Following the annexation of the Republic of Hawai‘i by the United States in 1898, the US Army viewed the Islands in a strategic context. They were seen to be the advance outpost in the western defenses of the mainland United States. (Bennett)
Martial law was declared within hours of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, and it lasted, with some modifications, for nearly three years, until October 24, 1944. (Densho)
After the Japanese attack on O‘ahu, the top army and navy commanders in Hawai‘i were seriously concerned about a possible invasion of the Hawaiian Islands. The two northernmost populated islands of O‘ahu and Kauai were the probable targets for such an enemy landing. (Bennett)
In general, all Hawai‘i residents were subjected to blackouts and gasoline and food rationing. Moreover, residents of Japanese ancestry, whose loyalty were questioned, were subjected to suspicion and scrutiny and were under the threat of internment.
Japanese culture was dismantled; language schools, religious institutions, and business and social associations were closed. (Kauai Historical Society)
The military shut down all 22 language schools and 14 other cultural associations on Kauai. Eight of 19 Buddhist temples were dissolved and five more were closed, leaving four licensed to operate and two in question. (Tom LaVenture; Discover Nikkei)
The Kauai Morale Committee of WWII served as the army’s liaison with the Japanese community on Kauai.
The goal of the committee was to alleviate fear and misunderstanding among the Japanese citizenry and to direct efforts toward the war effort and victory. (Kauai Historical Society)
During WWII, from June 1942 through 1944, the Kauai Kiawe Corps, a volunteer civilian labor battalion overwhelmingly composed of able-bodied persons of Japanese ancestry, assisted the Army in defense of Kauai.
They cleared kiawe thickets that could provide cover for possible invaders, strung barbed wire, built trails, opened areas for military camps, and helped build evacuation centers. (Soboleski)
“The Kiawe Commando corps was organized … by the Kauai morale committee to give Americans of Japanese ancestry and alien Japanese an opportunity to do actual work to assist in winning the war.” (SB, Jan 1, 1943)
“Work crews of more than 1,000 of us Japanese, including women and the elderly, turned out every Sunday to clear away the brush and undergrowth, primarily kiawe, between Kekaha and Mana on the west side of the island.”
“It was an area that the military suspected of being scouted as secret Japanese naval landing sites, due to the thick vegetation,” Ikito “Ike” Muraoka says. Clearing the brush made secret landings impossible.” (Kauai Stories)
“On Kauai, where the Kiawe Corps was a project of the Emergency Service Committee, the volunteers, most of whom were alien Japanese, continued the work for two years, giving an average of three Sundays a month for a total of 58,000 man-days.”
“In addition to hacking at brush with cane knives and burning the rubbish, they strung barbed wire, built trails, cleared areas for military camps, and helped build evacuation centers.” (Allen, Hawaii’s War Years)
“Volunteers also did much guard duty, they were primarily ‘last ditch soldiers,’ organized to repel an invasion.”
“Although volunteers who had trained for a war emergency never had to repel an invader, various groups were called to duty during air raid alarms and other alerts.”
“They also assisted following several wartime accidents.” (Allen, Hawaii’s War Years) (Other Islands also had their own Kiawe Corps.)
“The Army airfield which became Barking Sands Air Base (AB) in World War II was originally known as “Mana Airfield,” built on land acquired from the Knudsen family by Kekaha Sugar Company located nearby at Kekaha. The grassy airstrip first came into being around 1921.” (Bennett)
During the 1930s, Inter-Island Airways, later Hawaiian Airlines, served the airport. (Shettle) “The US Army acquired 549 acres, including the grass airstrip in 1941 which became “Mana Airport Military Reservation”.
“Additional land was acquired for a total of 2,058 acres. The airport experienced a great deal of military flight operations upon the onset of World War II.” (Bennett)
“The Army added 14 barracks and four mess halls. For the next two years, the Army continued to improve the airport by adding 23 revetments for heavy bombers and permanent accommodations for 1500 men.”
“When the Navy needed additional aircraft facilities in late 1943, the Army turned a portion of the base over to the Navy on January I, 1944. “
“Hawaiian Airlines continued to use the airport until 1949, when the Lihue Airport opened on the other side of the island. In 1954, the airfield was officially renamed Bonham [Air Force Base].” (Shettle)
ln 1962, the Navy officially commissioned the Pacific Missile Range Facility, Barking Sands and two year later, the Air Force transferred the ownership of the property to the Navy.” (Bennett)
There were many name changes for the facility: Mana Airport, Mana Airfield Military Reservation, Barking Sands Military Reservation, Kekaha Military Reservation, Barking Sands Airfield, Bonham Airfield, Bonham Air Force Base, Bonham Air Base, and Auxiliary Landing Field (ALF) Bonham.
By 2008, Pacific Missile Range Facility (PMRF) was the world’s largest instrumented multi-environment range capable of supporting surface, subsurface, air, and space operations simultaneously. (Hawaii Aviation)
