LATEST NEWS:

Placer JACL Orders Bronze History Plaque for Memorial

Funded by Generous Donation from Placer Buddhist Church

This solid bronze plaque, measuring 2' x 3', will be installed on a granite boulder adjacent to the WW II Memorial. During the war, Placer Buddhist Church had to suspend services when most of their congregation were forced into internment camps far from home. The plaque honors the soldiers who served in the Military Intelligence Service (MIS) as well as the internees unjustly sent to the camps.

A donation of $200 adds a custom brick paver

[Download Brick Order form]

Our Progress to date:  Over $148,000 in donations!

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For a $2,500 donation (Benefactor Level) you will receive a beautiful display case featuring a print of a photo of President Harry Truman and Placer County Veteran Wilson Makabe (previously published in National Geographic, April 1986), two descriptive plaques, a unique numbered bronze commemorative medallion, and a certificate from Placer county Chapter JACL:

Project Status

The foam enlargement of the maquette has now been cut into sections and molds are being completed. At the left is one torso beingprepated for its mold. Legs and the other torso on the right are ready for this next stage.

Ronnie Frostad, the foundry owner, has been detailing the wax enlargements of the sections before the foundry will cast the 7' tall sculpture in bronze. The heads are shown below.

A donation of $200 adds a custom brick paver

      [Download Brick Order form]

JACL Announces 2012-13 Scholarship Program

Apply for 2012-13 JACL Scholarship

Winner Gives Bronze Sculpture To 442nd Veteran
Auburn Attorney Mark A. Berg Honors Frank Kageta

READ FULL STORY HERE

Congress Honors These WW II Veterans

                               (11/2/11 NBC Nightly News) Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Three surviving veterans of the 442nd (photo on left: Frank Kageta, Shig Yokote, and Norman Kamada) recently visited the foundry to see the project in progress. Project Chairman E. Ken Tokutomi and Ronnie Frostad are in the lower photo with the three veterans.

See Placer County WW II Roster

Thanks to Our Generous Contributors (Donor List)

On December 16, 2009, Placer County completed the first phase of a memorial to the soldiers of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. Click here for dedication photos and articles.

In the second phase, Placer, Sacramento and Florin JACL chapters will install a bronze sculpture representing the role of the 442nd  in the “Rescue of the Lost Battalion” designed by France Borka and produced at Frostad Atelier foundry in Sacramento, California.

This permanent monument to these heroes will be funded entirely through donations.

By creating this monument we honor all those who served from Northern California in the 442nd RCT/ 100th Battalion and the Military Intelligence Service. Our goal is to raise $160,000 to complete the memorial and develop educational materials.

Map to Memorial Location

A group of individuals and businesses has generated over $148,000 so far in our fundraising effort. Organizations committed to this project include the Placer Buddhist Church, the JACL Northern California/Western Nevada/Pacific (NCWNP) District, Nisei Post 8985 VFW in Sacramento, the Japanese American Veterans Association (JAVA), and the Go for Broke National Education Center in Torrance.

We ask for your support of this project by making a tax-deductible donation to the monument fund at the Placer County JACL. Please help us erect this memorial to the heroic Japanese Americans who sacrificed so much in World War II. Your contribution to Placer County JACL is tax-deductible.

Recent articles:

Matching Grant Challenge for Nisei WWII Monument

Bronze Monument to Nisei Soldiers Gets Boost from City Grant

Auburn Journal - National Award for Effort to Honor Japanese-American WWII Soldiers

Auburn Journal - Gold and Bronze Tributes to Honor Area Japanese-American World War II Veterans

Pacific Citizen - Film Boosts ‘Lost Battalion’ Memorial Project

Nikkei West - Film Premiere Brings Fundraising Boost to JACL Project

Memorial to 442nd Dedicated in Placer County

Click here for more photos and articles

Shown from left are Placer County Board of Supervisors members Jim Holmes, Kirk Uhler, Robert Weygandt, Jennifer Montgomery, and Board Chairman F. C. “Rocky” Rockholm, and 442nd veterans Frank Kageta, Shig Yokote, Al Nitta (seated), Norman Kamada; all from Placer County. To their right are two 442nd veterans from Sacramento who served also as part of the Nisei color guard at the dedication of the Placer County Memorial to the 442nd on December 16, 2009.

Roseville, CA – A memorial to the soldiers of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team was dedicated in December as a tribute to the bravery, patriotism and dedication of local Japanese American residents who served in one of the U.S. Army’s most-decorated units during World War II.

Map to Memorial Location

The ceremony honored county residents who served in the 442nd Regimental Combat Team and veterans Frank Kageta, Shig Yokote, Al Nitta, and Norman Kamada were among the dignitaries present at the dedication. The memorial is located on Justice Center Drive near the Placer County Superior Court building. Placer County also has named a roadway at the Santucci Center “Go for Broke Road” to commemorate the unit’s motto. For more about this event, see Memorial to WW II Veterans.

Please help us erect this memorial to the heroic Japanese Americans who sacrificed so much in World War II. Your contribution to Placer County JACL is tax-deductible.

Donate online (button above, at right), or make checks payable to Placer JACL and mail to:

Thank you for your support!