WWII | Images of Old Hawaiʻi

September 27, 2017 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Yuimaaru

Yuimaaru is seen when communities support one another, especially in times of need. It is a reminder for all of us to live yuimaaru, in both small and big endeavors and decisions. (Haworth)

Uchinanchu is the term used by Okinawan immigrants and their descendants in Hawai‘i to identify themselves as an ethnic group distinct from the Naichi of Japan’s four main islands. Seven such were …

… Ryoshin Agena (native of Uruma City,) Yasuo Uezu (native of Uruma City,) Shinei Shimabukuro (native of Uruma City,) Yoshio Yamashiro (native of Uruma City,) Genbi Tonaki (native of Nanjo City,) Ushikichi Nakama (native of Itoman City) and Shohei Miyazato (native of the town of Motobu)

They are also referred to as the ‘seven heroes’ – a monument and musical, Umi Kara Buta ga Yatte Kita (Pigs from the Sea,) commemorate them.

Uruma City Mayor Toshio Shimabukuro commented, “We would like to show the bond between Hawai‘i and Uchinanchu to future generations through the monument and the musical performance.” (Ryukyu Shimpo)

Okinawa is located approximately 350 miles south of mainland Japan. It is the largest island in the Ryukyu Island chain, the southernmost prefecture of the then-Japanese Empire.

In WWII, the Pacific campaign started December 7, 1941 after the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. The campaign crossed all over the Pacific; the Japanese initially had the upper hand in the air and on sea and land.

After almost 4 years of naval, air, and land battles the tide had turned and by March 1945 the campaign had nearly reached its culminating point with American domination of the sea and air. It was now just Japanese territory that needed to be seized before the Japanese would admit defeat.

In a time when an invasion of mainland Japan was necessary to end the war, Okinawa was an essential preparation ground and jumping-off point for the impending invasion. (SSgt Frame)

The bombardment of Okinawa commenced on March 23, 1945 and lasted until the morning of the land invasion (codenamed Operation Iceberg) on April 1.

On June 23, 1945, all major combat operations ended on the island of Okinawa. Over the 3-month battle more than 8- million artillery and mortar rounds were fired, the equivalent of more than 1-round per second.

More than 12,000-American servicemembers were killed and more than 38,000-wounded or missing. The Japanese military lost more than 110,000, but the greatest loss of life by the Okinawan people.

Anywhere from 40,000 to 150,000 of the Okinawans perished during the battle. Even with all the carnage, it was at Okinawa that the largest number of Japanese soldiers were taken prisoner (more than 7,000 – an unprecedented number). (SSgt Frame)

“The ravages of the Pacific War (of WWII) brought disaster and catastrophic damage to the island of Okinawa. Under these harsh conditions, the people of the island were forced to eke out a living, even as they struggled to find food amidst the scorched landscape.”

“An indispensable source of food, Okinawa contained over 100,000 pigs in the prewar period. After the war, this number had plummeted to just 7,731 (according to the Ryukyu Government’s 1946 records), leaving Okinawa in a dire situation.” (Monument Text)

The above named seven Uchinanchu (Okinawan immigrants) stepped forward to help those from their homeland. They raised over $47,000 from Hawai‘i’s Uchinanchu community, purchased 550 pigs in Oregon and took them to Okinawa after World War II.

The ship that they contracted for the journey was called the USS John Owen; it departed for Okinawa on August 31, 1948, and the voyage became a life and death struggle as the ship was assaulted by raging storms and battered by tall waves.

The journey was further delayed by the need to take a roundabout route in order to avoid sea mines left over from the war. By the 3 week mark, the passenger’s water supply and the feed for the pigs was almost completely depleted.

After 28 grueling days at sea, the passengers finally caught sight of the Okinawan islands on September 27. The Owen made landfall on White Beach, in the Katsuren Heshikiya region of Uruma City. (Okinawa-jp)

These pigs helped revive the Okinawan pig farming industry and were a source of nourishment for the Okinawan people, who were starving in the aftermath of the war.

The pigs, which are easy to breed because of their high fertility rate, are believed to have helped ward off starvation and provided a steady food source for many Okinawans. (Japan Times)

This movement which began in Hawai‘i eventually spread to the American mainland and South America, and in time aid began to pour into Okinawa from all across the globe. (Okinawa-jp)

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Hawaii Pigs arriving at Okinawa

7 from Hawaii who brought pigs

Pigs from the Sea-Memorial

Pigs from the Sea Memorial

February 2, 2017 by Peter T Young 2 Comments

Mānoa War Homes

“Housing was a critical problem at the beginning of the war.”

“On December 7, 1941, the only project operated by the Hawaii Housing Authority was Kamehameha homes consisting of 221 units for families in the low-income bracket.”

“Prior to the declaration of war, plans had been prepared for the construction of a low income family project of 368 units to be known as the Mayor Wright homes. The war prevented this development from going ahead since the buildings in the slum area on the site could not be demolished. Tenants living there were permitted to remain.” (DOI Annual Report, 1946)

Then, “Since the close of the war, one of the most important activities of the land department has consisted of arranging for the return of numerous tracts of territorial lands which had been transferred to the Army and Navy for military purposes.”

“Whenever it has been to the advantage of Federal agencies to give up the buildings and other improvements on territorial lands, and when the Territory or a county government needed the improvements, the office of the commissioner of public lands assisted in negotiating for the acquisition of title to the buildings in lieu of restoration performance of the premises involved.”

“As a result of this procedure of acquisition, the Territory and counties realized considerable savings in money, material, and labor, and gained title to a great deal of construction equipment, including buildings of various sizes …”

“… warehouses, quonset huts, water and sewer pipes, refrigeration plants, stoves of all descriptions, furniture, cable and electric wiring, reservoirs, gas storage facilities, septic tanks, water heaters, and generators.”

“The termination of hostilities with Japan caused an unprecedented demand for house lots. For a number of years prior to the beginning of the war, home building was curtailed, and such materials as might normally be needed to meet the housing requirements of a growing population were diverted to national defense.”

“With the beginning of war, these materials were actually frozen. In addition to this, a large number of existing home sites were taken over for military purposes.”

“The sale of public lands for home sites is the most beneficial purpose to which these lands can be dedicated. Every effort was made to subdivide and place on the market as house lots all public lands that were not under lease. Unfortunately, the area of unencumbered public land on Oahu, where the need is greatest, is decidedly limited.” (DOI Annual Report, 1946)

“During the past year (1946) the problem has become even more serious. The Governor’s housing committee and a committee of the chamber of commerce of Honolulu, after a careful study, reported that 11,000 additional houses were needed in the Honolulu-Pearl Harbor area.”

“A number of factors have militated against an adequate home-building program. The most important of these arc: (a) Scarcity of land even at an extremely high price, (b) unavailability of building materials, and (c) shortage and high cost of labor.”

“During the year over 3,900 families applied to the housing authority for homes. This number does not reflect the extent of the need since the public was aware of long waiting lists.”

“Of those who applied the authority could provide houses for only 1,265, 1,000 of whom were placed in Manoa war homes. This situation indicates the need for drastic action immediately to relieve the existing shortage of housing for all income groups.” (DOI Annual Report, 1946)

“The idea was to offer veterans a decent, affordable place to live while they found jobs, re-entered civilian life and saved up for a down payment on a permanent home. One-bedroom units went for $35 a month, 2-bedroom units were $42.50.” (Cataluna)

It worked for a while; then, “The Commissioners of the Authority froze vacancies as of January 1, 1956, at Manoa War Homes, a 982-unit temporary war housing project, as the site must be vacated, buildings demolished, and the land restored to its owners by June 30, 1958.”

“The project was relinquished by the Public Housing Administration to the Authority on June 30, 1953 at which time the Authority was able to obtain leases with the property owners for 3 years, with options to renew for two successive terms of 1 year each only.” (Annual Report of Governor to Secretary of Interior, 1956)

“During the year (1958) the Authority has continued the deprogramming of a relinquished 1,000-unit war housing project, Manoa War Homes.”

“On June 30, 1957, there were 519 families still living in the project. By June 30, 1958, the number had been reduced to 284. On June 30, 1958, the Authority returned approximately 44 acres of the 94-acre site to its owners. The area returned comprised 14 parcels of land and a portion of another parcel.” (Annual Report of Governor to Secretary of Interior, 1956)

Familiar Mānoa landmarks that were once the site of the Mānoa War Homes are the Mānoa Marketplace, Noelani School and Mānoa Innovation Center.

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Manoa War Homes-Manoa Valley-UH-USGS-2423-1952-labels

April 26, 2016 by Peter T Young 3 Comments

‘Righteous and Honorable Diplomat’

“Europe, 1940-41, was a place and time of too few heroes. The world had begun a journey down an unalterable path to horror. …”

“But, in the face of those horrors, there were many who were courageous, who acted selflessly, who saved lives — not for any honor or reward, but simply because they could not act any other way. One man who possessed that courage was Hiram Bingham IV.” (Denise Merrill, Conn Sec of State)

Hiram Bingham IV (known as ‘Harry’) was part of an ‘underground railroad,’ engaged in smuggling people out of Europe. People who belonged to this conspiracy were filing in and out of his house as though they were on conveyor belts. Harry Bingham was participating in discussions of all sorts of illegal activities. (Robert Kim Bingham)

“I do want you to know that Hiram Bingham had me (when I was a 15-year old boy in Marseille working for the Quakers) into his office and told me how he would issue my family a visa to the US after we had obtained the release of my father from the Gurs Concentration Camp.”

“I could write a treatise about what Consul Hiram Bingham did to save refugees during his posting as US consul at the American Consulate in Marseille, France in the 1940-1941 period. He definitely helped to save my life and that of my parents and sister.” (Survivor Ralph Hockley)

“I owe my life, literally, to Hiram Bingham IV, who issued US immigration visas to my grandmother, Anna Ginsburg, grandfather, Marcel Ginsburg and to Helene Sylvia Ginsburg, who would become my mother later in her life. She was 18 at the time.”

“The three fled Antwerp, their home, on May 10, 1940, the day Germany invaded and occupied Belgium. They traveled, by car, to Paris where they hoped to spend the war. It was not to be. As the Germans neared Paris, my relatives escaped west, to Bordeaux.”

“According to the stamps in my mother’s Belgian passport from that period, the three received Immigration Visas from US vice consul Hiram Bingham in Marseille on September 12.”

“After that, they received French exit visas in Perpignan on September 14. Then back in Marseille, they received Portuguese and Spanish transit visas. They crossed from Cerbère into Spain, reaching Barcelona on September 20 and Lisbon the next day. … The two married in 1942. I was born three years later in Manhattan.” (Jane Friedman)

“Of the three of my family he saved in 1941 in Marseilles I am the last one alive and I write this with trembling fingers and many a tear. May his name be honored for ever. (He) saved my Mother, my sister and I.”

“Without him we would not have been able to avoid the concentration camp to which we were assigned two days later. He provided us with a ‘Nansen Passport’ because we no longer held citizenship in any country, and therefore had no papers.”

“He risked a great deal to do this. I still have the document. We cannot honor him enough, and not that many whom he saved are still around to pay him tribute. I am grateful every day. … Thank you.” (Survivor Elly Sherman)

“As vice consul, Hiram Bingham was in charge of issuing visas – visas that could quite literally mean the difference between life and death. Bingham began issuing visas in June of 1940 to Jews and political refugees alike, on occasion even sheltering them in his home.”

“He did so because he simply believed in his heart that it was the right thing to do and the only thing his conscience would allow. However, his actions were not in accord with the official policies of the United States. Germany, at that time, was not our enemy.”

“Also, to assist in the smuggling of refugees was a violation of his orders and the laws governing France. When those who were desperate to escape were refused by American consulates in other French cities, they began, in increasing numbers to turn to Bingham in Marseilles.”

“It is impossible to determine the exact number, but during his relatively brief service in Marseilles, Hiram Bingham was directly or indirectly responsible for saving the lives of perhaps 2000 or more people.”

“Some were or would become famous – Leon Feuchtwanger, Franz Werfel, Alma Mahler Werfel, Heinrich and Golo Mann, son and brother of Thomas Mann, Max Ernst, Marc Chagall, Andre Breton, Andre Masson, Nobel Laureate Otto Meyerhof, Konrad Heiden, Hannah Arendt, and others.” (Denise Merrill, Conn Sec of State)

“Harry Bingham did more than issue visas. He was actively involved in rescue operations – spiriting threatened persons out of the hands of the Vichy police.”

“In one well known incident he helped Lion Feuchtwanger escape from an internment camp and hid him together with Heinrich Mann and Golo Mann – Thomas Mann’s brother and son – in his apartment. He helped Varian Fry through numerous scrapes with the Vichy police by using his consular post to imply US interest and concern.”

Survivor Author Thomas Mann: “I want particularly to be able to thank you personally for your sympathetic help to the many men and women, including members of my own family, who have turned to you for assistance…Yours Very Sincerely, Thomas Mann.”

“Many more were ordinary human beings fleeing tyranny. Harry’s saving work would end in the summer of 1941, when he was relieved of his post and transferred first to Lisbon and later to Argentina. His career in the diplomatic service ended in 1945.”

“He has been honored by many groups and organizations including the United Nations, the State of Israel, and by a traveling exhibit entitled ‘Visas for Life: The Righteous and Honorable Diplomats.’” (Denise Merrill, Conn Sec of State)

Simon Wiesenthal Center video Tribute to Hiram (Harry) Bingham IV:

Hiram Bingham IV was the son of Hiram Bingham III (who rediscovered the ‘Lost City’ of Machu Picchu (he has been noted as a source of inspiration for the ‘Indiana Jones’ character;)) grandson of Hiram Bingham II (born in Hawaiʻi and was a missionary in the Gilbert Islands;) and great grandson of Hiram Bingham I (leader of the Pioneer Company of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions to Hawaiʻi.) (Hiram Bingham I is my great-great-great grandfather.)

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Hiram Bingham IV-ID card

Hiram Bingham IV circa 1980

RoseHarryNewlyWeds-1934

ROSE AND HARRY’S FAMILY WHEN HE RESIGNS FROM FOREIGN SERVICE, circa 1946

ROSE AND HARRY’S FAMILY AT HOME IN SALEM CONNECTICUT (circa 1953)

Hiram Bingham IV-Medal of Valor

ZachariasDische-Visa_May 3, 1941

MorgensternVisa

MorgensternAffidavit

Hiram Bingham IV-MedalOfValor_Citation

December 9, 2014 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Hālawa Naval Cemetery

As a result of the December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, there were 2,403 people killed and 1,178 wounded. Among the deceased were 2,008 Navy personnel, 109 Marine, 218 Army and 68 civilians. (navy-mil)

World War II brought death to more than 300,000 Americans who were serving their country overseas. While the war was on, most of these honored dead were buried in temporary US military cemeteries.

(Punchbowl was not a cemetery at that time. In 1943, the governor of Hawaiʻi offered the Punchbowl for use as a national memorial cemetery; in February 1948 Congress approved funding and construction began. The first interment at Punchbowl was made January 4, 1949.)

(Initially, the graves at National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific were marked with white wooden crosses and Stars of David; however, in 1951, these were replaced by permanent flat granite markers.)

After the attack on Pearl Harbor December 7, 1941, the Navy selected Oʻahu Cemetery to bury the dead. At the time, only 300 plots at the cemetery were available for use. Burials began there on December 8, 1941. (navy-mil)

“Historical records show that the Navy originally purchased plots in the cemetery October 9, 1919, and additional land was acquired in 1931. The current cemetery site was acquired April, 13, 1932.” (NAVFAC)

Several temporary cemeteries were constructed – one was in lower Hālawa Valley, overlooking Pearl Harbor.

“On Dec. 9 it became evident that sufficient land was not available in Oʻahu Cemetery for this purpose. By direction of the commandant (of the 14th Naval District), a site for a new cemetery was selected by the public works department. This site (Hālawa) was approved by the district medical officer and remaining burials were made in this new cemetery.” (US Naval Hospital; Cole)

Over the course of about 4-years, about 1,500 graves were prepared (some containing multiple sets of remains.) All bodies, except those of identified officers, were placed in plain wooden caskets. “Bodies of officers were placed in standard Navy caskets in order that they might later be disinterred and shipped home if desired.”

Two officers of the Chaplain Corps and two civilian priests from Honolulu rendered proper religious rites at the hospital and at the funeral ceremonies held each afternoon in the Oʻahu and Hālawa Cemeteries. The brief military ceremony held at the burial grounds included a salute fired by a Marine guard and the blowing of taps by a Marine bugler. (navy-mil)

Following the war, Congress passed, and the President signed, a bill that authorized the War Department to take steps to provide a reverent final burial for those who gave the last full measure of devotion.

“A first step in determining the final resting place for Americans who died outside the continental United States during World War II will be taken this week, Col George E Hartman, commanding officer of the Schenectady General depot, US Army, announced yesterday. … letters will be sent to more than 20,000 next-of-kin of American dead now in 15 of 207 temporary cemeteries overseas.”

“Next-of-kin may choose to have remains of WWII armed forces personnel who dies overseas returned to the US for burial in a private cemetery; returned to the US for burial in a National Cemetery; buried in a permanent US military cemetery overseas; or buried in a private cemetery in a foreign country which is a homeland of the deceased or next-of-kin.” (Schenectady Gazette, March 5, 1947)

In September 1947, the American Graves Registration Service (AGRS) disinterred and moved the remains to the Schofield Barracks Central Identification Laboratory (Schofield CIL), located at the AGRS Pacific Zone Headquarters, in order to effect or confirm identifications and return the men to their next of kin for burial.

Between August and September 1947, the US military exhumed 18 remains at Kāneʻohe Bay, 339 from Oʻahu Cemetery, and 1,516 at Hālawa, according to a 1957 government report. (Cole)

What was the Hālawa Naval Cemetery is the vicinity of the Animal Quarantine and Hālawa Industrial Park. (Currently, there are 135 Sailors, Marines and spouses interred in Oʻahu Cemetery.)

The image shows Hālawa Naval Cemetery. (Babcock) In addition, I have added other images in a folder of like name in the Photos section on my Facebook and Google+ pages.

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December 7, 2014 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Postcards, Sails, Sheets, Lights, Ads, Fires and Radio Signals

The attack on the US military installation at Pearl Harbor and other parts of Oʻahu by Japan’s Imperial military was one of the most successful surprise attacks in military history.

But an often overlooked component of the successful attack is that the Japanese Empire had contracted with Bernard Otto Julius Kuehn, a German Nazi, to spy on the American military operations at Pearl Harbor from 1935 (an early ‘sleeper agent’ in espionage.)

The family had been contracted as agents of the Japanese government with the assistance of the Nazi Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels. The arrangement was promoted and negotiated by Goebbels as a byproduct of his relationship with Kuehn’s attractive 17-year old daughter, Susie Ruth. (Washington Times)

The execution of the plan was reminiscent of “one, if by land, and two, if by sea,” the phrase coined by American poet, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in his poem, Paul Revere’s Ride.

It references the secret signal during Revere’s ride from Boston to Concord on the verge of American Revolutionary War alerting patriots about the route the British troops would take to Concord (two lanterns were shown, the British rowed over to Cambridge.)

The Kuehns arrived in Hawaiʻi in 1935; they started their spying then. They blended in, and waited.

No one seriously suspected that Caucasians would carry on espionage for the Empire of Japan, so Kuehn, his wife Friedel, their daughter and son, Hans Joachim, were virtually inconspicuous as a white family on the windward side.

Kuehn had houses in Hawaiʻi, lots of money, but no real job. Investigations by the Bureau and the Army, though, never turned up definite proof of spying. (FBI)

However, every member of the family contributed towards collecting and documenting military activities at Pearl Harbor from 1935 right up to the day the bombs fell from Japanese aircraft.

Paid for his services, in three years he banked more than $70,000; one payment was $14,000 in $100 bills. They had houses in Lanikai and Kailua; these later served as the means of their intricate, yet simple, signaling system. (Pearl Harbor Board)

The Kuehn family took various means to gather information.

Kuehn would scout the ships at Pearl Harbor. Daughter Susie Ruth set up a beauty parlor and used it to gather gossip and random information from wives and girlfriends of the military men stationed at Pearl Harbor. Mother Friedel kept track of all the notes.

Ten-year-old Hans was dressed in a sailor suit and with his father would walk down near the docks. Many of the sailors thought the little guy was quite cute and some gave him unofficial “tours” of their ships.

Coached by his father, he would ask specific questions and observe everything he saw. Later he would be systematically debriefed by his parents.

The Kuehn family was not working alone; they worked with other Japanese spies attached to the Japanese consulate.

If the Consulate wanted to contact Kuehn, they would send a postcard signed “Jimmie” to his Post Office Box 1476 in Honolulu. (Pearl Harbor Board)

On December 2, days before the attack, he provided specific – and highly accurate – details on the fleet in writing. That same day, he gave the consulate the set of signals that could be picked up by nearby Japanese submarines. (FBI)

The set of signals contained eight combinations, each signal represented a number and each number represented the status of the naval fleet at Pearl Harbor.

No. 1 – battle fleet prepared to leave
No. 2 – scouting force prepared to leave
No. 3 – battle fleet left 1 to 3 days ago
No. 4 – scouting fleet left 1 to 3 days ago
No. 5 – air craft carriers left 1 to 3 days ago
No. 6 – battle fleet left 4 to 6 days ago
No. 7 – scout force left 4 to 6 days ago
No. 8 – aircraft carriers left 4 to 6 days ago

Signals were given that represented these respective code numbers. Part of how they did this was to shine lights out windows and hang sheets on the laundry line. These were done from their homes in Lanikai and Kailua (using lights in a dormer window.)

One light shining from the window between 7 and 8 pm meant No. 1; one light from 8 to 9 pm meant No. 2 and so forth for Nos. 3 and 4. Two lights shining from the window from 7 to 8 meant No. 5, etc. Hanging sheets on the laundry line carried the similar code.

An alternative display of the code used different patterns in the sail of Kuehn’s boat off Lanikai; a sail with/without a star and numbers at different hours represented corresponding references back to the code.

They also arranged the signal through KGMB Want Ads – different advertised items represented different numbers (ie Chinese rug, chicken farm, beauty parlor operator wanted, etc.)

Two other signaling means included garbage fires on a friend’s property on the side of Haleakala on Maui between certain times, representing different code numbers. Signals were also sent via shortwave radio. (Pearl Harbor Board)

Following the fateful attack of December 7, 1941, Honolulu Special Agent in Charge Robert Shivers immediately began coordinating homeland security in Hawaiʻi and tasked local police with guarding the Japanese consulate. They found its officials trying to burn reams of paper. These documents – once decoded – included a set of signals for US fleet movements. (FBI)

All fingers pointed at Kuehn. He had the dormer window, the sailboat and big bank accounts. Kuehn was arrested the next day and confessed, though he denied ever sending coded signals. (FBI)

On February 21, 1942, just 76 days after the tragic attack on Pearl Harbor, a military court in Honolulu found Bernard Otto Julius Kuehn guilty of spying and sentenced to be shot “by musketry” in Honolulu. His sentence was later commuted to 50 years of hard labor.

He served time in Leavenworth Penitentiary from December 1, 1942 to June 6, 1946 (when his sentence was commuted in order to deport him.) On December 3, 1948, he was deported to Buenos Aires, Argentina. (FBI)

Kuehn was one of 91-people convicted of spying against the United States from 1938 to 1945. (FBI)

The image shows the Kuehn home on Kainalu Drive in Kailua (star-bulletin.) I have added other images to a folder of like name in the Photos section on my Facebook and Google+ pages.

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