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Sharon Yamato
310-823-7997
sharony360@gmail.com
Officials, Students and Community Leaders Dedicate Young Oak Kim Academy Middle school named for war hero, community leader pilots single-gender classrooms
(TORRANCE, CA - October 5, 2009) — Young Oak Kim Academy, a brand-new Los Angeles public middle school located at 615 S. Shatto Place in Los Angeles, was officially dedicated today (Oct. 5, 2009) with a program and ribbon cutting that celebrated not only the institution's namesake but also the multicultural community where it's located. A hero of both World War II and the Korean War, Colonel Young Oak Kim was a visionary leader who left a meaningful legacy through organizations and institutions that serve Los Angeles and the entire nation. He was founding chairman of Go For Broke National Education Center (GFBNEC) and served in leadership and advisory roles for that organization from the time it was formed in 1989 until his death in 2005.
Colonel Kim was born and raised in downtown Los Angeles on Bunker Hill. He attended Los Angeles public schools and graduated from Belmont High School. Finding little opportunity for Asian Americans, he enlisted in the United States Army. During World War II, he became the first Asian American to be commissioned as a U.S. Army officer and to command in the battlefield. His first assignment as a young officer was with the celebrated 100th Infantry Battalion, a unit of Japanese American soldiers from Hawaii. Asked by his superiors if he wanted to be re-assigned, the new lieutenant said, "No. Our ancestry may be Japanese and Korean but we're all Americans."
In European battlefields, Colonel Kim's remarkable leadership and bravery earned him a Silver Star. Again in the Korean War, he distinguished himself and was awarded a second Silver Star. He also received a Distinguished Service Cross and was honored by the governments of France and Korea.
Colonel Kim worked with veterans of the 100th, 442nd Regimental Combat Team and Military Intelligence Service to establish GFBNEC and build the Go For Broke Monument in the Little Tokyo area of Downtown Los Angeles 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.
With Colonel Kim's support and advice, GFBNEC staff developed an educational program for school children with a curriculum built around the Nisei or second generation Japanese American soldier's American story and now conducts teacher training for schools nationwide. It provides content for the teacher training and education programs with its Hanashi video oral histories, featuring Nisei veterans as real-life examples as they talk about their individual experiences in World War II and Occupied Japan. With more than 1,000 interviews, Hanashi is one of the largest archives of its kind and more than 700, including Colonel Kim's oral history, are available on the GFBNEC website at www.goforbroke.org.
A humanitarian, role model and mentor in addition to being a leader and war hero, Colonel Kim's achievements and influences also include the Japanese American National Museum; Family & Friends of Keiro Homes; Korean Health, Education, Information and Research Center; Center for Pacific Asian Families; Korean American Coalition; Korean American Museum and United Way, Los Angeles chapter. Throughout his lifetime, he was both a strong proponent and example of lifelong learning.
Among those participating in the dedication program were Los Angeles City Councilman Tom LaBonge; Monica Garcia, Board President, Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education; The Honorable Jae Soo Kim, Consul General, Korean Consulate of Los Angeles; Willa Kim, Colonel Kim's sister; William Min, Esq. and Alex Cha, Esq., Friends of Colonel Young Oak Kim; Tets Asato, veteran of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team and Chairman, Go For Broke National Education Center and Christine Sato-Yamazaki, President and Chief Executive Officer, Go For Broke National Education Center. Students from the new school led the Pledge of Allegiance, paid tribute to their school's namesake in four different languages and presented a lively dance performance. Young Oak Kim Academy is designed to serve 810 students in 6th – 8th grades and is the first LAUSD school to provide single-gender classrooms.
GFBNEC will offer a two-day Teacher Training Workshop entitled A Tradition of Honor, World War II Nisei Segregated Fighting Forces on Dec. 5, 2009 at Young Oak Kim Academy, continuing on Dec. 6 at the Center for Preservation of Democracy in Little Tokyo. The workshop will include introduction of a teaching tool that uses Colonel Kim as a real-life learning example. Participating LAUSD teachers can earn one multicultural salary point for professional development and can register now at www.goforbroke.org.
Colonel Kim's legacy lives on in the success of GFBNEC and his vision comes to life in its nationwide educational programs. GFBNEC teaches the American story of the Nisei veterans through its education and preservation programs. The organization's work includes the American Story Teacher Training Program, a Resource Center and interactive educational initiatives. Along with Hanashi oral histories, additional resources such as lesson plans, historical content, membership and information about upcoming events are available by clicking on the GFBNEC website at www.goforbroke.org.
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