The inspiring story of a group of University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa ROTC students who formed the core of the most decorated combat unit in U.S. military history is headed to the big screen. Go For Broke is the origin story of the U.S. Army 442nd Regimental Combat Team, the famed all-Japanese American fighting unit in World War II .

The movie begins with the UH Mānoa ROTC students of Japanese descent forming the Varsity Victory Volunteers after Japan bombed Pearl Harbor in 1941. They offered to serve after the government classified them as enemy aliens and performed menial tasks for the military until the 442nd was formed.

Go For Broke is the motto for the 442nd. The movie is currently in production and filmed UH -related scenes at campus locations such as McCarthy Mall and George Hall on January 7.

A sculpture honoring the Varsity Victory Volunteers at the UH Mānoa Queen Liliʻuokalani Student Services Building includes two plaques—one with the 169 names of Varsity Victory Volunteers and another that tells their story.

Related UH News story: Varsity Victory Volunteers part of UH legacy, February 27, 2015

Varsity Victory Volunteers part of UH legacy

View more photos on the University of Hawaiʻi Flickr site.