Images of Old Hawaiʻi

by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

ʻŌlelo Noʻeau

A proverb is a simple and concrete saying, that expresses a truth based on common sense or the practical experience. They are often metaphorical. A proverb that describes a basic rule of conduct may also be known as a maxim.

Hawaiian proverbs are called ʻŌlelo Noʻeau; they have been handed down through the generations through Hawaiiʻs oral tradition. The sayings were gathered by Mary Kawena Pukui.

Here are a few random examples; they provide some food for thought.

I ka wa mamua, ka wa mahope
The future is in the past

Na wai hoʻi ka ʻole o ke akamai, he alanui i maʻa i ka hele ʻiae oʻu mau mākua?
Why shouldn’t I know, when it is a road often travelled by my parents?
(Reply of Liholiho when someone praised his wisdom.” Mary Kawena Pukui, ʻŌlelo Noʻeau 2301)

He Aliʻi ka ʻāina; he kauwa ke kanaka.
The land is a chief; man is its servant. (Mary Kawena Pukui, ʻŌlelo Noʻeau Pukui 531)
Land has no need for man, but man needs the land and works it for a livelihood.

Kama ʻia ke aloha a paʻa i loko.
Bind love that it may remain fast within.
Be a person who knows love.

E hoʻaʻo no i pau kuhihewa.
Try it to end the panic.
Often we stress out just worrying about doing a difficult job. “Just do it!”

Hahai no ka ua i ka ululaʻau.
The rain follows after the forest.
Destroy the forest, the rains will cease to fall.

O ka makapo wale no ka mea hapapa i ka pouli.
Only the blind gropes in the darkness.
If you have no direction in life, you’ll get nowhere.

I mohala no ka lehua i ke keʻekehi ʻia e ka ua.
The Lehua blossom unfolds when the rains tread on it.
People respond better to gentle words than to scoldings.

Pupukahi i holomua.
Unite to move forward.
By working together we make progress.

E lauhoe mai na waʻa; i ke ka, i ka hoe; i ka hoe, i ke ka; pae aku i ka ʻāina.
Paddle together, bail, paddle; paddle, bail; paddle towards the land.
If everybody works together the work will be done quickly.

I ka ʻolelo no ke ola, i ka ʻolelo no ka make.
In speech is life, in speech is death.
Words can either be a source for healing or destroying.

He lawaiʻa no ke kai papaʻu, he pokole ke aho; he lawaiʻa no ke kai hohonu he loa ke aho.
A fisherman of shallow seas uses only a short line; a fisherman of the deep sea uses a long line.
You will reach only as far as you aim and prepare yourself to reach.

Aʻohe hana nui ka aluʻia.
No task is too big when done together.
United we stand, divided we fall.

Lawe i ka maʻalea a kuʻonoʻono.
Acquire skill and make it deep.
Work hard and practice long until it becomes a part of you.

Kulia i ka nuʻu
Strive for the summit.
Strive for excellence.

Onipaʻa
(Be) steadfast.
Take your stand and be steadfast in doing what is right.

ʻIke aku, ʻike mai, kokua aku kokua mai; pela iho la ka nohana ʻohana.
Recognize others, be recognized, help others, be helped; such is a family relationship.
Put family first, you help others and know you will be helped if there is anything you need.

Makaʻala ke kanaka kahea manu.
A man who calls birds should always be alert.
One who wishes to succeed needs to be alert to any opportunity that should arise.

ʻAʻa i ka hula, waiho ka hilahila i ka hale.
When one wants to dance the hula, bashfulness should be left at home.

I ka ʻolelo no ke ola, i ka ʻolelo no ka make.
Life is in speech; death is in speech.
Words can heal; words can destroy. Be careful what you say.

ʻIke ʻia no ka loea i ke kuahu.
An expert is recognized by the altar he builds.
It is what one does and how well he does it that shows whether he is a expert.

He kehau hoʻomaʻemaʻe ke aloha.
Love is like cleansing dew.
Love removes hurt.

Nana ka maka, hoʻolohe ka pepeiao, paʻa ka waha.
Observe with the eyes, listen with the ears, donʻt talk.
This is how one learns best.

Piʻi mai nei i ka pali me he ʻaʻama lā
Climbs the cliff like a black crab.
Said of one who goes beyond his limit.

ʻO ke kahua ma mua, ma hope ke kūkulu
Learn all you can, then practice.

ʻIke aku, ʻike mai, kōkua aku, kōkua mai; pēlā ihola ka nohona ʻohana
Recognize others, be recognized, help others, be helped; such is a family relationship.
Family life requires an exchange of mutual help and recognition.

ʻIke ʻia no ka loea i ke kuahu
An expert is recognized by the altar he builds
It is what one does and how well he does it that shows whether he is an expert.

He ʻaʻaliʻi ku makani mai au; ʻaʻohe makani nana e kulaʻi
I am a wind resisting ʻaʻaliʻi, no gale can push me over.
In difficult times, when attacked, one stands strong.

The image shows the cover to Mary Pukui’s Book, ʻŌlelo Noʻeau.

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by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Bishop, Baldwin, Rewald, Dillingham & Wong

OK, this is pretty recent history, but it’s worth recalling – especially when you look at the name dropping of some of the notable names of Hawaiʻi’s past and the apparent lack of confirmation of the families who were part of “the deal.”

The saga of Bishop, Baldwin, Rewald, Dillingham & Wong began in 1977, when Ronald Ray Rewald, following a minor criminal conviction and the bankruptcy of a sporting-goods concern in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, moved to Hawaiʻi.

Rewald was born in 1942 and grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  A natural born athlete, he was a sought after professional football player.  He signed with the Cleveland Browns and trained with the Chiefs, but an ankle injury during training kept him from ever being an NFL superstar.

The faux investment entity was incorporated in 1979.  Using names of the past (as well as his and that of his partner in crime, Sunlin LS Wong) 36-year-old Rewald rubbed elbows with the likes of Governor George Ariyoshi and actor Jack Lord, before his company started to cave in.

Rewald and Wong formed “Bishop, Baldwin, Rewald, Dillingham & Wong” and quickly fell into favor with many who invested millions of dollars on behalf some of Honolulu’s most prominent businesses and families.

Rewald moved into a sprawling estate near Kuliouou and traveled around town in a black stretch limo that featured a coat of arms and Rewald’s initials on the doors.

The names Bishop, Baldwin and Dillingham were established old-money names of Hawaiʻi that the schemers put on their letterhead to create the illusion of credibility.  One local businessman noted, “It was as if he arrived in Manhattan and had a firm called Rockefeller, Harriman, Cabot, Forbes and Roosevelt.”

It represented itself as being “one of Hawaiʻi’s oldest and largest privately-held international investment and consulting firms”, dealing only in “secured, safe, non-risk” investments.

Before it fell, over 400-people “invested” $22-million, that Rewald used it to buy property around the island and generally came across as a hugely successful local financier, promising 20% returns on investments and claiming a waiting list of two years to contribute funds.

The firm’s sales materials indicated that investors’ funds were “fully accessible without charge, cost, penalties, time deposits or restrictions.”  However, “investors” started demanding return of their funds.

Feeling pressured, and apparently seeing that the light at the end of the tunnel was an on-coming train, Rewald slit his wrists in the Sheraton Waikīkī … and lived.

As soon as he was released from the hospital, he was arrested and charged with theft by deception under Hawaiʻi criminal law.

Rewald’s partner Wong cooperated with the authorities pled guilty and did 2-years in a federal penitentiary.

Rewald faced federal criminal charges of swindling more than $22 million in what government prosecutors characterize as a “Ponzi scheme.”

A Ponzi scheme has no actual earnings, but to keep investor interest, periodic payments are made (using their own money or the money paid by subsequent investors, rather than from profit earned by the individual or organization running the operation.)

This “investment” strategy was named after Charles Ponzi, who became notorious for using the technique in 1920. Ponzi did not invent the scheme (i.e., Charles Dickens’ 1844 novel Martin Chuzzlewit and 1857 novel Little Dorrit each described such a scheme.)

However, the intrigue grew when claims of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was blamed for the fiasco.

During his trial, the case took a bizarre turn when Rewald claimed his investment company was a CIA front.  The allegations of a CIA cover-up caught the national media’s attention, which sparked a legal battle between the CIA and ABC News.

ABC News launched a review and investigation of the tangled Ronald R. Rewald story that forced the network into an unprecedented legal conflict with the Central Intelligence Agency.

The review was supported and directed by ABC News President Roone Arledge and Vice President David Burke.

However, as Rewald’s trial progressed, little evidence supporting his or ABC’s charges came to light.  Among the more explosive charges in the ABC reports were that the CIA used Rewald’s company for an illegal arms deal with Taiwan, plotted to kill Rewald and threatened the life of an investor in his firm.  ABC later retracted the Rewald murder charge, a move that prompted a $145-million libel suit by the source of the story.

In his defense case, Rewald acknowledged many of the government’s accusations against him.  Rewald declined to testify in his own defense when Federal District Judge Harold M Fong ruled that much of his story would be inadmissible.

In the end, it turned out to be nothing but a common Ponzi scheme.  The con ran for a few years up until 1983, when Bishop, Baldwin, Rewald, Dillingham & Wong met the fate that all Ponzi’s do … implosion.

After an 11-week trial involving over 140-witnesses and 98-charges stemming from theft by deception, Rewald was sentenced to 80 years.

Rewald was released on parole from the Federal Correctional Institution on Terminal Island in California in June 1995.  He wasn’t eligible for parole until October 2015, but was released early, possibly because of a back injury.

Following his release, Rewald lived in Los Angeles and reported to his probation officer in Studio City. The probation office closed his case in 2000.

Rewald later was the director of operations of a talent and literary agency, Agency for the Performing Arts, in Beverly Hills. APA also has offices in New York City and Nashville.

Ronald Rewald died in California in December 2017 after living 23 years as a free man out of the limelight; he was 76. (Gomes)  (Lots of information here from various published reports on the matter.)

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by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

“Love Always For Hawaiʻi”

When the Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame honored ‘Hawaiʻi Aloha’ as one of five traditional songs as a ‘Famous Song’ (1998,) they noted,

“For more than 100 years, love of the land and its natural beauty has been the poetry Hawaiian composers have used to speak of love. Hawaiian songs also speak to people’s passion for their homeland and their beliefs.”

The Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame further noted, Hawaiʻi Aloha is “widely regarded as Hawaiʻi’s second anthem”.  (Hawaiian Music Museum)

“It is performed at important government and social functions to bring people together in unity, and at the closing of Hawaiʻi Legislative sessions. Today, people automatically stand when this song is played extolling the virtues of ‘beloved Hawaiʻi.’”

Hawaiʻi Aloha was written by a Protestant missionary, Lorenzo Lyons.

“In 1998, The Advisory Board honored these traditional songs for their beauty and their messages, which have made them popular, with concert performers and recording artists, as well as the public.”

Hawaiʻi Aloha has three verses, but most typically sing the first verse and repeat portions of the chorus:

E Hawaiʻi e kuʻu one hānau e
Kuʻu home kulaiwi nei
ʻOli nō au i nā pono lani ou
E Hawaiʻi, aloha ē

Hui:
E hauʻoli nā ʻōpio o Hawai`i nei
ʻOli ē! ʻOli ē!
Mai nā aheahe makani e pā mai nei
Mau ke aloha, no Hawaiʻi

Reverend Lorenzo Lyons was fluent in the Hawaiian language and composed many poems and hymns; his best known and beloved work is the hymn “Hawaiʻi Aloha” sung to the tune of “I Left It All With Jesus.”  He wrote it in about 1852.

Here’s the English translation:

O Hawaiʻi, o sands of my birth
My native home
I rejoice in the blessings of heaven
O Hawaiʻi, aloha

Chorus:
Happy youth of Hawai`i
Rejoice! Rejoice!
Gentle breezes blow
Love always for Hawaiʻi

Click HERE for a link to Hawaiʻi Aloha – sung by Ledward Kaʻapana, Dennis Kamakahi & Nathan Aweau – written by a missionary.

Collaboration between native Hawaiians and the American Protestant missionaries resulted in, among other things, the introduction of Christianity, the creation of the Hawaiian written language, widespread literacy, the promulgation of the concept of constitutional government, making Western medicine available and the evolution of a new and distinctive musical tradition.

Oli and mele were already a part of the Hawaiian tradition. “As the Hawaiian songs were unwritten, and adapted to chanting rather than metrical music, a line was measured by the breath; their hopuna, answering to our line, was as many words as could be easily cantilated at one breath.” (Bingham)

Some songs were translations of Western songs into Hawaiian; some were original verse and melody.  Hawaiʻi Aloha is an example of the music left as a lasting legacy by the missionaries in the Islands.

Missionaries used songs as a part of the celebration, as well as learning process. “At this period, the same style of sermons, prayers, songs, interrogations, and exhortations, which proves effectual in promoting revivals of religion, conversion, or growth in grace among a plain people in the United States, was undoubtedly adapted to be useful at the Sandwich Islands. … some of the people who sat in darkness were beginning to turn their eyes to the light”. (Bingham)

“The king (Kamehameha III) being desirous to use his good voice in singing, we sang together at my house, not war songs, but sacred songs of praise to the God of peace.” (Bingham)

Hawaiʻi Aloha was not the only popular song written by the missionaries.

One of the unique verses (sung to an old melody) was Hoʻonani Hole ‐ Hoʻonani I Ka Makua Mau.  Missionary Hiram Bingham wrote/translated it to Hawaiian and people sang it to a melody that dates back to the 1600s – today, it is known as the Hawaiian Doxology.

“In 1872, (Lyons) published Buke Himeni Hawaiʻi containing over 600 hymns, two thirds his own composition. Some years later he prepared the Sabbath School Hymn and Tune Book Lei Aliʻi.””

“The Hawaiians owe entirely to his exertions their introduction to modern enlivening styles of popular sacred music.”  (Hawaiian Gazette, October 19, 1886)  The image shows the lyrics in Hawaiian and English

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by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Kukui

Early Polynesians traveling and settling in Hawaiʻi brought with them shoots, roots, cuttings and seeds of various plants for food, cordage, medicine, fabric, containers, all of life’s vital needs.

“Canoe crops” (Canoe Plants) is a term to describe the group of plants brought to Hawaiʻi by these early Polynesians.  Domesticated animals, including pigs, dogs and chickens were also introduced.

Kukui was one of these canoe crops.

Hawaiians had many uses for the big seeds, which are borne in large quantities – as many as 75-100 pounds annually – by a large tree. The seed shells, black when mature and white earlier, were made into lei and now into costume jewelry and curios.  (CTAHR)

“The multiplicity of its uses to the ancient Hawaiians for light, fuel, medicine, dye and ornament and to the continued value to the people of modern Hawaiʻi, as well as the distinctive beauty of its light green foliage which embellishes many of the slopes of our beloved mountains, causes the kukui tree to be especially treasured by the people of the Fiftieth State of the United States as an arboreal symbol of Hawaiʻi…”  (Territorial Legislature Resolution, May 1, 1959; Hawaii House of Representatives)

From this property of the kukui comes its kaona, its spiritual import. The tree of light has become a symbol of enlightenment, protection, guidance, and peace, and as such its mana (spiritual power) flows through Hawaiian culture and its ceremonies.

The tree is considered to be the kinolau, or form, of Kamapuaʻa, the pig god, the lover of fire goddess Pele (perhaps due to light’s affinity with fire) and so a pig’s head carved from kukui wood is placed on the altar to Lono at the annual Makahiki festival.

It was used to embellish and fortify canoes. Kukui wood was used for the manu, or bird, the removable figurehead of the canoe.  Burn the seed and a fine black soot (pau) was produced that could dye kapa (bark cloth) or paint designs on the canoe prow.

The inner bark provided a red-brown dye for ‘olona cordage, the outer could provide kapa while the gum from the bark strengthened and helped waterproof the kapa.  (Stein)

In ancient times, kukui was woven into the thatched house to confer its blessings, and for modern houses a bundle of thatch mixed with kukui is used in the ceremony.    (Stein)  The kukui has multiple uses, including light, fuel, medicine, dye and ornament.  (Choy)

But of all the uses of the kukui, none is more appropriate than the property that gives it its name, for “kukui” means “light” or “torch,” and its English name is “the candlenut tree” that is the focus of this summary.

“Oil extracted from the seeds was traditionally used by Hawaiians as a preservative for surfboards.  The oil can also be used as a basis for paint or varnish, burned as an illuminant, made into soap, and used for waterproofing paper.”  (CTAHR)

The raw kernels were used to polish wooden bowls. Oiling inside and outside of the bowls made them waterproof so they could last longer. The oil was also put on the runners of the wooden holua sled to make the sled go faster. (DOE)

“The oily kernels are dried and strung on a skewer such as a coconut leaf midrib (lama kū – torch.)  Each nut in the string burns for about 3-minutes and emits a somewhat fragrant smoke.”  (CTAHR)

These same more rigid midribs (of coconut frond – or bamboo) furnished the rods on which it was the task of children to string kukui nut kernels; these were burned as candles (lama).  (Krauss)

“When (the Hawaiians) use them in their houses, ten or twelve are strung on the thin stalk of the cocoa-nut leaf, and look like a number of pealed chesnuts on a long skewer.  The person who has charge of them lights a nut at one end of the stick, and hold it up, till the oil it contains is consumed, when the flame kindles on the one beneath it, and he breaks off the extinct nut with a short piece of wood, which serves as a pair of snuffers.  Each nut will burn two or three minutes, and, it attended, give a tolerable light.”  (Ellis, 1826)

“Large quantities of kukui, or candle nuts, were hanging up in long strings in different parts of his house. … Sometimes the natives burn them to charcoal, which they pulverize, and use tattooing their skin, painting their canoes, surf-boards, idols or drums; but they are generally used as a substitute for candles or lamps.”

“When employed for fishing by torchlight, four or five strings are enclosed in the leaves of the pandanus, which not only keeps them together, but adds to the light they give.”  (Ellis, 1826)

“As the sky darkened, men prowled the shallow waters of lagoons with torches and spears. ‘Candles’ were made by stringing dried nutmeats of the oily kukui nut on thin skewers of bamboo.”

“The top nut was ignited, and as it burned out it ignited the nut below it. For a fishing torch, clusters of these candles were lighted and carried in a bamboo tube (candlenut torch.)”  (HPA)

Reportedly, on March 17, 1930, Territorial Governor Lawrence McCully Judd issued a proclamation declaring the coconut palm or niu (Cocos nucifera) the official tree of the Territory of Hawai’i.  (Choy)

But on May 1, 1959, the 30th Territorial Legislature passed Joint Resolution No. 3, which designated the kukui the official tree.  (Choy)  State law, HRS §5-8, designated the Kukui as the State tree.

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by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Amelia Earhart’s Crash in Hawaii

Amelia Earhart came to Hawaiʻi twice (December 27, 1934 to January 11, 1935 (to make her record flight from Hawaiʻi to the continent) and March 17 through March 20, 1937 (as part of the first plan to fly around-the-world.))

“Over the Christmas holiday (1934,) Amelia Earhart and George Putnam, along with Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mantz, arrived in Honolulu on December 27, having sailed on the Matson liner SS Lurline. Amelia’s Lockheed Vega was secured on the ocean liner’s deck.  The group spent two weeks vacationing in Hawaiʻi.”  She visited Hilo and planted a banyan tree on “Hilo Walk of Fame.”

Five days after planting the banyan tree, she took off from Wheeler Field, Oʻahu and after 18-hours and 15-minutes, Amelia and “Old Bessie, the Fire Horse,” made a perfect landing at Oakland Airport at 1:31, January 12, 1935,  she was engulfed by a cheering crowd of 5,000-enthusiastic supporters.

It was another record flight for Amelia – the very first person, man or woman, to fly solo between Hawaiʻi and the American continent and the first civilian airplane to carry a two-way radio. (Plymate)

A commemorative plaque to honor her trans-pacific solo flight was put up on Diamond Head Road.  Documents of that flight were placed in a copper box and inserted into the plaque’s base on March 6.  It was dedicated on March 14, 1937.

The last Hawaiʻi visit was part of her planned flight around-the-world.  She assembled a team to make an around-the-world flight (navigators Fred Noonan and Captain Harry Manning, as well as technical advisor/assistant navigator Paul Mantz.)  It wouldn’t be the first around-the world flight, but it would be the longest, taking an equatorial route.

They set out from Oakland on St. Patrick’s Day (March 17, 1937) and headed for Hawaiʻi on the first leg of their journey.  After 15-hours and 47-minutes they landed at Wheeler Field.  (From there they would travel on to Howland Island in the South Pacific, and then on to Australia.)  The plane was moved to Luke Field on Ford Island for take-off on the next leg.

“At 3:45 am, March 20, 1937, we opened the Hangar and placed the airplane on the Line. Mrs. Putnam and crew arrived about 4:30 am. Mr. Mantz requested an additional seventy-five gallons of gasoline, making a total of 590 gallons furnished.”

“At 4:45 am Press representatives arrived and established themselves in my office without advance notice. As soon as this was brought to my attention I notified these gentlemen that all telephone charges were to be reversed and positively not charged to me or to the Government. …”

“At 5:00 am Mr. Mantz thoroughly inspected the airplane, tested the engines, and shut them off. The flood lights were turned on and Mrs. Putnam inspected the runway from the cockpit of the airplane.”

“A light rain during the night had wet the runway. The lights were turned off and Mr. Noonan and Mr. Manning boarded the airplane. Mrs. Putnam [Amelia Earhart] started the engines at 5:30 am and at 5:40 am taxied Northeast down the Navy side of the runway to the lower end accompanied by Mr. Young and Mr. Mantz on the ground with flashlights.”

“After Mrs. Putnam had taxied about one-third of the way down the runway a Grumman Amphibian taxied out from the Navy Hangars and followed her airplane down the Field. …”

“The sky toward Honolulu was dark and Koolau Range was barely discernable against the background of dark clouds. Off Barbers Point, however, the sky was surprisingly bright with good visibility. Smoke from two dredges at the mouth of Pearl Harbor was plainly noticeable. A scattered broken ceiling was perhaps 3,000 feet.”

“General Yount assured himself that the crash truck and ambulance were placed on the alert. Mrs. Putnam made a 180 degree left turn at the far end of the runway and momentarily halted the airplane on the center line of the runway.”

“The air being still, there was but the usual lag in sound travel and as soon as the airplane moved forward I heard the steady synchronous roar characteristic of full throttle application.” (Statement of First Lieutenant Donald D. Arnold, Air Corps, Engineering Officer, Hawaiian Air Deport, Luke Field; TIGHAR)

“At 5:53 am on March 20, 1937, she began the take-off roll.  The twin-engine plane gained momentum.  Suddenly, at the 1,000 foot mark the right tire blew.  The strain broke completely the right landing gear sending the Electra severely to one side.”

“Forced into a hard dip, the right wing was badly damaged.  One gas tank was punctured, allowing fuel to spew onto the terrain.  The right engine case was cracked badly and the rear end of the fuselage torn and dented.”

“Cool-headed as ever, Miss Earhart and her flying companions climbed unceremoniously out of the aircraft  They were unhurt, thanks to the pilot’s expert handling of her controls.  Ten seconds more and the plane would have been airborne, lamented the female air-hero!” (Hovart)

“I heard her say to the crew, ‘The ship functioned perfectly at the start. As it gained speed the right wing dropped down and the ship seemed to pull to the right.’”

“‘I eased off the left engine and the ship started a long persistent left turn and ended up where it is now. It was all over instantly. The first thing I thought of was the right oleo or the right tire letting go. The way the ship pulled it was probably a flat tire.’” (Statement of First Lieutenant Donald D. Arnold; TIGHAR)

“On Saturday morning, March 20, I was standing at the edge of the runway approximately half way between each end with a 1 qt. fire extinguisher on the alert in case of an accident.”

“The motors on the Earhart plane sounded as if they were opened up to about half throttle. The plane proceeded up the runway approximately 100 yards when both motors were given full throttle.”

“Very shortly thereafter I noticed a slight tendency to turn to the right, immediately the motors sounded as if one had been slightly reduced in speed.”

“The plane began a turn to the left which was very pronounced and at an angle approximately 45 degrees to parallel with the runway both motors were turned off, the plane proceeded approximately 10 feet and started to turn in a very short circle, the landing gear collapsed and the plane slid backwards a short distance. Then I immediately ran in to render aid.” (Eyewitnees account by EL Heidlebaugh; TIGHAR)

“Within six hours after the crackup, Miss Earhart was aboard the Malolo heading for San Francisco.  ‘I’ll be back,’ she declared determinedly.” (Hovart)

“On May 21, 1937, Amelia Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan began a round-the-world flight, beginning in Oakland, California, and traveling east in a twin-engine Lockheed Electra. They departed Miami on June 1 and reached Lae, New Guinea, on June 29, having flown 21 of 30 days and covered 22,000 miles. They left Lae on July 2 for their next refueling stop, Howland Island.” (Smithsonian)

“The flight was expected to be arduous, especially since the tiny coral atoll was difficult to locate. To help with navigation, two brightly lit US ships were stationed to mark the route. Earhart was also in intermittent radio contact with the Itasca, a U.S. Coast Guard cutter near Howland.”

“Late in the journey, Earhart radioed that the plane was running out of fuel. About an hour later she announced, “We are running north and south.” That was the last transmission received by the Itasca. The plane was believed to have gone down some 100 miles from the island, and an extensive search was undertaken to find Earhart and Noonan.”

“However, on July 19, 1937, the operation was called off, and the pair was declared lost at sea.” (Britannica)

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