Go for Broke

The State Route 99, nicknamed the Golden State Highway, spans north and south in the middle of California. It once was the main artery for the fertile San Joaquin Valley.

The palimpsest of Highway 99 is rich with texture and colors. Imprinted on its one time dusty lanes are layers of toils, tears, and triumphs of the human spirit. Many came through and settled in this region. John Steinbeck wrote of such a impecunious pioneering family. This household went for broke as they left the Dust Bowl during the Great Depression and traveled through this California region in the Grapes of Wrath (1939).

Road signs of interest (not directional signs) are placed along this and other state routes. They are named after individuals who are recognized for their services to the locale or country. It is fitting that a chapter in the life of Highway 99 is recalled on this Memorial Day weekend 2005.

The portion of Route 99 I am referring is between the Salida and Manteca. Going south in the vicinity of State Routes 120 and 99 interchange, is a green background and white letter sign which reads, "442nd Regimental Combat Team Headquarters." Prosaic and plain it may seem, the guidepost proclaims to the travellers the roots, the contribution, and sacrifices of the Japanese-Amercan farming communities. It was they who loss it all to internment. It was also they who yielded up their sons, husbands, and brothers to serve their country in World War II.

The 442nd Regiment (along with the 100th) are Nisei (second generation American-born Japanese) soldiers who served in Europe during World War II in units of the United States Armed Forces. These men had to prove themselves as worthy and loyal Americans, perhaps more so than the Tuskeegee Air Men. The burden and honor of all interned Japanese-Americans rested on their shoulders. It was all or nothing for these young men. They went for broke in their service to duty, honor, and country. Hence the motto of the 442nd was "Go for Broke."

These Americans proved themselves and then some. The 442nd Regiment was the most decorated unit of its size in this country's military history.