Go For Broke to Open New Exhibition

Soldiers of the 522nd Field Artillery Battalion training at Camp Shelby in Mississippi. (National Archives)

Go For Broke National Education Center (GFBNEC) this week announced a new micro-exhibition, “Fire for Effect: Journey of the 522nd Field Artillery Battalion,” which will be on display from June 7 to Aug. 25.

The exhibit will chronicle the contributions of the Japanese American World War II unit that earned the reputation as one of the quickest and most effective artillery units in the European Theater.

The 522nd was activated in 1943 as part of the famed 442nd Regimental Combat Team and served as fire support during key moments in the European Theater including the battle at Hill 140, the liberation of Bruyères, France, and the rescue of the 141st Infantry Regiment’s “Lost Battalion.”

It then split from the 442nd and supported various infantry divisions to break the Siegfried Line, also liberating survivors from some satellite camps of the Dachau concentration camp. Images from the Susumu Ito and Fred Yasukochi collections from the Japanese American National Museum will be on view along with images from the 442nd Legacy Center.

“Fire for Effect” will be presented within GFBNEC’s “Defining Courage” exhibition, located in the historic Nishi Hongwanji Buddhist Temple building on the west side of the plaza at First Street and Central Avenue in Little Tokyo. This exhibition is free with admission to “Defining Courage,” which is pay-what-you-wish. Students and teachers enter for free, courtesy of a generous grant from the Aratani Foundation.

Operating hours are Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Thursday, 2 to 8 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Closed on Monday.

GFBNEC is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that educates the public on the valor of Japanese American veterans of World War II and their contributions to democracy. Is goal is to inspire new generations to embody the Nisei veterans’ core values of courage, sacrifice, equality, humility and patriotism.

Founded in 1989, GFBNEC maintains the Go For Broke Monument and the interactive “Defining Courage” exhibition, as well as extensive oral histories and archives, education and training programs, and other initiatives. For more information, call (310) 328-0907 or visit www.goforbroke.org.