Go for Broke Monument The Go For Broke Monument in Little Tokyo , Los Angeles , California commemorates Japanese Americans who served in the United States Army during World War II . Design and construction of the monument commenced in 1991 with the dedication occurring on June 5 , 1999 . It is located at the end of North Central Street , adjacent to the Japanese American National Museum , and is surrounded on three sides by a pay - parking lot serving East Temple Street . The monument is accessible by the public at no cost . Monument . The monument has a large semicircular face of polished black stone , set at an angle facing the sun as it travels across the southern sky , and embracing a pole upon which the American flag flies . The monument ' s curved back wall lists the names of 16 , 126 Nisei soldiers . At the foot of the flag is the shoulder flash of the all - Nisei 442nd Regimental Combat Team . Across the top of the face is the motto : " GO FOR BROKE " and below that are the insignia of the segregated , all - Nisei Army units : the famed 100th Infantry Battalion and 442nd Regimental Combat Team , as well as lesser - known Nisei units , the Military Intelligence Service , 522nd Field Artillery Battalion , 232nd Combat Engineer Company , and the 1399th Engineering Construction Battalion . " Go For Broke ! " was the unit motto of the 100th Battalion , and was adopted by the 442nd RCT . It has since been adopted as a motto for all of the Japanese - American units formed during World War II . The monument ' s main feature , a large inscription on the face , describes how they served even as they were being deprived of their constitutional rights during the period of Japanese American internment . This inscription uses the term " concentration camps " to describe the facilities officially called " relocation centers " . The inscription is attributed to 100th Infantry Battalion veteran Ben Tamashiro , who is best known for his more than 60 appearances in television advertisements for the Bank of Hawaii . According to his 2004 obituary in the Honolulu Advertiser and Honolulu Star - Bulletin : After a nationwide search failed to elicit an appropriate inscription , his former commanding officer — Col . Young Oak Kim , who was in charge of the project — wrote to Tamashiro , according to his daughter . The words Tamashiro sent back were the ones chosen — with a single change . Instead of " internment camps " as he had written , the inscription was changed to " concentration camps . " Interpretive information is available from the Japanese American National Museum and a kiosk beside the monument . Also , the monument is often attended by veterans of the Nisei units , who explain the monument and the events of World War II , and answer questions . Main inscription . GO FOR BROKE – An American Story Rising to the defense of their country , by the thousands they came – these young Japanese American soldiers from Hawaii , the states , America ' s concentration camps – to fight in Europe and the Pacific during World War II . Looked upon with suspicion , set apart and deprived of their constitutional rights , they nevertheless remained steadfast and served with indomitable spirit and uncommon valor , for theirs was a fight to prove loyalty . This legacy will serve as a sobering reminder that never again shall any group be denied liberty and the rights of citizenship . – Ben H . Tamashiro Quotations below the main inscription . You not only fought the enemy . . . you fought prejudice and won . – President Harry S . Truman as he welcomed the 100 / 442 RCT home Never in military history did an army know as much about the enemy prior to actual engagement – General Douglas MacArthur , Supreme Commander , Pacific Theater , referring to the MIS My fellow Americans , we gather here today to right a grave wrong . . . now let me sign H . R . 442 . – President Ronald Reagan , Civil Liberties Act of 1988 The Nisei saved countless lives and shortened the war by two years – Charles A . Willoughby , General MacArthur ' s Intelligence Officer , referring to the MIS