Images of Old Hawaiʻi

by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Marine Dam

Marines and Sailors trained for what has been referred to as the toughest marine offensive of WWII. 1,300 miles northeast of Guadalcanal, the Japanese had constructed a centralized stronghold force in a 20-island group called Tarawa in the Gilbert Islands.

RADM Shibasaki, the Japanese commander there, proclaimed, “a million men cannot take Tarawa in a hundred years.”   Ultimately, the objective took 9,000 marines only four days (November 20 to November 23, 1943) – but not without a staggering 37% casualties.  US victories at Tarawa, New Guinea and the Solomon Islands marked a turning point in the war.

The Marines would reconstitute at Camp Tarawa at Waimea, on the Island of Hawaiʻi.  Originally an Army camp named Camp Waimea (when the population in town was about 400,) it became the largest Marine training facility in the Pacific following the battle of Tarawa.  

Pyramid tent cities and streets of long convoys of jeeps, trucks, half-tracks, tanks, artillery and amphibious ducks made up the formidable, but top secret, Camp Tarawa; over 50,000 servicemen trained there between 1942 and 1945.

A lasting legacy of the military presence in Waimea was an addition in the community’s drinking water system – “Marine Dam” – it’s still in use and is located above Waimea Town near the lower edge of the forest.

Marine Dam is a diversion dam in Waikoloa Stream at the 3,460-foot elevation, built during World War II by the US Engineering Department to supply water for the military encampment of several thousand Marines in Waimea.

Built in 1943, the 5-foot high dam captured stream water into a 12-inch lightweight steel clamp-on pipeline. In 1966, the steel pipeline was replaced by a more durable 18-inch ductile iron pipe.  A still basin and a cleanout were also added.

Today, the Marine Dam serves its original function and is a major source of drinking water for the South Kohala Water System, which provides drinking water as far east as Paʻauilo and west to the Waiemi subdivision on Kawaihae Road.

Hawai‘i County Department of Water Supply (DWS) relies on the streams of Kohala Mountain for its primary source of water.

The primary sources for the Waimea Water System are the mountain supplies from Waikoloa Stream and the Kohākōhau Stream diversion. The surface water sources are supplemented by the Parker Ranch groundwater well.  Surface water is treated at the Waimea Water Treatment Plant and blended with groundwater before distribution.

Raw water from the streams is stored in 4 reservoirs with a total capacity of over 150 million gallons (MG) and is treated in the DWS filtration plant. This system provides about 2-million gallons per day (mgd) (the system has a potential capacity of 4-mgd.)

There are three 50-million-gallon reservoirs in the Waimea system, although one of them is out of commission as a result of damage from the 2006 Kiholo Bay earthquake.  Two were initially damaged, but one has since been repaired.

The dam seems to also have helped native species; two Koloa ducks were observed on October 30, 1968 in a small pool of Waikoloa Stream approximately 400 yards above the Marine Dam, Kohala Watershed, and expressed the opinion that this was the “first sighting of wild Koloa on Hawaiʻi in more than 20 years”.

The work of the dam did not go unnoticed.  In 1997, the American Water Works Association designated the Marine Dam as an “American Water Landmark” (the only award for a neighbor island facility.)  Three other Water Landmark awards were issued to Kalihi Pump Station (1981,) Hālawa Shaft (1994) and the Beretania Pumping Station (1995.)

To receive a landmark status, the facility must be at least 50 years old and of significant value to the community.

DWS is permitted by the State’s Water Commission to take 1.427-mgd total from its diversions at the Marine Dam and Kohākōhau Dam, which is approximately 33% of the median daily discharge of Waikoloa and Kohākōhau streams combined.

The average or “mean” annual daily flow at Waikoloa stream is 9.12 cubic feet per second (cfs) (5.89 (mgd;)) however, this mean flow likely occurs only 20-30% of the time.

The median daily discharge for Waikoloa stream is 4.3 cfs (2.78 mgd.)  On a more typical day, streamflow is within the 70-75% range (meaning the percentage of time discharge equaled or exceeded this amount), or between 2.5-2.8 cfs (1.62-1.81 mgd.)  (MKSWCD)

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by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Sowing Seeds In Hawai‘i Via The Airplane

In 1903, the Hawai‘i Territorial Legislature passed Act 44 establishing the Board of Agriculture and Forestry, predating the USDA Forest Service by one year.

The Forest Reserve System was created by the Territorial Government of Hawai’i through Act 44 on April 25, 1903.  It was cooperative arrangement between the Hawai‘i Sugar Planters Association and the territorial government.

Plantations needed wood for fuel, but they also needed to keep the forests intact to draw precipitation from the trade winds, which in turn fed the irrigation systems in the cane fields below. (DLNR-DOFAW)

The first Territorial forester, Ralph S Hosmer, suggested that the forest had been declining in the uplands as a result of fire, grazing and insects. In order to preserve the forest, it was necessary to keep the ungulates out. From 1924 to 1926 hundreds of thousands of pigs, sheep, cattle and goats were reportedly removed from Hawai‘i’s Territorial forests.

Likewise, the watershed areas needed to be reforested. “The difficulty lies in the distribution of … seeds over the thousands of square miles of mountain land. …”

“It follows naturally that … seeds will germinate and develop into trees when sown in elevated position by birds, they should do the same if sown in positions by the hand of man. Therefore the experiment of throwing seed into such positions was started by the foresters when traveling through the forests on foot”.

“‘Why then,’ [Dr Harold L Lyon,  superintendent of the Territory’s Department of Botany and Forestation] asked, ‘would it not be possible to fly over the decadent forests in an airplane, dropping … seeds wherever favorable conditions seem to exist for their reception?’”

“‘Naturally, most of the seeds so dropped would land in situations where it could not grow and thrive, but if one tree eventually matured for every 100,000 seeds so sown, the results would be worth the effort. …’”

“‘The air service of the US army has shown great willingness to assist us in this endeavor … We have learned many interesting and helpful facts regarding the culture and propagation …’ he concludes.”

“‘Our project has passed the critical tests and we can proceed with its further elaboration with every assurance that we are laying the foundation for a natural and permanent rejuvenation of our forests.” (SB, Jun 22, 1929)

Airplanes were not suggested just for reforestations in Hawai‘i, folks in Panama were seriously concerned about mosquitos and the malaria they carried.

“The definition of a Bombing Plane appears to be due for a revision – hurling bombs, dusting mosquitoes, sowing – what next?” (Army Corps News, September 18, 1931)

Then, several newspapers across the continent reported, “It might be called the story of the elephant, and the bombing plane. The wild beast of the jungles, with Its tremendous power of destruction, when once captured and trained, becomes the servant of man. Its lumbering hulk is put to work clearing paths through the wilderness transporting lumber and other cargo.”

“Under the guidance of its master its potential strength is turned to useful, peaceful pursuits to aid mankind.  The Army Air Corps bombing planes, the greatest destruction machines in the Government’s military service, are being similarly ‘harnessed,’ on occasion, in peaceful pursuits.”

“Potentially capable or wiping out cities with the tons of bombs and poisonous gases they can carry, they are being used on errands of mercy, seeding of sugar plantations and in the Government’s ‘war’ on the malaria-carrying mosquito.”

“The most recent instance of these humanitarian services occurred during the hurricane which swept Belize, British Honduras, and caused widespread destruction and suffering.”

“Army planes were dispatched with first aid equipment and provisions supplies to help in caring for the injured and homeless.

Another recent case of the peaceful use of the army fighting planes has been the war on mosquitoes in Panama.”

“Contrary to prevalent belief, this was the first time dusting by airplane to kill mosquito larvae has been attempted in Panama or the Canal Zone.”

“Co-operating  with the Health Department of the Panama Canal, the Air Corps has equipped a bombing plane with a ‘dusting’’ device and has attacked the breeding areas of  the mosquito.”

“Still another Instance in line with these peaceful pursuits of the Air Corps is the sowing of seeds in Hawaii.  At the request of the Forestry Division of the Hawaiian Sugar Planters’ Association and the Territorial Board of Agriculture and Forestry, bombing planes have been utilized in planting seed over the mountain area of Oahu near Honolulu.”

“Several flights are made each year over areas difficult to plant by ground methods with highly satisfactory results. The Army Fokker plane Bird or Paradise, in which Lieuts Maitland and Hegenberger flew from Oakland, Cal to Honolulu in 1927, was used for a time, sowing as much as a ton on a flight.”

“Now smaller quantities are scattered from the rear cockpit of bombing planes.” (Brooklyn Eagle, Sep 27, 1931)  “Several flights are made each year over areas difficult to plant by ground methods.”  (Army Corps News, September 18, 1931)

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Metal Stick Operators – Beeper Pilots

“Much  of the credit for the 17,000 Japanese planes shot out of the air or destroyed aground in the war can be given to realistic training afforded pilots, aircrewmen and [anti-aircraft] gunners firing at aerial targets – tow sleeves, banners and drones.”

“Intensive work to develop an aerial target that would approximate more closely firing on an aircraft in flight began at Naval  Aircraft Factory in 1923.” (Naval Aviation News, Nov 1945)

“Drones were developed [in the 1920s]. First experiments with radio-control were in 1922 and the first successful take-off and flight was made with a VE-7 plane in 1924. … During the war smaller drones were used”.

The standard drone is … “a low wing Culver monoplane with 30-foot wingspan. It is a standard small plane adapted as a flying target and can fly three hours and another hour if provided with auxiliary fuel tank.” (Naval Aviation News, Nov 1945) The airframe was made with molded plywood.  (Allnut, Military Aviation Museum)

Wheeler Army Airfield had the 17th Tow Target Squadron that, as the name suggests, towed targets behind aircraft for aerial anti-aircraft gunnery training.

“The unit’s other responsibility involved training antiaircraft gunners on the ground, and for this they were also equipped with radio-controlled PQ-8 Red Foxes and later, with PQ-14 Cadets, along with specially modified Cessna UC-78 Bobcats which served as motherships to guide the PQ aircraft on their missions.”

“The PQ-14 and its slightly older and smaller sibling, the Culver PQ-8 Red Fox, played key roles in preparing the nation’s anti-aircraft gunnery crews (on both land and at sea) for the situations they might encounter in combat.”

“These diminutive, radio-controlled aircraft presented realistic, live targets for our trainee gunners to test their skills against. The men got to practice every aspect of how best to track, lead and shoot down incoming enemy aircraft.”

“Short of experiencing actual combat, this opportunity presented them with the most effective way of gaining such vital skills in their efforts to help win World War Two.”  (Allnut, Military Aviation Museum)

“The PQ-8 and PQ-14 were flown remotely using the same principles which present day RC [Remote Control] hobbyists fly their model aircraft.”

“Each of the drone’s control surfaces (rudder, elevator, ailerons and trim tabs) was connected to its own servo motor, which input precise position adjustments responding to commands it received from the remote pilot (via the aircraft’s radio control receiver).”

“Similar servo motors were connected to the engine’s throttle, mixture and carburetor heat levers. The PQ-14 also had a relay for operating the retractable undercarriage as well, a feature which the fixed-gear PQ-8 obviously didn’t need.”

“Neither aircraft type had flaps, to reduce their complexity and weight, although it did mean that landing speeds were comparatively high (90-mph for PQ-14) relative to other aircraft of their size.”

“During a typical drone mission, a pilot on the ground would perform the takeoff, sitting atop a chair with a ‘Metal Stick’ controller in front of them to remotely operate the PQ’s controls.” (Allnut, Military Aviation Museum)

“Formally known as ‘Metal Stick Operators’, these pilots were colloquially referred to as ‘Beeper Pilots’ due to the sounds and flashing lights emanating from their control consoles.” These sounds and lights were confirmation that the system was in proper communication with the PQ drone.

Typically, the ground-bound Beeper Pilots were only involved in the PQ’s takeoff sequence, another Beeper Pilot aboard a mothership would then take over the drone’s flying controls.”

“Once the PQ was in the air, a separate remote operator, flying nearby in a mothership with their own ‘Metal Stick’ controller, would assume command of the aircraft and take it through its mission and, should it survive, back to base for a landing.”

“Those qualified to fly a PQ from its cockpit often had to take their turn serving as a safety pilot while other trainee Beepers tested their mettle from the mothership.”

“A ‘Beeper’s’ ultimate goal involved learning how to land the PQ remotely from the air without a safety pilot aboard the drone, a feat referred to colloquially in some quarters by the term ‘nullo.’ With a nullo under their belt, and a little more practice, trainee Beepers would soon become qualified to fly actual gunnery missions with the PQ.” (Allnut, Military Aviation Museum)

“These pilots could control the plane as effectively as if they were sitting in the cockpit and could perform a satisfactory imitation of even the hottest enemy fighter planes during target training for gunners and pilots.”  (Experimental Aircraft Assn)

WASPs (Women Airforce Service Pilots) were involved in the drone operations, as noted in a letter from Betty Jane Deuser, who spent several months learning how to fly the PQ-8, both from the cockpit and remotely.  She was based at Liberty Field in Hinesville, Georgia.

“‘The radio control operations is secret, but seeing as how they publicize the torpedo angle, it’s OK to say a little about it I guess. There’s a unit in the PQ [Culver PQ-14 Cadet airplane] which works by radio signals. We’re practicing flying the PQ with this unit now, and will go on to flying the PQ from the C-78, using the same method.’”

“‘To begin with, the PQ has a safety pilot in it; in case the ‘beeper’ gets the ship doing maneuvers that aren’t cricket. Then the safety pilot takes over and flies the PQ.’”

“‘But that’s just for practice. When we get good enuf at landing the PQ without busting it up, then we can do PQ missions – flying the PQ from the C-78 up over the anti aircraft artillery range, where they try to shoot it down. It’s better practice for the AA [Anti-Aircraft] to use real planes instead of just target sleeves…’” (Betty Jane Deuser, October 19, 1943 in letter home)

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Watertown

As a means of solidifying a site in the central Pacific, the US negotiated an amendment to the Treaty of Reciprocity in 1887.  King Kalākaua in his speech before the opening session of the 1887 Hawaiian Legislature stated (November 3, 1887:)

“I take great pleasure in informing you that the Treaty of Reciprocity with the United States of America has been definitely extended for seven years upon the same terms as those in the original treaty, with the addition of a clause granting to national vessels of the United States the exclusive privilege of entering Pearl River Harbor and establishing there a coaling and repair station.”

From 1901 to 1908, the Navy devoted its time to improving the facilities of the 85 acres that constituted the naval reservation in Honolulu. Under the Appropriation Act of March 3, 1901, this tract of land was improved with the erection of additional sheds and housing. The station grew slowly, and not always at an even pace.  (navy-mil)

On May 13, 1908, the US Congress affirmed Pearl Harbor’s strategic importance by appropriating funds and authorized and directed the Secretary of the Navy “to establish a naval station at Pearl Harbor, Hawaiʻi, on the site heretofore acquired for that purpose”.  (Congressional Record)

Until the transfer of the Naval Station to Pearl Harbor, the naval reservation in Honolulu remained nothing more than a rather elaborate coaling station. The major interests were the shipping and weighing of coal and the checking of invoices.  (navy-mil)

Immediate improvements included dredging the entry channel; constructing the necessary infrastructure and other naval facilities; and building a drydock.

Congress further noted that Secretary “may, in his discretion, enter into contracts for any portion of the work, including material therefor, within the respective limits of cost herein stipulated, subject to appropriations to be made therefor by Congress, or may direct the construction of said works or any portion thereof under the supervision of a civil engineer of the Navy.”  (Congressional Record)

“A small army of men, looking for work at Pearl Harbor, besieged the Naval Station this morning.  … Men, who have been turned away from time to time with the promise that they might find something, when the necessary papers arrived, this morning thronged to the place to get the precious slips. … The men are to be put to work as soon as Washington has been heard from and building at Pearl Harbor begins.”  (Evening Bulletin, August 6, 1908)

On December 5, 1908, the newly-formed “Hawaiian Dredging Company of Honolulu was found to have made, the lowest figure of the six bidden ($3,560,000,) which included two Honolulu concerns and four mainland companies.”  (Evening Bulletin, December 1, 1908)

Hawaiian Dredging apparently initially intended a partner, “The contract for the dredging of the Pearl Harbor channel… will be handled in a combination with the San Francisco Bridge Company”. (Hawaiian Star, December 18, 1908)  However, shortly thereafter, it was noted that Hawaiian Dredging “is now controlled and owned entirely by the Dillingham interests”.  (Pacific Commercial Advertiser, December 22, 1908)

“The contract was signed December 24, 1908, and actual dredging operations began March 1, 1909.”  (Congressional Record)  The period from 1908 to 1919 was one of steady and continuous growth of the Naval Station, Pearl Harbor.  (navy-mil)

That leads us to this piece’s title and the focus of this summary – Watertown.

With all the work underway at Pearl Harbor, Hawaiian Dredging created a camp, more like a small city, to house and provide for the workers and their families.

It was called ‘Watertown,’ because of the frequent leaks in its water main, which was installed so hastily that much of it lay above ground.  (McElroy)  (It was alternatively known as “Dredger’s Row” or “Drydock Row.” (Waller))

It was situated “on the Waikīkī or Honolulu shore of the channel … just below Bishop Point, and mauka of Queen Emma Point (Fort Kamehameha.)”  (Pacific Commercial Advertiser; Papacostas)

Watertown was a 2,000-acre settlement containing numerous large structures, roads, rail lines, port facilities and an ethnically diverse population of laborers responsible for the dredging of Pearl Harbor. In the early 1930s the population of Watertown numbered 1,000 laborers and their families, including 300 school-aged children. (McElroy)

The residents were made up of Japanese, Russians, Chinese, Portuguese and a score of Americans who were the employees of the dry-dock, machinists, launch hands, laborers and native Hawaiian fishermen.  (Fletcher)

In addition, off-duty inspectors overseeing the dredging operations lived at Watertown in quarters provided by Hawaiian Dredging and ate their meals at a restaurant conducted by Chinese. (While on duty they slept and ate on the dredges which were located from one-half to two miles from shore in the channel.)  (Fletcher)

The town included a schoolhouse and adjacent Catholic Church, a theater, post office, at least one hotel and a number of stores and offices.

In addition to housing its resident population, Watertown was noted as a recreation hub for the entire region, complete with gambling, drink and prostitution.  (McElroy)

By the early-1930s, Watertown was falling into disrepair and businesses were declining. Demolition began in 1935 and had disappeared by December 11, 1936, when an Army air base (later Hickam Air Force Base) replaced the town (however, the former Watertown school buildings were initially used by the construction crew associated with the Hickam construction.)  (Waller)

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Maluhia

Following the annexation of Hawaiʻi to the United States in 1898, plans evolved for the coastal defense of the island and the Naval station at Pearl Harbor.

The Artillery District of Honolulu was established in 1909 and consisted of Forts Ruger, DeRussy, Kamehameha and Armstrong.  The District was renamed Headquarters Coast Defenses of Oahu sometime between 1911 – 1913.

In 1906, the US War Department acquired more than 70-acres in the Kālia portion of Waikīkī for the establishment of a military reservation; it was designated Kālia Military Reservation, but in 1909 was renamed Fort DeRussy in honor of Brevet Brigadier General Rene Edward DeRussy, a veteran of the War of 1812 and the Civil War.

Back then, nearly 85% of present Waikīkī was in wetland agriculture or aquaculture.  The Army started filling in the fishponds which covered most of the Fort – thus, the Army began the transformation of Waikīkī from wetlands to solid ground.

The post was used almost exclusively as a seacoast defense for Honolulu Harbor during World War I. During World War II it was used for seacoast and antiaircraft defense, as a garrison for troops, headquarters for the Military Police, as a camouflage school, and as Headquarters for the US Armed Forces Institute.

The area also served as a rest and recreation area for personnel in the middle Pacific Area. Fort DeRussy was the biggest recreation center on Oʻahu, providing clubs and overnight accommodations for enlisted men and officers.  In 1949, the post was officially designated an Armed Forces Recreation area.

And, that, in part, is what this summary is about … the Maluhia Recreation Center.

The area contained a gymnasium, bowling alley, bathhouses and dressing rooms, a snack bar, surfboard lockers, a fully equipped dark room, a studio for making recordings, a library, a hobby shop, a pistol range within the coastal battery, an officers’ club, hotel facilities, and bars and restaurants.  A tram shuttle service ran between Maluhia and the bathhouses on the beach.

Before WWII, six different agencies were providing recreation, entertainment, and support services for the US Armed Forces, in addition to their regular services.  These were the Salvation Army, the YMCA, the YWCA, the National Catholic Community Service, the National Jewish Welfare Board and the Travelers’ Aid Association.

In early-1941, the groups decided to pool their efforts, and a single group was formed – the United Service Organizations, or USO. The six agencies continued with their other charity efforts, and the USO managed the US Armed Forces work.  The USO was entirely a civilian volunteer operation.

During WWII, the USO used what buildings they could, such as churches, private homes, beach and yacht clubs, commercial businesses, and even railroad cars. Services provided included dances, food, facilities for pressing clothes, showers, reading rooms, games, among others. The most publicized was the live entertainment for the military personnel stationed throughout the world.

It was provided by Camp Shows, Inc., which was a separate organization of professional entertainers and managers set up and supported by the USO.

Maluhia, which means “haven of rest,” was opened on April 27, 1943 as a recreation center for enlisted men.  Although built by the Army on Army land, the building was constructed to serve as a recreation center for the men and women of all of the armed forces, including those stationed in Hawaiʻi and those passing through Hawaii while returning home from the warfront. It was one of the largest of its kind in the world.

The restaurant and terrace provided seating for 1,200 men and women (although on busy days many more were able to pack in.) It also contained the longest bar in the Hawaiian Islands.  The 1944 wing addition on the west side added a hostess office, hostess consultation room, enlisted men’s quarters room, an office for the officer in charge and a store room.

“Broad lanais, spaciousness and a feeling of the ‘outdoors brought inside’ (were) some of the elements that (made) the building characteristically Hawaiian in atmosphere”.

During WWII, Maluhia was open seven days a week, from 11 am to 5 pm; typically 1,000 to 2,000 people a day visited Maluhia during the week, with often over 4,000 a day on the weekends.

Music was provided by various service bands throughout the islands. Free entertainment was provided each afternoon, including music, variety shows, movies and sketches. Dances were held at least three to four days a week.

At the end of the war, the troops stationed throughout the Pacific gradually were taken home. The number of military personnel in the Pacific increased due to the Korean Conflict in 1950-53 and the Vietnam Conflict in 1963-73.  Later, demand waned and the Maluhia Hall was eventually torn down.

The Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies opened new “Maluhia Hall,” a new state-of-the-art learning center at Fort DeRussy. The learning center brings more than 10,000-sq ft of additional classroom space to support the US Department of Defense institute’s security cooperation and executive education programs  (Lots of information here is from Maluhia-HABS-NPS.)

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