It was created by Los Angeles architect Roger M. Yanagita whose winning design was selected over 138 other submissions from around the world.

The monument's main feature, a large inscription on the face, describes how they served even as they were being deprived of their constitutional rights during the period of forced removal and incarceration.

The inscription is attributed to 100th Infantry Battalion veteran Ben Tamashiro, best known for his more than 60 appearances in television advertisements for the Bank of Hawaii.

Looked upon with suspicion, set apart and deprived of their constitutional rights, they nevertheless remained steadfast and served with indomitable spirit and uncommon valor, for theirs was a fight to prove loyalty.

– President Harry S. Truman as he welcomed the 100/442 RCT home "Never in military history did an army know as much about the enemy prior to actual engagement" – General Douglas MacArthur, Supreme Commander, Pacific Theater, referring to the MIS "My fellow Americans, we gather here today to right a grave wrong .

– President Ronald Reagan, Civil Liberties Act of 1988 "The Nisei saved countless lives and shortened the war by two years" – Charles A. Willoughby, General MacArthur's Intelligence Officer, referring to the MIS