"Go For Broke"

During World War II, thousands of young Japanese American soldiers from Hawaii, the mainland United States, and America’s concentration camps fought in Europe and the Pacific despite suspicion, segregation, and the loss of constitutional rights, remaining steadfast in a struggle to prove their loyalty and patriotism as United States citizens. “Go For Broke,” the motto of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, came from Hawai'i slang for risking everything for a big win and expressed the determination of Nisei soldiers to put everything on the line both to win the war in Europe and to confront racial prejudice at home. The 100th Infantry Battalion, 442nd Regimental Combat Team, and Military Intelligence Service were composed of Japanese Americans from Hawaiian plantations and mainland incarceration camps, and the 100th/442nd became the most highly decorated unit for its size and length of service in American military history. The Military Intelligence Service was credited with shortening the war in the Pacific Theater by two years and also helped rebuild Japan during the postwar Allied occupation. This legacy stands as a sobering reminder that no group should ever again be denied liberty and the rights of citizenship.

Los Angeles, California · United States