Our Mission
To educate and inspire character and equality through the virtue and valor of our World War II American veterans of Japanese ancestry.
REMEMBER. EDUCATE. INSPIRE.
22nd Annual Evening of Aloha
This year’s Gala will be held on Saturday, September 23, 2023, at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel & Suites. Last year, over 500 guests attended this hallmark community celebration where we recognized 64 Living Nisei WWII Veterans and highlighted our work sharing the Go For Broke spirit and legacy of the Japanese American soldiers of WWI. Evening of Aloha is our largest annual fundraiser that provides vital support of our educational programming outreach to ensure the Nisei soldiers’ story remains an important American story.
Go For Broke Monument 24th Anniversary Virtual Tribute
Thank you to our generous donors for their support of this year’s Monument Anniversary Virtual Tribute which was broadcast on Saturday, June 3, 2023.
We invite you to watch this special anniversary of when our humble, but determined, Nisei veterans presented the Go For Broke Monument to the City of Los Angeles on June 5, 1999. Their hope was that the Monument would forever stand as a reminder of the 33,000 Japanese American men and women who valiantly served our nation at all costs. The program highlights the character and valor of the Nisei soldiers of WWII, and will feature three new video segments that reflect the intergenerational sharing of this important American story.
National Torchbearers Program
Go For Broke Journalism Institute
Piloted in the summer of 2022, GFBNEC and the Asian American Journalist Association – LA Chapter shared the Japanese American WWII soldiers’ story with LAUSD’s Downtown Business Magnets High School students, and also provided first-rate journalistic instruction. We invite you to watch our newest video featuring the participating students and journalists.
Watch our new virtual programming!
Medal of Honor Recipient Pvt. Joe Hayashi
Sharing Stories Around the Table
New Perspectives from the Los Angeles Torchbearers
Living the Nisei Dream
Akashi-Kama
Go For Broke Monument
The Go For Broke Monument stands as a powerful tribute to Japanese American men and women who served during WWII. The black granite monument is engraved with the names of the more than 16,000 who served in 100th Infantry Battalion, 442nd Regimental Combat Team, Military Intelligence Service, 522 Field Artillery Battalion, 232nd Combat Engineer Company and the 1399 Engineer Construction Battalion in Europe and the Pacific.
Hanashi Oral History Collection
Search the world’s largest collection of over 1,200 audiovisual interviews of Japanese American WWII veterans. Since 1988, the Hanashi Collection has shed light upon the war experience that cannot be conveyed by official records alone.
Here’s a way to show your support and bring a little piece of GFBNEC right to your home. Members save 10%.
Tribute Gifts
Here’s a way to show your support and bring a little piece of GFBNEC right to your home. Members save 10%.
2021 Major Sponsors
We thank our major donors for their generous support of our vital mission and work!
Rick and Patee Shinto
and Family
TORCHBEARERS 1ST ANNUAL BACKYARD SUMMER FEST
Mark your calendars for a casual fun evening with live music, food, games and more on Saturday, June 24 from 6:30 TO 10:30 P.M. at Nishi Hongwanji Buddhist Temple in Little Tokyo. Hosted by the LA Torchbearers.
