Marines | Images of Old Hawaiʻi

November 10, 2025 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

250 Years Ago … Marines are Formed

“At no period of the naval history of the world, is it probable that marines were more important than during the war of the Revolution.” (Cooper)

On November 10, 1775, the Second Continental Congress meeting in Philadelphia passed a resolution stating that “two Battalions of Marines be raised” for service as landing forces with the fleet.

This resolution, written by John Admas, established the Continental Marines and marked the birth date of the United States Marine Corps.

The historic Tun Tavern, opened in 1686 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, stands as a legendary birthplace of American history.

The building once stood as a vital gathering place in early America, where influential leaders convened, lively debate ensued, and the vision of the nation was shaped. (Tun Legacy Foundation)

On November 10, 1775, Robert Mullan, the proprietor of the Tun Tavern and an acquittance of Captain Samuel Nicholas, was commissioned as a first lieutenant of the new force, was commissioned by an act of Congress “to raise the first two battalions of Marines”, under the leadership of Captain Samuel Nicholas, the first appointed Commandant of the Continental Marines.

According to tradition, Tun Tavern was where the Continental Marines held their first recruitment drive. This resulted in the Tun Tavern being acknowledged as the birthplace of the United States Marine Corps. Each year on November 10th, around the world Marines toast the Marine’s birthplace on the most significant date in the history of the Corps. (Tun Tavern)

A Marine is a soldier who serves at sea on a vessel of war either as part of its crew or as part of a military expedition under naval supervision.

At various times a Marine has been called a ‘maritime soldier,’ a ‘sea soldier,’ and a ‘soldier of the ocean.’

In early January 1776, Continental Marines would board her and six other ships and within two months, land and occupy the British island of New Providence in the Bahamas.

In the Continental Marines’ first battle encounter, ships of the Continental Fleet under Esek Hopkins rendezvoused north of Nassau harbor in the early morning hours of Sunday, March 3, 1776.

A short time before noon, 230 Marines and 50 seamen under the command of Marine Captain Samuel Nicholas jumped from longboats into the surf, about two miles east of the fort.

Later, of Washington’s force of about twenty-four hundred men with whom he crossed the Delaware on that momentous Christmas Eve, 1776, more than six hundred were Marines.

In many instances [Marines] preserved the vessels to the country, by suppressing the turbulence of their ill-assorted crews, and the effect of their fire, not only then, but in all the subsequent conflicts, under those circumstances in which it could be resorted to, has usually been singularly creditable to their steadiness and discipline.”

“The history of the navy, even at that early day, as well as in these later times, abounds with instances of the gallantry and self-devotion of this body of soldiers, and we should be unfaithful to our trust, were we not to add, that it also furnishes too many proofs of the forgetfulness of its merits by the country.”

With the Treaty of Paris, ending the American Revolutionary War, and the discharge of Marine Lieutenant Thomas Elwood in September 1783, Continental Marines passed from the scene.

For more than seven years, this small force did its part to achieve final victory against the British, but the years took their toll.

Following the Revolutionary War and the formal re-establishment of the Marine Corps on July 11, 1798, Marines saw action in the quasi-war with France, landed in Santo Domingo, and took part in many operations against the Barbary pirates along the “Shores of Tripoli”.

Click to access Marines-SAR-RT.pdf

Click to access Marines.pdf

October 18, 2024 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Devil Pups

The basis for the name was conceived during World War I when German soldiers gave the United States Marines opposing them in battle the name “Devil Dogs,” because of their battlefield accomplishments and valor of the Marines [and “never give up” spirit]. (Devil Pups)

The Marines who organized this youth citizenship program chose the term “Devil Pups” to describe the quality of teen who can complete this program. (Southern Utah Devil Pup)

“Devil Pups are [14] – to 17-year-old high school students from all over California [and, now, beyond] who assemble each summer here for 10-day physical fitness and citizenship training sessions. Sometimes the Pups are referred to as junior Marines.”

“They also are taken to Marine training sessions and to firing ranges, where they observe weapon firing, tanks, artillery and aerial firing. But otherwise they have little contact with firearms.” (LA Times, Advertiser, Aug 24, 1970)

‘‘The Idea caught on and in the summer of 1954 we were able to send 30 boys to Camp Pendleton for a one-week trial program of training in physical fitness and respect for authority and the flag.’” (San Bernardino County Sun, Aug 20, 1982)

“Duncan Shaw, a Los Angeles Marine Corps reserve officer [and] president of the Devil Pups since it was inaugurated, said, ‘The idea started here when we read of some high school boys who had torn the American flag, kicked it around and generally behaved like idiots.’”

“‘We thought maybe we could do something about it in a small way by starting a health education and citizenship program for teen-agers. … Since then the program has grown and has been most successful.’”

“‘We have liaison officers in each town of any size who work with the Boy Scouts, the Salvation Army and other groups and clubs to select boys for the program. A boy, however, does not have to belong to a club to get on the program so long as his parents’ permission is given.’”

“‘We are not trying to run a juvenile delinquency school. Any deserving boy is welcome. We simply put them through a regimented program of health education and citizenship, try to develop a competitive spirit and give them lectures on the American flag and what it means to be an American.’” (Evening Vanguard, Nov 18, 1964)

“One of the more enthusiastic supporters of the Devil Pups program is Richard Charest, 16, of Anaheim, Calif., who was impressed by the physical fitness aspects. ‘I think we ought to get more of these idiots off the streets – who are fouling up on drugs – and involve them in a program like this.”

“This would clean up the United States. There is a lot of garbage out there in the streets and we ought to clear them out by involving them and teaching them about citizenship and the flag,’ he said.” (LA Times, Advertiser, Aug 24, 1970)

“‘We had considerable trouble with the Devil Pups that first year. Nearly all of them were juvenile delinquents and weren’t about

to be changed in one week. They almost tore their building apart.’”

“‘Today’s Devil Pups are the pick of the crop, from all parts of the community, to be sure, but to be accepted, they must show their interest in the program. Then they are interviewed and and tested physically before they are sent here to camp,’ [Maj. Tom Vener, USMCR] said.” (San Bernardino County Sun, Aug 20, 1982)

The program is not a ‘mini boot camp’ or recruiting organization for the Marine Corps. The 10-day program is a combination of outdoor physical exercises, inspirational classroom lectures and demonstrations of Marine Corps operations.

The activities during both increments are overseen by our Encampment Commander and his executive staff (employees of Devil Pups, Inc.). Each day, the running, diving, and hiking exercises are balanced with inspiring classroom sessions. The “Role Model” classroom segments are conducted by an assortment of board members, veterans, and Devil Pups alumni. (Devil Pups)

“Since 1954 we have not asked our participants to pay tuition to attend our program. We spend the entire year raising the funds we need which go towards the cost of the camp including counselor fees, food, transportation, clothing, insurance, fundraising, office supplies, and more.”

“Devil Pups, Inc. raises 100% of the funds for 100 youth to attend our camp every year, which is budgeted at a rough cost of $975 per Pup. We want every Pup not to be hindered from acceptance due to financial reasons, and have been doing so since we started 70 years ago. We want them all to have an equal opportunity to participate.” (Devil Pups)

For at least the last couple of years including on August 16, 2024, “The [MCBH Lifestyle Insights, Networking, Knowledge, and Skills (LINKS) program of the] Marine Corps Family Team Building hosted the [Little] Devil Pups workshop, which included a miniature physical fitness test, water gun shooting range, vehicle and aircraft tours, and a readiness class.”

This was for children with parents living or working at MCBH; the MCBH included a Homecoming Run, a resource fair and homecoming sign making.

“The Devil Pups Youth Program For America is all about helping young boys and girls build confidence and learn about responsibility while taking on new challenges.” (U.S. Marine Corps by Lance Cpl. Samuel Estridge)

July 23, 2024 by Peter T Young 2 Comments

Camp Very

“The Hawaiian Islands are to be created into a military department headquarters as soon as the new plans of the war department are carried into effect for the concentration of troops in the city of Honolulu.”

“(T)he District of Hawaiʻi is to have twelve thousand men stationed on the Island of Oʻahu and with a third of that number of troops here Hawaiʻi would have a right to the designation of a department headquarters.” (Hawaiian Gazette, May 23, 1911)

After Hawaiʻi became a territory of the United States, the first Naval Station in the islands was established in 1899 at Honolulu Harbor, as there were no facilities and no navigable channel at Pearl Harbor.

The property was transferred to the US by the Republic of Hawaiʻi under the joint resolution of annexation and, to protect the mouth of Honolulu Harbor, the US Army filled a submerged coral reef on the ‘Ewa side of Kaʻākaukukui for a gun emplacement.

The first permanent Marines arrived at Honolulu on board the Army transport Sheridan on February 9, 1904. For four years, the Marines lived in an empty coal shed at the Honolulu Naval Station. (PACNAVFACENGCOM)

In January 1905, President Teddy Roosevelt instructed Secretary of War William H Taft to convene the National Coast Defense Board (Taft Board) “to consider and report upon the coast defenses of the United States and the insular possessions (including Hawai‘i.)”

In 1906 the Taft Board recommended a system of Coast Artillery batteries to protect Pearl Harbor and Honolulu. Between 1909-1921, the Hawaiian Coast Artillery Command had its headquarters at Fort Ruger and defenses included artillery regiments stationed at Fort Armstrong, Fort Barrette, Fort DeRussy, Diamond Head, Fort Kamehameha, Kuwa‘aohe Military Reservation (Fort Hase – later known as Marine Corps Base Hawaiʻi) and Fort Weaver.

Fort Armstrong, built in 1907, was named for Brigadier General Samuel C Armstrong. His father, Reverend Richard Armstrong (1805-1860,) had arrived in Hawaiʻi in 1832 and later replaced Hiram Bingham as pastor at Kawaiahaʻo Church (1840-1843.) In 1848, Armstrong (the father) left the mission and became Hawaiʻi’s minister of public education.

From 1908 until about 1913, the Marines lived in tents at nearby Camp Very (named in honor of Captain Samuel W Very, Commandant of the Naval Station) “a site which was later known as Fort Armstrong”. (PACNAVFACENGCOM)

The complement of Marines in Hawaiʻi comprised some 2,000-men who are distributed between Honolulu and Pearl Harbor.

Training facilities at Camp Very included a small-arms practice range consisting of 6 targets with the ranges from 200 to 500-yards, and at the Army ranges. (Navy Department, 1913)

“The sea-soldiers are well taken care of, they have their own rending and billiard rooms and at the post exchange, formerly called the canteen, they can buy almost anything the heart of man could wish.” (Evening Bulletin, May 6, 1911)

The original garrison at Fort Armstrong was the 1st Coast Artillery Company, followed by the 104th Mine Co. operating the harbor mines. Also stationed there was the 185th Coast Artillery Company.

In 1914, temporary barracks were built – wooden structures that were continually occupied since January, 1914. Buildings are constructed of 1 x 12 rough boards, with tar-paper roofs.

The facility later had a barracks, 4 officers’ quarters, 3 noncommissioned officers’ quarters, administration building and post exchange, guardhouse, fire apparatus house, quartermaster storehouse, gymnasium and related infrastructure; the standard strength was 109 men.

Battery Tiernon at Fort Armstrong was armed with two pedestal mounted 3-inch Guns from 1911 to 1943.

The Army mission in Hawaiʻi was defined in 1920 as “the defense of Pearl Harbor Naval Base against damage from naval or aerial bombardment or by enemy sympathizers and attack by enemy expeditionary force or forces, supported or unsupported by an enemy fleet or fleets.”

Fort Armstrong continued under the Coast Artillery program until September 15, 1922. It was reserved for military purposes by a series of Executive Orders in 1930 and was described as the Fort Armstrong Military Reservation.

The present seawall was constructed 500-feet out from the original shoreline in 1948, and the area was backfilled. The Army Corps of Engineers took over the post in 1949. Kakaʻako Park was created over the landfill area.

On December 13, 1951, because the site was no longer needed by the military and was needed by the Territory of Hawaiʻi for harbor improvements, President Truman transferred the land to the Territory of Hawaiʻi.

Camp_Very-Fort_Armstrong-(Hammatt)-1911-1920

January 2, 2023 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Pacific Jungle Combat Training Center

Prior to World War II, Kahana and Punalu‘u Valleys were primarily used for agricultural activities. Taro, rice, and sugar cane were cultivated at the mouths of each valley. The interior portions of the valleys were heavily vegetated and relatively unused.

The Army initially leased 485.25 acres in Kahana Valley from Hui of Kahana in November 1944, retroactive to May 1943. Between 1943 and 1947, the Army acquired an additional 1,781.52 acres in the neighboring Punalu‘u Valley from various landowners through leases, licenses, and permits.

In response to an August 9, 1943 directive from the Commanding General, Hawaiian Department, Pacific Jungle Combat Training Center (CTC) was established as a school on Oahu to supplement Department Ranger and Combat School training.

It was located on the northeastern side of the island of Oahu totaling approximately 2,545 acres in the adjacent valleys of Punalu‘u and Kahana in the district of Ko‘olauloa.

Pacific Jungle CTC was also known as Unit Jungle Training Center, Unit Combat Training Center, Pacific Combat Training Center, Jungle Training, Punaluu Training Camp and Green Valley Jungle Training Camp.

Punalu‘u Valley being referred to as “Green Valley” by the Army while Kahana Valley was designated “Red Valley” during utilization of the valleys as a training area.

An Army-built coral-surfaced service road is still referred to as “Green Valley Road” by area residents. This road is also designated by Oahu Civil Defense Agency as an evacuation route to allow coastal inhabitants access to higher ground in the event of a tsunami.

Beginning in September 1943 (during World War II), this property was used as a unit-level jungle combat training center. The Center was divided into three courses: Red, Blue, and Green.

Basic warfare training was conducted at the Red and Blue courses while advanced warfare training and Instructor Jungle Training School were conducted at the Green course.

Subjects taught during a one-week course included jungle first aid and evacuation, hand-to-hand combat training, construction and passage of wire entanglements, booby traps, patrolling and ambushing, assault of Japanese fortified areas, combat reaction proficiency, and jungle living.

The Army reportedly constructed Japanese villages and pillboxes for training purposes. Temporary barracks, a mess hall, a bakery, and shower facilities were also erected though no longer exist.

Advanced training on Green Course was discontinued on 28 May 1944 after only its second class as it became necessary to utilize the course for basic jungle warfare training of divisions being staged for the Western Carolines operations.

Jungle warfare was de-emphasized as the war progressed from tropical regions to areas where jungle fighting was not a primary consideration.

All jungle training centers became known as Unit Combat Training Centers in March 1945. On month later, it was redesignated as Pacific Combat Training Center to deemphasize jungle warfare. Over 241,000 men received basic, advance, or instructor training at the center.

Munitions known to have been used or recovered at the site include 75mm armor piercing rounds, 2.36-inch rockets, MKII hand grenades, rifle grenades, 105mm high explosive rounds, 81mm high explosive and practice mortar rounds, and small arms.

Postwar plans called for closing the majority of the center except for the Green Course in Punalu‘u Valley, which was to be retained to fulfill the Army’s postwar training requirements.

The Army re-opened Punalu‘u Valley on April 1, 1946 to provide emergency shelter for area residents displaced by a tsunami. Tents were erected for sleeping quarters, to render medical treatment, and to feed approximate 1,700 individuals.

Parcels in Kahana Valley were returned to previous landowners in August 1946. The leases, licenses, and permits for parcels in Punalu‘u Valley terminated between April 1945 and November 1950 and were reverted back to previous owners.

The Punalu‘u Valley parcels are primarily owned by Kamehameha Schools. The Kahana Valley parcels are now owned by the State of Hawai‘i and managed by the DNLR, Division of State Parks.

The Kahana Valley parcels are located in the Ahupuaʻa ʻO Kahana State Park. The park was established as a “living park” with the primary purpose to nurture and foster native Hawaiian cultural traditions and the cultural landscape of rural windward Oahu. (All here is from the Army Corps of Engineers.)

February 19, 2022 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Unbreakable Code

When US military codes kept being broken by the Germans in WWI a Native American tribe came to the rescue. They just spoke their own language – which baffled the enemy.

In the autumn of 1918, US troops were involved in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive on the Western Front. It was one of the largest frontline commitments of American soldiers in WW1, but communications in the field were compromised.

The Germans had successfully tapped telephone lines, were deciphering codes and repeatedly capturing runners sent out to deliver messages directly.

The solution was stumbled upon by chance, an overheard conversation between two Choctaw soldiers in the 142nd Infantry Regiment. The pair were chatting in camp when a captain walked by and asked what language they were speaking.

Realizing the potential for communication, he then asked if there were other speakers among the troops. The men knew of Choctaw soldiers at company headquarters.

Using a field telephone the captain got the men to deliver a message in their native tongue which their colleagues quickly translated back into English. The Choctaw Telephone Squad was born and so was code talking. (BBC)

Every WWII combatant appreciated the need for an unbreakable code that would help them communicate while protecting their operational plans. The US Marines knew where to find one: the Navajo Nation. (US National Intelligence)

Philip Johnston was the initiator of the Marine Corps’ program to enlist and train the Navajos as messengers. Although Johnston was not a Navajo, he grew up on a Navajo reservation as the son of a missionary and became familiar with the people and their language.

Johnston was also a World War I veteran and knew about the military’s desire to send and receive messages in an unbreakable code. (National Archives)

Johnston assembled four Navajos and on February 28, 1942, they assisted Johnston in demonstrating his idea. Prior to the demonstration, General Vogel had installed a telephone connection between two offices and wrote out six messages that were typical of those sent during combat.

One of those messages read “Enemy expected to make tank and dive bomber attack at dawn.” The Navajo managed to transmit the message almost verbatim: “Enemy tank dive bomber expected to attack this morning.” (National Archives)

Marine Corps leadership selected 29 Navajo men, the Navajo Code Talkers, who created a code based on the complex, unwritten Navajo language. (US National Intelligence)

The code primarily used word association by assigning a Navajo word to key phrases and military tactics. This system enabled the Code Talkers to translate three lines of English in 20 seconds, not 30 minutes as was common with existing code-breaking machines.

This code consisted of words, most of which were Navajo terms that had been imbued with new, distinctly military meanings in order to compensate for the lack of military terminology in the Navajo vocabulary.

The tribal languages didn’t have their own words for modern concepts such as “tanks”, “machine guns”, “battleships”, “radar”, and so on. It was at Camp Elliott that the initial recruits, along with communications personnel, designed the first Navajo code.

Instead of using the English terms, which would have rendered the “code” almost useless, the code-talkers invented their own terms for such things, for example using the Navaho words for “iron fish” for a submarine, “hummingbird” for a fighter plane, “eggs” for bombs, and so on. Apparently the Choctaw code-talkers had come up with a similar scheme during the WWI.

At first, the list of Navaho codewords had 274 entries, though this was later expanded to 508. For terms with no Navaho equivalent that weren’t covered in the list, a “phonetic alphabet” was devised, using the Navaho equivalents of English words whose first letters spelled out the phrase: “Ant” for “A”, “Bear” for “B”, “Cat” for “C”, and so on.

For example, “fighter plane” was called “da-ha-tih-hi,” which means “humming bird” in Navajo, and “dive bomber” was called “gini,” which means “chicken hawk.”

In addition, the code talkers also designed a system that signified the twenty-six letters of the English alphabet. For example, the letter A was “wol-la-chee,” which means “ant” in Navajo, and the letter E was “dzeh,” which means “elk.” Words that were not included in the 211 terms were spelled out using the alphabet. (National Archives) Some training occurred in Hawai‘i.

The first Navaho “code-talkers” went ashore with the Marines at Guadalcanal in August 1942.

The Navajo Code Talkers participated in all assaults the U.S. Marines led in the Pacific from 1942 to 1945, including Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Peleliu and Iwo Jima.

During the nearly month-long battle for Iwo Jima (February 19 – March 26, 1945), for example, six Navajo Code Talker Marines successfully transmitted more than 800 messages without error. Marine leadership noted after the battle that the Code Talkers were critical to the victory at Iwo Jima. (US National Intelligence)

No code-talker transmission was ever cracked, and in fact, during the evaluations Marine cryptologists said they couldn’t even transcribe the language, much less figure out what was being said.

It is estimated that between 375 to 420 Navajos served as code talkers. The Navajo code talker program was highly classified throughout the war and remained so until 1968.

Returning home on buses without parades or fanfare and sworn to secrecy about the existence of the code, the Navajo code talkers are only recently making their way into popular culture and mainstream American history.

The “Honoring the Code Talkers Act,” introduced by Senator Jeff Bingaman from New Mexico in April 2000, and signed into law December 21, 2000, called for the recognition of the Navajo code talkers.

During a ceremony at the US Capitol on July 26, 2001, the first 29 soldiers received the Congressional Gold Medal. The Congressional Silver Medal was presented to the remaining Navajos who later qualified to be code talkers. (National Archives)