Go back to PRESS RELEASES
Sharon Yamato
310-823-7997
sharony360@gmail.com
Los Angeles Middle School to be Renamed Young Oak Kim Academy
Plans underway for fall dedication honoring war hero, community leader
TORRANCE, CA (July 27, 2009)– Central Los Angeles Area Middle School No. 3, located at 615 S. Shatto Place, Los Angeles, is being renamed Young Oak Kim Academy. Work is underway now for a campus dedication expected to take place in October 2009. A war hero, accomplished community leader, mentor and role model, Colonel Young Oak Kim left a legacy of nonprofit successes throughout the Los Angeles community.
Los Angeles Unified School District Board President Monica Garcia led the school district to act by introducing the motion to name the brand-new school for Young Oak Kim. The Board unanimously approved the school's name change on July 14, 2009.
Colonel Kim was a hero and respected leader nationwide in the Japanese American community, in addition to being celebrated in the Korean American Community and in Korea. His achievements and leadership extended throughout the Los Angeles community as a whole. After serving as one of the founders of the Japanese American National Museum, he went on to become the longtime leader and founding chairman of the Go For Broke National Education Center, originally established as the 100th/442nd/MIS World War II Memorial Foundation in 1989.
"It was my privilege to work with Colonel Kim," said Christine Sato-Yamazaki, president and chief executive officer of GFBNEC. "He was my first real mentor. He was also a visionary leader, a friend, teacher and role model. I am humbled to head the organization he led through its early days to growth and continuing success."
The organization took shape in 1986 when Colonel Kim and a group of Japanese American veterans conceived the idea of building a monument as a permanent reminder that no American should ever again be denied civil liberties because of ethnicity or religion, and as a lasting tribute to the sacrifice and heroism of the legendary Nisei (second generation Japanese American) soldiers of World War II.
The veterans formed the nonprofit 100th/442nd/MIS WW II Memorial Foundation to raise money and maintain the Go For Broke Monument. With Colonel Kim in the lead, the group labored for 10 years. They raised money, launched an international monument design competition, received 138 blind entries and executed a painstaking evaluation process led by a panel of expert judges. In January 1991, they publicly presented the winning design and began working directly with the City of Los Angeles to identify a monument location. The organization secured a site in Los Angeles' Little Tokyo district at Temple and Alameda streets and broke ground in 1998. In June 1999, the Go for Broke Monument became the first of its kind in the mainland United States, listing the names of more than 16,000 Japanese American soldiers who served overseas, including officers and 37 women.
While the Monument was being built, Colonel Kim, the veterans and the organization's small staff began work to educate the public about the contributions and values of the Nisei soldiers. In 1998 with a $500,000.00 State of California grant, the group developed an educational program for California school children. The organization's work was rewarded with a second grant in July 2000.
Recognized today as the Go For Broke National Education Center (GFBNEC), the organization built a curriculum around the Nisei veterans' American story and now conducts teacher training for schools nationwide. This educational program serves students throughout California and Hawaii, in addition to Maryland, Washington, D.C. and Virginia. Every year, the Go For Broke National Education Center reaches more students through its teacher training. It also educates students and the public through Hanashi oral histories.
Hanashi volunteers have created one of the largest oral history libraries in the United States and continue to add to it. In these video oral histories, Nisei veterans talk about their experiences in war and Occupied Japan. Hanashi has completed close to 1,000 interviews and more than 700 are available on the GFBNEC website at www.goforbroke.org.
Colonel Kim was the first Asian American to be commissioned as an officer in the United States Army. He first served as a lieutenant in the storied 100th Infantry Battalion. In European battlefields of World War II, his remarkable leadership and bravery earned him a Silver Star. Again in the Korean War, he distinguished himself and was awarded a second Silver Star.
Colonel Kim's legacy lives on in the success of the GFBNEC and his vision comes to life in its nationwide educational programs. The organization celebrates the 20th anniversary of its formation this year. Both Colonel Kim's Hanashi oral history and additional information about GFBNEC are available at www.goforbroke.org.
Go back to PRESS RELEASES
