATION CENTER'S "EVENING OF ALOHA" WITH KEYNOTE ADDRESS BY SENATOR DANIEL K. INOUYE A SUCCESS!
Click here to view photos from this year's Evening of Aloha
(TORRANCE, Calif. – November 16, 2006) – Last Saturday November 11, a record 1,000-plus guests descended the Anaheim Hilton to attend Go For Broke National Education Center's fifth annual gala dinner, Evening of Aloha. The event, which is sponsored by Michelob, brings Hawaii chefs and recognized Hawaiian entertainment to Southern California to raise funds to support Go For Broke's programs that ensure the story of the Japanese American WWII veterans is educated and preserved for the future.
The highlight of this Veteran's Day event was the inspiring keynote address by Senator Daniel K. Inouye. Senator Inouye reminisced about how the camaraderie of the 442nd Regimental Team (RCT) was established – and knit together the unit that would become the most decorated in military history for its size and length of service. "When we arrived in Mississippi and got with our 'kotonk' (mainlander) buddies, they were speaking English, and we were speaking … the way Hawaii boys talk," the Senator remembered. These and other differences produced arguments and fistfights.
The unit's officers decided to send the Hawaii boys on a bus ride. "We dressed in clean clothes, put on after-shave and took our ukuleles. We sang all the way. As we arrived at Rohwer (Arkansas), we were greeted by men carrying rifles and bayonets. It suddenly occurred to us that this was a prison," the Senator recalled. "We from Hawaii had no idea about internment camps."
The realization that the mainlanders had volunteered for the Army even as their families were being held in U.S. concentration camps made a deep impression on the Hawaii soldiers. "The following day, the regiment was formed," Inouye said.
"Looking back, I would like to be able to say that under the same circumstance, I would have (volunteered), too. But I don't know that I would have." Inouye concluded, "Our chapter in the history of the Nikkei and in the history of the United States may be small and rather insignificant, but this story must be told and retold. And I congratulate the organization for taking on this massive mission."
Senator Inouye's address highlighted an evening filled with nostalgia and appreciation, including video tributes to the 21 Japanese American Medal of Honor recipients and to Go For Broke's founder, the late Col. Young Oak Kim. In addition, 17 veterans from the 100th Battalion, 442nd RCT, and Military Intelligence Service came together to sing the 442nd's "Go For Broke" fight song.
"Evening of Aloha gets better each year, and much of the success is attributed to the generous support of our corporate sponsors, especially our title sponsor Michelob," said Christine Sato-Yamazaki, executive director and president, Go For Broke National Education Center. "Additionally, Go For Broke could not put together an event of this magnitude without the tremendous efforts of our volunteer dinner committee led by Dinner Chair Stephen Kagawa, 200-plus volunteers, and the staff – they all truly exemplify the 'go for broke' spirit."
Former Nisei Week queen Nikki Kodama, granddaughter of 442nd veteran Buddy Mamiya who was also one of Go For Broke's early leaders, appealed for monetary support of the organization's Hanashi Oral History Program. The program, which has recorded more than 740 interviews, is in a race against time to capture as many of the veterans' stories on film before they pass. Go For Broke's goal is to gather a total of 1,200 during the next four years.
Evening of Aloha featured a sumptuous sit-down dinner with cuisine prepared by James Beard award-winning chefs Roy Yamaguchi (Roy's Restaurants worldwide), and Hiro Sone and Lissa Doumani (Terra, Napa Valley/Ame, San Francisco). The Makaha Sons, one of Hawaii's leading Hawaiian music group; Barry Kimokeo, a rising-star slack key guitarist from Hawaii; and award-winnng hula halau Keali'i O Nalani were the evening's featured entertainment. Master of Ceremonies, Gordon Tokumatsu, NBC4 reporter and a Hawaii native, closed the evening by stating, "I can't think of better way to spend Veterans Day."
The Go For Broke National Education Center teaches and preserves the history and legacy of American veterans of Japanese ancestry whose heroism and sacrifices during World War II triumphed over racism and intolerance. This American story focuses on the veteran's core values of honor, duty, patriotism, loyalty, and includes the forced evacuation and incarceration of Japanese Americans and civil liberties issues raised. Currently Go For Broke's programs include An American Story Teacher Training Program, Hanashi Oral History Program, www.GoForBroke.org educational website, and Resource Center.
In 1989 Japanese American World War II veterans established the 100th/442nd/MIS WWII Memorial Foundation, now the Go For Broke National Education Center, to build the Go For Broke Monument. Today it is an eternal tribute to the heroics of the segregated Japanese American units: 100th Infantry Battalion, 442nd Regimental Combat Team, Military Intelligence Service (MIS), 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.
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