Military | Images of Old Hawaiʻi

September 8, 2026 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Nobuo Fujita

On December 7, 1941, Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, an American naval base in Honolulu. Thousands of American soldiers were killed, and as a result, the United States officially joined World War II in the Pacific.

The United States conducted the “Doolittle Raid,” a comparably small air raid off Tokyo in April 1942, just four months after Pearl Harbor. While the damage to Japan was relatively minor—fifty people were killed—it served as a morale booster for the Allies and a demonstration to Japan that its main islands weren’t safe from air attack.

Following the raid, Japan set out to show that the United States could also be bombed. (NCTAsia) A wartime mentality set in immediately, as coastal residents were commanded to black out their homes at night by covering windows with shades and blankets. (Oregon History Project)

“The Pacific Coast, totally dimmed out … twice previously has been subjected to shelling by submarines – apparently Japanese- but presumably never before has undergone aerial bombardment.”

“On February 23, during President Roosevelt’s fireside chat, a submarine lofted more than fifteen shells into an oil field near Goleta, Calif., 120 miles north of Los Angeles, and on June 21 a submarine pitched nine shells near a United States Army fort at Seaside, Ore.” (Courier Journal, Sept 15, 1942)

Then, “A foot-deep crater, apparently caused by an incendiary bomb gave evidence today of what may have been the first aerial assault on United States home soil, an apparent attempt to set fire to an isolated forest on the southern Oregon coast.”

“The Army’s Western Defense Command, in a carefully-worded communique, disclosed that an unidentified, small seaplane or a type that might have been carried on a submarine was seen coming inland just before dawn September 9, and was heard roaring out to sea about half an hour later.”

“Some time after the plane was seen circling the Mount Emily area nine miles northeast of Brookings, Oreg., a fire was observed, and forestry patrols who extinguished the blaze found a crater and metal fragments …”

“… which the Army said bore ‘markings of Japanese ideographs which may have been part of a code indicating the arsenal where the bomb was manufactured.” (Evening Star, Sept 15, 1942)

It was later concluded that a submarine was fitted with a modified Zero seaplane, that catapulted off the deck of the sub. It was fitted with two 170-pound incendiary bombs and flew toward Mt. Emily in the Siskiyou National Forest.

Piloted by Nobuo Fujita, the plane dropped both bombs on the heavily forested mount slope starting a small forest fire that was easy to control due to the wet conditions. (Fujita was the only foreign pilot to drop bombs on the continental United States.)

“When all was ready, the catapult was fired. [Petty officer Shoji Okuda was his crewman.] I flew straight ahead toward Cape Blanco lighthouse, crossed the coast, and swung northeast for the bombing area.”

“The sun filled the eastern sky with a red-gold brightness. After flying an estimated 50 miles, I ordered Okuda to release the first bomb, which burst, and splashed a brilliant white light over the earthscape.”

“I took no chances on the return flight, for someone had certainly sighted me before. It must not happen again, so I cut the Zero’s engine and glided down to 1,000 feet, passing north of Cape Blanco and well out to sea before starting it again.”

“I flew westward for the amount of time Okuda specified and, on reaching the rendezvous point, looked around me. No I-25 [the submarine].” (Fujita, US Naval Institute)

This attack by the Japanese submarine was intended to start a large enough forest fire that large numbers of resources in men and money would be allocated to suppress a massive wildfire. It was also a reprisal for the American bombardment of Tokyo in April. (Hughel, Oregon NG)

A total of four bombs were dropped over two occasions with the intent of starting forest fires; however, due to damp conditions, little damage occurred.

“It was too wet and it just stopped raining. He dropped these thermite bombs and they just fizzled. They created enough smoke so the forest service saw them,” says Brenda Jacques, a retired reference librarian in Brookings. (OPB)

The war ended on September 2, 1945; in 1962, the Brookings Jaycees invited Fujita to Brookings for their annual Azalea festival as an occasion of historical significance. (Brookings, Oregon)

But not everyone in town was thrilled. A full-page op-ed was printed in the local paper, The Brookings-Harbor Pilot, in 1962. Part of it read, “[Fujita’s] sole claim to fame is that he’s the only Nip pilot who bombed the mainland of the United States by airplane … Why stop with Fujita?”

“Why not assemble the ashes of Judas Iscariot, the corpse of Atilla the Hun, a shovel full of dirt from the spot where Hitler died … .” (“Nip” is a derogatory abbreviation of “Nippon,” the Japanese name for Japan.) (OPB)

Fujita accepted the invitation and came back to Oregon. He donated his Samurai sword, which had flown with him in the cockpit, to the City of Brookings “in the interest of peace and friendship.” Fujita was later named an honorary citizen and an ambassador of goodwill by the City of Brookings for his continued peace efforts. (Brookings, Oregon)

Fujita returned to Brookings in 1990, 1992, and 1995. In 1992, he planted a tree at the bomb site as a gesture of peace. In 1995, he moved the samurai sword from the Brookings City Hall into the new library’s display case.

He died in Japan on September 30, 1997, at the age of 85. His family honored his wishes and buried his ashes by a tree he had planted as a peace gesture at the bombing site during his 1992 visit. (KTVL)

Fujita fulfilled a promise to bring a small group of high school students to Japan for a cultural exchange “I just can’t admire the man enough. Just to keep this friendship between the town and himself. He was so good about that.” (Greg Jacques, OPB)

August 28, 2026 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Ammo Tunnels

In ancient times, the central plateau, particularly the area called Lihue on the southwestern part of the plateau, was a center of island political power.

Even after the royal center had shifted to Waikiki during the time of chief Maʻilikukahi, this central area continued to play a role in chiefly activities, especially related to Kukaniloko, the site where chiefs came for the birth of their royal children. (Army)

As late as 1797, Kamehameha is said to have “made every arrangement to have the accouchement (birth of his successor) take place at Kūkaniloko; but the illness of Queen Keōpūolani frustrated the design”. (Fornander)

The central plateau was also a sanctuary for refugee chiefs. In 1783, the Maui chief Kahekili invaded and conquered Oahu, chasing the Oahu chief Kahahana and his wife into hiding in “the thickets of Wahiawa”.

The larger gulches of the central plateau and the gulches on the higher slopes of the Waiʻanae and Koʻolau Ranges were probably cultivated with irrigated taro. Handy writes “there are terraced areas watered by Kioea and Waikoloa (the north boundary of the Schofield Barracks cantonment) Streams. Kalena Gulch (in the Schofield West Range) had some terraces”. (army-mil)

A network of trails connected the central plateau with other parts of the island. The northern leg of the Waialua trail extended to the north shore; the southern leg reached to the rich estuaries of Puʻuloa (Pearl Harbor) on the south shore. The Kolekole trail pointed west to the crest of the Waianae Range and across to the leeward coast.

Fast forward to modern times, the first naval ammunition depot in the Islands consisted of seven above-ground magazines located on Kuahua Island, Pearl Harbor, in the vicinity of the Naval Shipyard.

Kuahua was used from 1916 until April of 1934, when it was decommissioned because of its unsafe location and limited area available for expansion. In 1929, the Navy purchased 8,184 acres of the McCandless estate at Lualualei; on May 1, 1934 the US Naval Ammunition Depot was commissioned. (Oahu Detonator)

As WW II approached, portable storage units were replaced with extensive underground rooms and tunnels for ammunition storage at many locations on Oahu. One worker commented that the Engineers had built so many tunnels, if placed end to end– the entrance would be at Koko Head, the exit at Moanalua. (ACE)

A major defense project of the mid-1930s was the construction of ammunition tunnels into the sides of Aliamanu Crater, called Aliamanu Ammunition Storage Depot (now Aliamanu Military Reservation.)

Intended for centralized storage of Army ammunition, eight tunnels were dug in 1934 and additional 35 magazines were completed in 1937. (Army)

At the onset of World War II, the Army was importing ammunition in huge quantities, requiring construction of ammunition storage facilities. Small facilities were built above ground, but the bulk of the ammunition was stored in massive underground storage facilities.

The first to be developed was in Waikakalaua Gulch just south of Wheeler Field, as well as at Kipapa Gulch.

“Tunnels driven into the almost vertical walls of the two gorges would have entrances invisible from the air. To keep out bomb fragments, passageways to the storage chambers would be dog-legged or provided with baffles.”

“The only drawbacks to these sites were lava formations and cinder pockets which would necessitate timbering or concreting considerable portions of the chambers.” (DOD; army-mil)

Waikakalaua consisted of 52 tunnels built into the hillside and used for ammunition storage. The mission of Waikakalaua was to provide ammunition storage for the Army during and after World War II. Ordnance storage tunnels and underground fuel storage tanks are reported to have been constructed between 1942 and 1945, and the installation was active until the 1950s.

This system of tunnels was the location of the primary storage for ordinance for B-17s and other bombers stationed just above at the Kipapa Army Airfield. The site was also used to store anti-tank and rifle fragmentation grenades. (army-mil)

According to Army-Navy Explosives Safety Board Abstract Number 28, tunnel #24A exploded in 1946 blowing large pieces of the concrete baffle out of the tunnel and across the gulch with such force that it destroyed a railroad track 300 feet away and caused a 20-foot depression to form above the tunnel.

Kipapa Ammunition Storage Site, located in Kipapa Gulch, was comprised of three sections. The lower unit is accessed from the south side of the Kamehameha Highway Bridge and extends south to the Kipapa Navy Ammunition Storage Area. The other two units are in the gulch to the east of Mililani Town.

Army construction during this period also included “The Hole” (now the Kunia Field Station,) a facility originally intended for airplane assembly (with a runway connection to Wheeler Field to the east.)

“The entrance appeared to lead only to a small dugout in a rolling hill, but at the end of a quarter-mile tunnel two elevators – one big enough for 20 passengers and the other able to carry four ½-ton trucks – gave access to a three-floor structure, self-sufficient even to a cafeteria that could serve 6,000 meals a day.”

“’The Hole’ was intended for plane assembly, but since it was not needed for such use, it proved ideal for the reproduction of maps and charts. Its huge air conditioning and ventilating systems provided easy control of temperature and humidity, and its fluorescent lighting furnished a flood of shadowless illumination.” (Allen; army-mil)

In October 1941, work was started to convert the storage facility in the rim of Aliamanu Crater into a joint Army-Navy command post; although not completed at the time of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the post was shortly after put into service by the island command.

To alleviate continued housing shortages in the early-1970s, the Army, Navy, and Marines developed a joint project at Āliamanu Military Reservation, once a World War II era Navy-Army command post and important ammunition storage facility.

The ammunition was moved to the Lualualei storage depot and the crater was transformed into a 2,600-unit housing development.

Other tunnel complexes were built, including Schofield Barracks, Wheeler Field, Fort Shafter and Fort Ruger. The tunnels at Wheeler Field and Fort Ruger were for ammunition storage. The tunnels at Fort Shafter included a bombproof radio station, an underground cold storage facility, an anti-aircraft command radio transmitter tunnel, and the Air Defense Command Post. (army-mil)

Munitions_train-heading_out_of_Lualualei-1966

August 24, 2026 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Memorial Park

Memorials are an important way of remembering. They are not just part of the past; they help shape attitudes in the present and thus act as a guide for the future. (Ireland)

According to statistician Robert Schmitt, of the 9,800 Hawai‘i residents who served in World War I: 102 died – 14 overseas during the war, 61 in Hawai‘i or North America or after the armistice, and 27 in unknown circumstances.

Twenty-two of the 102 recorded deaths occurred among Island residents serving with the British. Actual battle deaths of persons in the US armed forces whose preservice residence was Hawai’i numbered six: seven others were wounded.
(Ireland)

As early as March, 1918, the Daughters and Sons of Hawaiian Warriors proposed the erection of a shaft of Hawaiian lava with polished sides, on which would be carved the names of all the island boys who gave up their lives in their country’s cause during the Great War.

In November, just after the signing of the armistice, a similar suggestion was made by Colonel Howard Hathaway, his idea being that a monument should be raised by public subscription and be made a feature of the civic center in Honolulu.

The suggestion was taken up by the Honolulu Ad Club, which on November 20, 1918, appointed a committee consisting of Colonel Hathaway, Ned Loomis, and WD Westervelt to make an investigation and confer with other organizations in the city on the subject. (Kuykendall, 1928)

A bill passed with practical unanimity by the legislature for the acquisition, for park and other public purposes, of the William G Irwin Waikiki beach property using Territorial bonds. It received the approval of the governor on April 29, 1919. The act provided that the name of any park created out of the property should be ‘Memorial Park.’

Governor McCarthy, at the suggestion of the American Legion, appointed A. Lester Marks, John R. Gait, and A. L. C. Atkinson as members of the Territorial War Memorial Commission (when Atkinson left the Islands 2-3 years later, JK Butler was named to the Commission.)

“This Commission shall serve without pay and shall make arrangements for and conduct an architectural competition for the design of the memorial provided for in this Act, and shall decide upon and designate the scheme of memorial to be adopted.”

“These plans shall include a swimming course at least 100 meters in length, and such other features as the Commission may designate.” (Senate Committee Report, March 3, 1921)

The competition was held under the general rules of the American Institute of Architects. Three architects, Bernard Maybeck of San Francisco, Ellis F Lawrence of Portland and WRB Willcox of Seattle, were selected to judge the competition.

“In the competitive designs for Hawai‘i’s War Memorial to be erected at Kapiʻolani Park, of the seven submitted by local and mainland architects, the award of first choice and prize went to Mr Louis P Hobart, of San Francisco.” (Thrum, 1922)

“The design was approved and highly commended by architects of national and international standing. They considered it to be most appropriate, and especially in keeping with the tropical and architectural atmosphere of Hawaii.”

“We should not at this time hesitate to establish in enduring form our tribute to the self-sacrifice, courage and patriotism of those who answered the call to service in the day of national emergency.”

“It has been a source of regret that interest in this enterprise has seemingly lagged. I trust that the construction of the first unit will be a signal for renewed enthusiasm to guarantee the completing of the whole project.” (Governor Farrington, 1927)

The construction contract was awarded to JL Cliff; an incentive to speedy completion of the project for the Hawaiian Association of the Amateur Athletic Union featuring the National Senior Men’s Outdoor Championships for 1927 and at which thirteen mainland and nine Hawaiian clubs, as well as a team from Japan, competed.

While the entire contract was not completed by the day set for the opening of the meet (August 24, 1927) it was far enough along so that the swimming pool could be used. In the evening of that day, the natatorium, constituting the first unit of Hawaii’s war memorial, was formally dedicated with a program arranged by the American Legion.

Duke Kahanamoku, Hawai‘i’s greatest swimming champion, gave a 100-meter freestyle exhibition swim (it was Duke’s 37th birthday.) The national swimming championships then started and during this and the three following evenings the best swimmers of the United States and Japan tested the quality of the swimming pool. (Kuykendall, 1928)

Tickets for the swim meet were expensive ($1.10 for reserved seating and 25-50¢ for general admission), but 6,000 spectators created a massive traffic jam in Waikiki the first night of competition.

The big draw was a race pitting the world sprint champion Johnny Weissmuller, who beat Duke Kahanamoku in the 1924 Paris Olympics, against Japan’s Katsuo “Flying Fish” Takaishi (Weissmuller won with a new world record of 58 seconds.)

The star of the evening, however, turned out to be Hawai‘i’s Clarence ‘Buster’ Crabbe who won the one-mile swim in 21 minutes 52.25 seconds. (HawaiiHistory)

Hopefully, the Natatorium can be repaired and used; the status quo will result in demolition by neglect.

August 21, 2026 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Overthrow

Some suggest the overthrow of the Hawai‘i constitutional monarchy was neither unexpected nor sudden.

Dissatisfaction with the rule of Kalākaua and Lili‘uokalani initially led to the ‘Bayonet Constitution,’ then, the overthrow. “(M)ounting dissatisfaction with government policies and private acts of officials led to the formation of the Hawaiian League, a group of Honolulu businessmen.” (Forbes)

Challenges with Kalākaua
• Polynesian Confederacy
• “(Gibson) discerned but little difficulty in the way of organizing such a political union, over which Kalākaua would be the logical emperor, and the Premier of an almost boundless empire of Polynesian archipelagoes.” (Daggett; Pacific Commercial Advertiser, February 6, 1900)

Opium License Bribery Case
• Initially the king, through his minister of foreign affairs, disclaimed any involvement. However, “To cap the climax of the opium matter, the Attorney General proceeds to acknowledge that the money was paid over by the Chinese … (H)e informed the gentlemen interested in getting the money back that he would never accomplish his object so long as he allowed the newspaper to speak of the affair.” (Hawaiian Gazette, May 17, 1887)

Extravagance/Debt
• Although Kalākaua had been elected and serving as King since 1874, upon returning from a trip around the world (1881), it was determined that Hawaiʻi’s King should also be properly crowned.
• “ʻIolani Palace, the new building of that name, had been completed the previous year (1882), and a large pavilion had been erected immediately in front of it for the celebration of the coronation. This was exclusively for the accommodation of the royal family; but there was adjacent thereto a sort of amphitheatre, capable of holding ten thousand persons, intended for the occupation of the people.” (Liliʻuokalani)

Bayonet Constitution (1887)
• In 1887, the struggle for control of Hawaiʻi was at its height with David Kalākaua on the throne. But some of the businessmen were distrustful of him. “So the mercantile element, as embodied in the Chamber of Commerce, the sugar planters, and the proprietors of the ‘missionary’ stores, formed a distinct political party, called the ‘down-town’ party, whose purpose was to minimize or entirely subvert other interests, and especially the prerogatives of the crown, which, based upon ancient custom and the authority of the island chiefs, were the sole guaranty of our nationality.” (Liliʻuokalani)

Concern with Lili‘uokalani’s Attempt to Rewrite the Constitution
• “When Lili‘uokalani became Queen, she took the following oath: ‘I solemnly swear in the presence of Almighty God, to maintain the Constitution of the Kingdom whole and inviolate, and to govern in conformity therewith.’” (UH Law School)
• “On January 14, 1893, Lili‘uokalani was prepared to ignore the constitutionally mandated approval-by-two-successive Legislatures process for amending the 1887 Constitution by announcing a new constitution in place of Kalākaua’s 1887 Constitution.” (UH Law School)
• “She did not do so because the Cabinet she appointed on January 13, 1893, refused her authorization request. The members of that Cabinet were Samuel Parker, William Henry Cornwell, Jr,, Arthur P. Peterson and John Colburn. Parker was a Native Hawaiian.” (UH Law School)

Some Native Hawaiian Dissatisfaction with the Acts of Kalākaua and Lili‘uokalani
• Robert W Wilcox – the man who figured so prominently & conspicuously in the revolution of 1889 (All quotes from Wilcox, Morgan Report)
o “Queen Lili‘uokalani brought these evils upon herself and the country both by her personal corruption, and that of her Government.”
o “I believe that if we can be annexed to the United States, the rights of all of our citizens, and especially those of the native Hawaiians, will be protected more carefully than they have ever been under the monarchy.”
o “They are naturally somewhat prejudiced against (the Provisional Government), as monarchy is the only form of Government with which they are familiar, but this feeling will quickly wear away as the Hawaiians are led to see that the Government is friendly to them and their interests. They already have confidence in the integrity and patriotism of President Dole.
o “I have repeatedly (advocated annexation to the United States) in public meetings held in this city. … but I am compelled to move cautiously or I shall lose my influence over them. I believe I am doing a good work by constantly conversing with them on the subject.”
o “I have told my countrymen that the monarchy is gone forever, and when they ask me what is the best thing to follow it I tell them annexation, and I firmly believe that in a very short time every Hawaiian will be in favor of that step.” (Robert W Wilcox – the man who figured so prominently & conspicuously in the revolution of 1889; Morgan Report)

Repeated Changes in Cabinet Ministers in the Kalākaua and Lili‘uokalani Reigns
• “Under every constitution prior to 1887 the ministers were appointed by the King and removed by him; but until Kalākaua’s reign it was a very rare thing that any King changed his ministry. They had a pretty long lease of political life.” (Judd; Blount Report)
• “It was a very rare political occurrence, and made a great sensation when a change was made.” (Judd; Blount Report) if

January 14, 1893 Lili‘uokalani’s Ministers Refused to Support Her Constitution – Threats of Bloodshed were Made Against Her Cabinet Ministers
• “The Queen retired to the blue room and summoned the ministers (Samuel Parker – Minister of Foreign Affairs; John F Colburn – Minister of Interior; William H Crowell – Minister of Finance; Arthur P Peterson – Attorney General) who repaired at once to the palace. The Queen was at a table, still dressed in the magnificent costume of the morning, and sparkling in a coronet of diamonds.”
• “She at once presented them with the draft of the new constitution, demanded their signatures, and declared her intention to promulgate the same at once.”
• “Attorney-general Peterson and Minister of Interior Colburn decidedly refused to do so, and Ministers Cornwell and Parker, though more hesitatingly, joined their colleagues in this refusal.”

The Provisional Government (and subsequent Republic, Territory & State) did not steal the land from the Hawaiian people – Crown Lands Remain in the Public Trust
• Crown and Government Lands, though under the control of changing sovereigns and governments (Kingdom to Provisional Government to Republic to Territory to State,) were in and continue to remain in the ‘public domain’ for the public good.
• US Court of Claims concluded, “The constitution of the Republic of Hawai‘i, as respects the crown lands, provided as follows: ‘That portion of the public domain heretofore known as crown land is hereby declared to have been heretofore, and now to be, the property of the Hawaiian Government …” (Lili‘uokalani v The United States, 1910)
• We now generally refer to the Crown and Government Lands as ‘ceded’ lands. Under the Admission Act, about 1.2-million acres are to “be held by (the) State as a public trust” to promote one or more of five purposes:
o support of the public schools and other public educational institutions
o betterment of the conditions of native Hawaiians (per the Hawaiian Homes Act, 1920)
o development of farm and home ownership on as widespread a basis as possible
o making of public improvements
o provision of lands for public use

The United States does not have to acquire property only through a Treaty of Annexation with a concurring vote by the US Senate.
• Annexation of Hawai‘i to the US was not a hostile takeover, it was something the Republic of Hawai‘i sought. “There was no ‘conquest’ by force in the annexation of the Hawaiian Islands nor ‘holding as conquered territory;’ they (Republic of Hawai‘i) came to the United States in the same way that Florida did, to wit, by voluntary cession”. (Territorial Supreme Court; Albany Law Journal)
• “There is no provision in the Constitution by which the national government is specifically authorized to acquire territory; and only by a great effort of the imagination can the substantive power to do so be found in the terms of any or all of the enumerated powers.” (Legal Issues Raised by Proposed Presidential Proclamation To Extend the Territorial Sea, October 4, 1988)

Here is the URL: https://imagesofoldhawaii.com/wp-content/uploads/Overthrow.pdf

One more correction to the many misconceptions … on January 17, 1893, the Hawai‘i constitutional monarchy was overthrown, not the Hawaiian race.

Commenters, please focus on the facts and if referring to the linked document. Please note the page and line number you are referring to (please include your source reference, as well).

June 18, 2026 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Bull Pen

Betty Jean O’Hara was “born in Chicago, Illinois in 1913, the year preceding the 1st World War. The early years of (her) life were happy and normal. Being the only child of a physician, (she) was given the best schooling in preparation for a career.”

“(Her) parents were Catholic, and were strict in the regimentation of (her) life. (She) was permitted however to attend parties and movies with other children (her) age.”

At about the age of 16, she met a girl and her boyfriend at a party. The girl was covered in fine jewelry and nice clothes. Young, and easily led, she “agreed to their sordid plans and went into the business of the ‘oldest profession.’” A month later, she left home and headed to San Francisco. (O’Hara)

“Jean O’Hara was a pretty girl who became a handsome woman. She was ‘black Irish,’ fair-skinned with a clear complexion which set off her dark eyes, raven hair, and even her features. She stood about 5’4” and at 120 pounds was slender by that era’s standards. Her good looks and classy bearing would serve her well.” (Bailey & Farber)

“(O’Hara) got used to the fast money.”

“(She) started working in one of the better class houses, and (she) became definitely committed to the practice of prostitution. (Her) father and mother tried every means available to frighten (her) into going home …”

“… but being headstrong, and enticed by the seemingly fabulous earnings (she) resisted their every attempt. Although (she) actually loathed the life, (her) sense of shame and sin aroused in (her) a perverse independence.” (O’Hara)

In mid-1938, O’Hara arrived in Honolulu from San Francisco.

There was an unofficial system of regulated prostitution in the Islands, with the also unofficial sanction of the military. Army military police and the Navy shore patrol helped monitor it.

All girls had to live in the houses where they worked; no white girls were allowed on the other side of River Street. The Army, Navy, and civilian police picketed any house violating the rules, and no man could enter it. According to the agreement, the civil police regulated prostitution “with full cooperation by the Army and Navy.” (Greer)

“The business of procuring girls to work in the brothels, or “factories”, before the war (WWII,) was usually handled by the same … “procurer.” He handled nothing but the transportation of the girls. … The fee for procuring a girl from the mainland rage(d) from $500 to $1,000 depending on the looks and the capability of the girl.” (O’Hara)

A detective would meet the ships coming in and the girls were taken to the ‘receiving station.’ (In O’Hara’s case, that was the Blaisdell Hotel on Fort Street.) The girls were explained the rules – in no uncertain terms, the girls were told that any violation of the rules meant banishment from the Territory.

All of the girls have a Territorial tax book and a Territorial license (they were licensed as ‘entertainers,’) which cost each $1 per year. In addition, every month the Vice Squad would collect an unofficial tax of $30 per girl from the brothels.

The girls paid Federal income taxes, as well as state taxes. “It has been said that (the) girls and Madames are the heaviest tax payers in Honolulu. … Each girl in Honolulu can average from $4,000 per month to $5,000 per month. … Taxes are collected by the Madame of the house, who also files the returns for them.” (O’Hara)

Before WWII, the girls usually started to work around 1 pm, and ended around 5 am. The ‘blackout’ during the war meant they worked from 8 am to noon.

“Very few girls made under a $100 a day, some of these double that and some of them made over $300 a day. It all depends upon the girl. She can make as much as she wants.”

“The price charged is $3.00 per date. Of this, the Madame gets one dollar. Out of the remaining two dollars, the girl must pay the Madame for her room and board and laundry.” (O’Hara)

The Madames were women from the mainland. Although prostitution was not legal, they needed permission from the local Police before operating.

When WWII broke out, and martial law was in effect, the military called the shots (1941-1943.) A “substantial number” of prostitutes were brought to Honolulu from the mainland under military priorities – a common rumor – and that under military government prostitution “flourished.” (Greer)

Most brothels required girls to see at least 100 men a day and to work at least 20 days per month.

To speed things along, O’Hara is credited with inventing the ‘bull pen’ system where a single prostitute would work three rooms in rotation (including maid service.)

In one room a man would be undressing, in a second room the prostitute would be having sex, and in the third room the man would be dressing. (The guy had three minutes to achieve release, after which she said ‘aloha’ and was off to the next room while he washed up and got dressed.) (McNeill)

After a few months’ work in a Hotel Street brothel, she had amassed a sizable bankroll. She leased a house near Waikiki Beach with a friend.

“The life of a prostitute is not an easy one, and the stringent rules of the Honolulu Police Department, headed by Chief of Police Gabrielson, left her no more freedom that a prisoner.”

O’Hara broke the rules (often) and ended up getting the regular attention of the Police, including Gabrielson. She was fined, imprisoned and beat black and blue, with two broken ribs.

O’Hara filed a $100,000 lawsuit in 1941 against the Police department for her two broken ribs and black eyes. The lawsuit was dropped, but conflicts with the Police continued.

O’Hara later married a ‘local boy’ and quit the business. She was a prostitute for 13-years, and temporarily was a Madame. She had homes in Waikiki and Pacific Heights.

After leaving the brothels, “(her) only desire (was) to live a useful family life, and help others to live and let live, as one resurrected from the sordid flesh mines of humanity.”

In 1944, she wrote a booklet, ‘My Life as a Honolulu Prostitute.’ She died in 1973. (Lots of information here is from that booklet.)