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fall 2009

Kalaupapa, MoloKaâ€™i at the crossroads

An Arizona Memorial Museum Association Publication | www.arizonamemorial.org

A member of the Pacific Fleet band rests after playing taps for the West Loch Commemoration ceremony held May 15, 2009.

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A walk with clearer eyes The National Park Service guides members through the new Pearl Harbor Museum & Visitor Center. AMMA education efforts reach across the Pacific The summer Teachers Workshop welcomes teachers from the United States, Japan, and this year, Guam and Palau. It’s become the international affair organizers always hoped it would be. Kalaupapa at the crossroads The former Hansen’s disease colony is reaching a critical point in its long history. At stake are patients’ rights, a Catholic saint, and the future of one of the most beautiful and unspoiled natural wonders on earth. Pearl Harbor Memorial Fund Details of a new museum exhibit featuring a more Hawaiʻi-centric theme; the electrical contractors working on Visitor Center construction are serious about their jobs; a special volunteer makes a difference. The tragedy at West Loch The Navy commemorated a little know weapons handling disaster this past March, 65 years after explosions rocked this little known area of Pearl Harbor. Tales of Scouting Squadron Six An excerpt from a new book by Jack Leaming, former SBD radioman who flew into Pearl Harbor the morning of December 7, 1941, that AMMA will publish in the spring of 2010. Old soldiers never die Pearl Harbor Survivor and USS Arizona Memorial volunteer Bob Kinzler visits his first WWII duty station and explains to school kids why they should care about history. Son of Guam remembered Jorge Cristobal survived Pearl Harbor and the invasion of his Guam homeland as a young sailor in the US Navy. His story wonʻt be forgotten. Special Museum Exhibit Flipbook A member exclusive 16-page pull-out section. Front Cover: Kalaupapa, Molokaʻi basks in the setting sun. Photo by Donny Chambers Back Cover: The Tree of Life symbol has greeted visitors to the USS Arizona Memorial for 29 years. The sculpture will be relocated to an area between the museum exhibit buildings sometime early next year.

EDiTor Ray Sandla WriTErS Paul Heintz Laurie Moore Edean Saito Ray Sandla Tom Shaw Lisha Wong PhoTogrAPhy Donny Chambers Angel Galinato Ray Sandla USS Arizona Memorial Photographic Archives The Arizona Memorial Museum Association is a non-profit cooperating association working with the National Park Service to provide funding for interpretive and educational programs at the USS Arizona Memorial, Kalaupapa National historical Park on Molokai, hawaiʻi, War in the Pacific National historical Park on guam, and American Memorial Park on Saipan.

remembrance is a Publication for Members of the Arizona Memorial Museum Association

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Wide-angle history For better or worse, this issue of Remembrance unintentionally became the panorama issue. Panoramas appear in stories about the new visitor center (pg 4), Kalaupapa, Molokaʻi (pg 5), and the Pearl Harbor Memorial Fund section (pg 12). Iʻm usually not a big fan of the 180° or 360° photograph as I just donʻt have the spatial cognizance to figure out whatʻs going on. A three-dimensional space canʻt be accurately represented on a two-dimensional medium. Not to mention the seasickness potential inherent in looking at warped buildings, roads, and most straight lines. So why the attempts? Daniel Martinez, the National Park Service historian at the USS Arizona Memorial, recently came across several panoramic shots of Pearl Harbor and downtown Honolulu in the National Archives. An early Pearl Harbor photo, shot by famed Hawaiʻi photographer Tai Sing Loo, is an incredible wide-angle view of Pearl Harborʻs military development in the 1930s. The Honolulu photo, shown below, is even older, displaying the downtown coastline from Honolulu Harbor in 1904. I had been researching images for inclusion in the new Pearl Harbor Museum & Visitor Center exhibit, “Oahu 1941”, and was struck by the idea of the panoramic view: an attempt to somehow capture not just space, but time. As if a greater understanding of a particular place could be gleaned by including more than what a normal camera lens, or the naked eye, could perceive. Before the advent of photography, panoramas were huge paintings depicting important historical events. People would crowd inside the circular image as a narrator described the event and light played over the setting, adding to the illusion of three dimensional space. A few of these panoramas survive, the Battle of Gettysburg cyclorama depicting Pickettʻs Charge, the Battle of Stalingrad, the Polish Battle of Raclawice. All are now safely ensconced in museums or private collections, seen as historical artifacts in and of themselves instead of as depictions of history. The panorama idea would evolve into the moving panorama and then into motion pictures as people sought more and more immersive experiences. The new Pearl Harbor Memorial Museum & Visitor Center seeks to give a wide-angle view of the Pearl Harbor attack and subsequent War in the Pacific by including as many personal histories as possible. These oral history accounts provide depth to a story sometimes all too reliant on strategies and tactics, technological capabilities, and the frozen black and white images of tragedy. The stories help to re-focus the attack on more human terms. What the developers of the new museum hope visitors come away with is the idea that history is made by people; their mistakes, their heroics, and their necessary adaptions in the face of overwhelming, revolutionary change. The emotions expressed in these oral histories widen our view of history, increase our appreciation of it, and ultimately, give us the understanding to meaningfully honor those who were there. RAy SANDLA, EDITOR

ray_sandla@arizonamemorial.org

Contact information: Membership Lisha Wong Associate Director of Membership/ Development membership@arizonamemorial.org Tel: (toll free) 1-888-332-1941 Fax: 1-808-487-3312 www.pearlharbormemorial.com r e m e m b r a n c e

Remembrance Ray Sandla Publications/Special Projects ray_sandla@arizonamemorial.org Tel: 1-808-485-2748 Fax: 1-808-485-2766 www.arizonamemorial.org

Mail Order Angel Galinato Mail Order mailorder@arizonamemorial.org Tel: (toll-free): 1-888-485-1941 Fax: 1-808-485-2766 www.arizonamemorialbookstore.org f a l l

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A 360 degree view of the Pearl Harbor Memorial Museum & Visitor Center construction. The main ticketing building to the right and the Education and Research Center, left.

A WALK WITH CLEARER EyES D The floor inside the main entrance to the visitor center will feature a huge representation of the South Pacific, giving visitors an idea of the logistical and strategic difficulties of the War in the Pacific. Restrooms (hallelujah) will be available from the exterior of the center as well as just inside the entrance.

NPS’s Tom Fake, left, and Superintendent Paul DePrey survey the construction site.

he new Pearl Harbor Museum & Visitor Center still doesn’t look like much; a collection of capped rebar jutting from new cement; planter holes beckoning the unaware; climbing walls of cinder block and scaffolding. But to those of us who have seen only plans, talked of potential and rehearsed layouts with virtual aids, it’s a beautiful landscape of unadorned reality. The National Park Service’s Tom Fake, project manager for the new facility, graciously offered to guide a tour of the construction site last week. Along was park Superintendent Paul DePrey, who surveys progress on a continuing basis. B The first stop was, understandably, the NPS administration building. The two-story structure will house the extensive data and communications networking equipment, emergency/first aid room, and Ranger offices on the second floor. On the first floor will be public restrooms and the food concession. C The AMMA bookstore is a sight for those sore eyes that have had to shop, and work, in the current space. Built in 1980 for an expected 400,000 or 500,000 visitors a year, the bookstore saw close to 1.5 million people in 2008. With ceiling fans left over from the Carter administration, dust bunnies the size and tenacity of desert tumbleweeds, and a family of mongoose that resent human presence after 5:00 pm, the bookstore will go quietly into that good night. The new 1900 square-foot space will allow breathing room along with expanded interpretation. As the new museum will be able to tell more stories due to its increased size, so will the bookstore. 2

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The USS Arizona Memorial anchor re-locates to its new home.

E The Education and Research Center will house state-ofthe-art videoconferencing technology, offices for three education specialists, a classroom for 25-30, and a place for researchers to digitally examine the NPS archives and collections. AMMA members should be especially proud to have helped build the education and research center as it represents all that we aspire to do as an organization. F The USS Arizona anchor was relocated from its former site near the entrance to the old visitor center. The 19,585 pound anchor was one of three the Arizona carried. Originally cast in Chester, Pennsylvania, the anchor was salvaged from the bottom of Pearl Harbor near where the ship sank. G Know colloquially as the backlawn, the newly-named Ceremonial Lawn will host December 7, Memorial Day, and other ceremonies throughout the year. A winding “return path” with interpretive panels will run near the harbor from the re-located boat dock, allowing a decompression from the sometimes overpowering emotion of a visit to the USS Arizona Memorial. r e m e m b r a n c e

MAIN ENTRANCE

AMMA BOOKSTORE

NPS ADMINISTRATION

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John McCaskill and fellow teachers listen to Sterling Cale recount his Pearl Harbor experiences during the “Pearl Harbor Memory: Survivor Reflections” session.

AMMA education efforts reach across the Pacific In 2004, Geoffrey White, a Senior Fellow at the University of Hawaii and a director on the Arizona Memorial Museum Association board, and Namji Steinemann, director of the AsiaPacificEd program at the East-West Center, conceived of an ambitious plan. Through the auspices of a National Endowment for the Humanities grant, the East-West Center would provide its considerable resources and experience, AMMA would fund any necessary expenses not covered by the NEH grant through its education mission, and the National Park Service could furnish content expertise to produce a Teachers Workshop. The workshop seeks to inform teachers of the latest scholarship on Pearl Harbor and the War in the Pacific and to place them in the actual locations where the attack took place. Now in its sixth successful year, the Summer Teachers Workshop has hundreds of enthusiastic alumni, who have reached thousands of schoolchildren all over the United States and Japan. The ultimate aim of the workshop is to foster cross-cultural dialogue, enabling a more profound understanding of Pearl Harbor and the War in the Pacific. Using the tools imparted over the course of the week, this enhanced understanding can then be passed on to students. In a sense, the partners who sponsor, fund, and produce content directly affect not just how Pearl Harbor history is taught, but how it is understood in the larger context of a peacefully coexisting planet. The last day of each workshop provides an important collaborative forum for the teachers. Groups present what they have learned and plans for what they will be incorporating into their classrooms. Informed by the experiences of people who lived through the war, visiting the places that still exhibit its scars, and learning from each other, the lessons of Pearl Harbor become more profound. Students throughout the US and Japan can only benefit from this continuing crosscultural dialogue.

John McCaskill – OPTIONS PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL WASHINGTON, DC

The first day we were here, we were on site visits. The Arizona Memorial and so many other different places and particularly for students who are visual learners, you can read about something but then seeing it is absolutely incredible. I mean we get the entire tour around Ford Island and just to see so many of those different things makes an indelible impact in your mind that you won’t forget. Some moments you’re just absolutely speechless, there’s nothing that you can say, you’re impacted to that degree. There’s so many life lessons that you’re learning in the process. My biggest thing is “How do you connect the past with this present generation?” ...I think more than anything else, it’s connecting those life lessons. I tell my students, I don’t really care if you like me or not – I want to make sure that 5 or 10 years from now you’re successful in life. And whatever I need to do to make that happen, that’s what we’re going to do. And so connecting these life lessons with these students, that’s where the passion is.

Geoffrey White, far left, talks to Japanese teachers Chih-Mei Yang, second from left, and Miyuki Yoneda, and Yujin Yaguchi, far right, workshop coordinator and seminar presenter before the taping of video interviews which form the basis for the text at right. 4

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Photo: Paul heintz

Michael Demas – IMLAY CITY HIGH SCHOOL

Edwin Calouro – MT HOPE HIGH SCHOOL

IMLAY CITY, MICHIGAN

BRISTOL, RHODE ISLAND

I believe that to make a connection with students, that they appreciate when your teacher has actually experienced something rather than just point at a map on a page or in a book. I think once students establish a relationship with their teacher and their teacher starts talking about what they’ve done in life, I really think it comes across much better, more powerful, and that’s one thing I’d like to take back.

It has been a real eye opening experience to re-examine what a memorial’s all about. How perspective and culture make a difference in the way people view things. To have Japanese teachers here that we can speak with and listen to... their interpretation of events, has been an incredibly eye opening experience for me. I think there’s no doubt, I won’t be able to go back and teach Pearl Harbor... the way I used to teach it. [W]hat I’ve learned here in this workshop is that there are multiple perspectives, there isn’t a single way of teaching things. And so I’ll challenge my students to look at it not just through the lens of their own perspective but through the eyes of the Japanese, the eyes of survivors, previous generations, etc. That’s the most important thing that I’ll take from this – there is more than one way of looking at things.

Working with other teachers, how they teach in Japan and how we approach it in the United States, [we can] communicate with our students about how they view the world and come to some conclusion so that we can become a more peaceful and prosperous world and learn from the past mistakes of war.

Miyuki Sasaki – KANDA MUNICIPAL YOBARU ELEMENTARY SCHOOL FUKUOKA, JAPAN

Photo: geoff White

Above: Teachers present the lesson plans they anticipate incorporating into their schools’ history, social studies, and language curriculum. Top right: Pearl Harbor Survivor Herb Weatherwax meets Miyuki Sasaki and Edwin Calouro.

Chih-Mei Yang – HIGASHI-OSAKA MUNICIPAL TAIHEIJI JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL OSAKA, JAPAN

(Translated by Yujin Yaguchi, far right) I learned greatly from minority scholars and presenters here in Hawaii, the Native Hawaiian scholar as well as Japanese American scholar who gave presentations. I myself am a member of a minority group in Japan and from what I heard through their presentations I was very much encouraged and I want to do the kind of things that they’re doing here in the States back home in Japan. r e m e m b r a n c e

At the beginning I was trying to see the differences between American teachers and Japanese teachers, but now I think that there are so many things that we have in common. Like seriousness to learn history or our attitude towards different ways of thinking – so it was great. I appreciate that we Japanese teachers were given an opportunity to do our presentation about what we teach, how we teach war including the attack on Pearl Harbor and also about peace education. We’re going [on a] school trip to Nagasaki in October so maybe it’s going to be great if we compare [the] Nagasaki peace museum and the Arizona Memorial. I want to get my students to stand on both sides of the war. Not only about the Pacific War but I want my students to know it’s important to know diverse perspectives. f a l l

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Kalaupapa

at the crossroads

By Edean Saito AMMA Business Manager

he first group of individuals afflicted with Hansen’s Disease arrived at Kalawao on the eastern side of the Kalaupapa peninsula on January 6, 1866. Nearly 9,000 people followed, removed from their families and homes and sent to a place of isolation where the leprosy

patients were forced to fend for themselves. Kalaupapa Settlement is still home for several surviving former Hansen’s disease patients whose cherished memories and experiences are highly valued. Once a community of isolation, Kalaupapa now serves as a place for education and contemplation. As the number of patients decreases, the various governmental, religious, and community organizations charged with the protection and welfare of the site are facing a challenging time of change, and a future no one can yet see. Kalaupapa National Historical Park was established on December 22, 1980 by Congress to tell the story of the isolated Hansen’s disease (leprosy) community by preserving and interpreting its sites and values. It is dedicated to providing a well-maintained community to ensure that the present residents of the Settlement

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Photo: Donny Chambers

may live out their lives in this, their home. It is dedicated to the education of present and future generations with regard to a disease that has been shrouded in fear and ignorance for centuries. The Park Service is also committed to preserving and to interpreting a wide range of significant resources and values at Kalaupapa. The area was home to Native Hawaiians for hundreds of years before the settlement, and their remnants abound in Kalaupapa, as well as endangered plants, mammal, and marine life. The Hawaii State Department of Health, responsible for the patients’ well-being, and the National Park Service, working to preserve the cultural and natural resources of the peninsula jointly manage Kalaupapa. But as patients have passed away, the state has been lessening its involvement while the Park Service has been ramping up. Currently, the park land is owned by a combination of the federal government and state departments of Land and Natural Resources, Transportation and Hawaiian Home Lands. The Hawaiian Home Lands lease with the park expires in 2041, while the federal government and DLNR are in discussions this year to renew a 20-year lease. For the past year, the National Park Service has been preparing a general management plan for the 10,000 acre park. This plan will be used to navigate its future for the next 15 to 20 years. The planning process, which is expected to take another three to four years to complete, also includes the creation of an environmental impact statement. This planning process could lead to more than tripling the park’s acreage along the northeast coastline. The first step of this planning process involved 12 public scoping workshops held in April and May throughout the Hawaiian Islands. The meetings gave the public the opportunity to provide comments, raise issues, offer suggestions, and help define the park’s future. “The patients are our most important resource at Kalaupapa. Unfortunately, we are in a transition period and must prepare for a time when there are no longer any patients. The NPS is dedicated to preserving the memories and experiences of the past so we may continue to learn valuable lessons from them long into the future,” said Superintendent Steve r e m e m b r a n c e

Prokop. “We are especially fortunate to have the invaluable insight and inspiration of these residents at Kalaupapa to help guide us in the planning process.” A geological formation, the Kalaupapa peninsula is bound by steep slopes, that rise from 1600 feet to more than 3000 feet, creating this place of isolation. Access to the park is severely limited. There are no roads connecting Kalaupapa with the rest of Molokai. Land access is via a steep trail on the pali (sea cliff) that is approximately three miles long with 26 swithchbacks. A short airplane flight from topside Molokai or a ride on the back of a mule provides the access to Kalaupapa. At the age of 33, the Reverend Damien de Veuster arrived at the Molokai settlement in 1873 to minister to the patients when no one else would. During his 16 years on Molokai, Damien worked to create a community for patients as a way to give them dignity and a source of pride. Father Damien, who was also a carpenter, built his own church, built homes and brought much-needed order to the neglected settlement of exiles. He also lobbied hard for deliveries of food, medical supplies and more Catholics to care for the otherwise-abandoned patients. In 1889, Father Damien died from Hansen’s disease. Kalaupapa is in the spotlight again with the upcoming Vatican canonization of Father Damien as a saint on October 11 in Rome. Plans for local celebrations this fall for the canonization have taken shape, including an elaborate procession across Hawaii involving a relic of the Roman Catholic priest. In order to commemorate when Pope Benedict XIV officially makes Father Damien a saint, the Vatican and Father Damien’s former order in Belgium will present the Roman Catholic Diocese of Honolulu with Damien’s right heel bone, said the Very Reverend Christopher Keahi of the Order of the Sacred Hearts Hawaii Province. The bone, enclosed in a box called reliquary, will make a week long trip to churches on the Big Island, Maui, Kauai, and Molokai. On October 31, the relic will travel down the steep pali trail on Molokai for a Mass at Father Damien’s church, St. Philomena. A day later, the relic will arrive and be placed on permanent display at Our lady Queen of Peace Cathedral in Honolulu. n f a l l

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“There are valuable lessons to be learned from the history of leprosy in Hawaiʻi and from the people whose lives have been shaped by it. The establishment of Kalaupapa as a National Historical Park in 1980 was an official recognition of the importance of this history to Hawaiʻi, the nation, and the world.” – Anwei Law and Richard Wisniewski

Photos: Donny Chambers / Angel galinato

October 11, 2009: Father Damien to be canonized 2009: NPS initiates General Management Plan studies and outreach April 2008: Holy See rules Father Damien responsible for two miracles

Molokaʻi Timeline

December 22, 1980: Public Law 96-565 designates Kalaupapa a National Historical Park 1938: Catholic Church initiates beatification proceedings April 15, 1889: Father Damien dies of leprosy 1888: Mother Marianne Cope and two other sisters of St. Francis arrive 1873: Father Damien arrives at the settlement 1866: First group of leprosy patients, 9 men and 3 women, sent to Kalaupapa 1865: King Kamehameha signs the “Act to Prevent the Spread of Leprosy” into law - Kalihi Hospital opens for mild cases - Kalaupapa established for more severe cases 1850s: Leprosy receives increased attention as aliʻi (royal chiefs) contract and die from the disease 1790-1810: Kamehameha the Great conquers the islands, uniting them for the first time 1786: Englandʻs Captain George Dixon is the first European to visit Molokaʻi 1785: Kahekili of Maui invades and conquers Oahu, bringing Oahu and Molokaʻi under his control

Hawaiʻi’s Native 1778: 250,000 – 300,000 Hawaiian population 1896: 31,000*

*Some of the diseases brought by sailors, plantation workers, whaling ships, missionaries, etc., against which Hawaiians had no natural immunities: Cholera, measles, small pox, whooping cough, influenza, leprosy

650 AD: First Hawaiians, probably seafaring Polynesians from the Marqueses Islands, settle on Molokaʻi 400,000 years ago: a third, smaller shield volcano, Puʻu ʻUao rises from the sea floor to form the Kalaupapa peninsula 1.4 million years ago: the Wailau slide, a cataclysmic avalanche, forms the great northern sea cliffs >1.5 million years ago: island of Molokaʻi is formed by shield volcanoes Mauna Loa, to the west, and Kamakou, to the east

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mailorder@arizonamemorial.org toll-free 1-888-485-1941 www.arizonamemorialbookstore.org

From the AMMA bookstore father Damien: “a Bit of Taro, a Piece of fish, and a Glass of Water”, by Anwei Skinses Law and Henry G. Law. IDEA, New York, 2009. 131 pages, $25.00/$21.25*

The foreword to this revelatory book was provided by Bishop Larry Silva, the first native-born Bishop of Honolulu. Bishop Silvaʻs own family was touched by leprosy; his great-grandfather and great aunt were both sent to Kalaupapa, suspected of having the disease. “For generations, the story of the men, women and children who had leprosy in Hawaii was largely untold, although the memories of those sent to Kalaupapa were vivid in the minds and hearts of their loved ones. Stories of Father Damien, Mother Marianne and others who went to bring comfort and hope to the people of Kalaupapa abounded, but most were told by those living outside the settlement. King Kalakaua, Queen Kapiolani, Robert Louis Stevenson and others sang their praises in speeches and print media. But the voices of the people who were sent to Kalaupapa have largely been absent from written history. Even though they wrote hundreds of letters and petitions and provided eyewitness testimony to the historical events of the 19th and 20th centuries, their perspective simply hasnʻt been included in traditional histories. “... This is a book about Father Damien He only served in De Veuster.... Kalaupapa for 16 years until his death, as a

person afflicted with leprosy, in 1889. But with his canonization as a Saint of the Catholic Church in 2009, he stands as a perpetual reminder of the need for compassion and justice as society faces new challenges that seek to divide and separate Godʻs children. “As we listen to these simple but beautiful stories of the friendship between Father Damien and the people of Kalaupapa, may we learn to leave no story untold. May we learn the importance of all human beings.... And may we learn from Father Damien that oneʻs own story becomes much more fascinating much more meaningful when it is focused on others.” Illuminating Ourselves, IDEA, New York, 2008. 121 pages, $20.00/$17.00*

IDEA is an international advocacy organization (Integration, Dignity, and Economic Advancement ) for people afflicted with leprosy, or Hansenʻs Disease. As their web site states, “IDEA is dedicated to the principle that individuals whose lives have been challenged by leprosy, have the right to full and equal participation in society, including the right to equal justice, equal opportunity, and equal dignity without discrimination.” Liang Zhao Lun has said, “Through our efforts to eliminate prejudice, to win recognition from society, to request the rights of education, work and livelihood, which are inherent in every human being, we will work to create a world of hope, understanding and peace.”

Illuminating Ourselves is a collection of poetry, art, photographs, and essays from people all over the world afflicted with leprosy. “Here I am on the balcony of my home enjoying the loss of my leg, which, tired of the journey of life, has left ahead of me... All accidents that befall us take on whatever dimensions we wish to give them. I live constantly in the land of hypotheses, whether this....if that....whether or not I will have the means to acquire a prosthesis to regain my lost mobility. “The obstacle has always been present in a fruitless attempt to hold us back. Whatever happens, I am sure that I will come back with force, thankful for the message of the lesson to which I was once again subjected. “Here is the sky blue throughout the vastness of outdoors, lost on unending horizon, contrasting with the budding redness that swallows up the radiant aurora, announcing the birth of a new day. “The message is so great. there are so many shades, that I feel happy as I see the sun dry off the leaves moistened by the tears of the guardian of the dawn. The beauty of everything I see withdraws a sigh and a wide smile of hope from within my soul.” Antonio Borges, Jr., Brazil. Uncommon Kindness, Allumination FilmWorks, 60 minutes $19.95/$16.96*

Despite the somewhat surprising choice of Robin Williams as narrator, this is one of the best Father Damien/Kalaupapa documentaries available.

*Prices do not include shipping & handling. Green price reflects member discount. r e m e m b r a n c e

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A Navy officer takes a picture of the wreck of LST-480 after the formal ceremony commemorating the West Loch disaster of 1944.

The Tragedy at By James W. Neuman | Commander Navy Region Hawaii | Public Affairs Office, Historian

On a quiet Sunday afternoon in May of 1944, a vast armada of warships filled Pearl Harbor in preparation for the invasion of Saipan named Operation Forager. With the seizure of bases in Marianas islands, American B-29s would be able to reach Japan only 1,500 miles away. The invasion force included twenty-nine amphibious landing ships called LSTs. These vessels landed troops and supplies on the beaches to directly engage the enemy. On board LST 353, Army personnel of the 29th Chemical Decontamination Company busily unloaded mortars. Suddenly from her deck, at approximately 1508, an explosion rocked the calm waters of the harbor, scattering hot shrapnel and other debris throughout the landing fleet. A mix of panic and confusion ensued. Urgent efforts to extinguish fires and to remove other LSTs out of harm’s way were initiated. Two more increasingly violent explosions erupted at 1511 and 1522 respectively; the last one said to have been heard more than fifteen miles away. Vessels all around the harbor rushed to the scene to help battle the fires and rescue crewmen from the water.

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“I was on the docks playing craps with the guys…we heard the first two explosions but they were far away and so we didn’t think much of it. With the third explosion, I knew something was going on,” says Roy Sannella of Port Charlotte, Fl., a young sailor assigned to the tugboat yT-129 in Pearl Harbor. Roy and his shipmates boarded yT-129 and were ordered out to West Loch to help contain the fires that were by now threatening to rage out of control. “As we approached the site we saw bodies in the water. I told the skipper but he said that we would have to keep going forward to help in the fight. When we got there we were able to cut some of the LSTs loose, but eventually we had to back away because of the inferno. When we went back in we rescued several survivors from the burning waters.” By the next day, a total of 163 men lost their lives in the disaster and 396 men were wounded. Of the 34 LSTs in the area 6 had been lost completely and several more suffered extensive damage. Amazingly, replacements in men and material were quickly rounded up

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and the invasion of Saipan took place as planned on June 15, 1944. Following the disaster, Admiral Nimitz wrote of the circumstances leading up to the mishap was a “calculated risk” made necessary by the high tempo of wartime operations and that “positive corrective action” was ensured so that it would not happen again. The times have changed, and the valuable lessons learned from the incident in West Loch have been put to practical use. “In 1944, the Navy did not have a clear definition of how munitions should best be loaded,” comments Captain Debra A. Bodenstedt the current Commanding Officer of the Navy Munitions Command East Asia Division. “Work on the piers and other Navy facilities was done by the men of the ordnance battalions who had received very little training in cargo handling, let alone work with high explosives.

Today’s ordnance workers are all trained and certified to handle ordnance and are required to re-certify each year.” Furthermore she adds, “The open fields surrounding the Naval Magazine represent the Explosive Safety Quantity Distance or ESQD which safeguard personnel and the inhabitants of nearby communities from possible fires or explosions.” It is noteworthy that the Navy has not had another explosion of the magnitude of West Loch since the conclusion of World War Two. All that remains of the West Loch disaster is the rusted hulk of LST 480, jutting silently off the Waipio Peninsula. For men like Roy Sannella, memories of the West Loch disaster are a bittersweet experience. “I’ve been doing my best to talk to school kids and other organizations about what happened and the sacrifices made.” Although he laments, “Not enough people know. That’s a shame.” n

Top left: West Loch survivor Roy Sannella visits with Hawaiʻi media after the formal ceremony. Top right: Military personnel turned firefighters in heroic acts that prevented a worse disaster. Bottom left: West Loch from the air,. May 21, 1944. Bottom right: The National Park Service interpretive exhibit was installed in 1994 in conjunction with the US Navy. r e m e m b r a n c e

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Tales of Scouting Squadron Six AMMA will soon have the honor of publishing Jack Leaming’s personal War in the Pacific history (due early 2010). Jack is one of the last surviving members of Scouting Squadron Six off the USS Enterprise, famous for flying into the melee of the Japanese attack on December 7, 1941. Jack was an aviation radioman and machine gunner in the SBD 6-S-7 and was shot down after the Big E attacked Marcus Island in March, 1942. He was picked up by the Japanese and sent to POW camps in Japan for the remainder of the war. As Jack writes in his book, “It was supposed to end three and a half years later by destiny’s clock, but it never has. The things that happened are still happening, the wounds are too deep and there is not enough time for them to heal.” For two months, Task Force 8 under Halsey; the Enterprise accompanied by the heavy cruisers Chester, Northampton and Salt Lake City; the destroyers, Belch, Blue, Dunlap, Maury, McCall, Ralph Talbot and the fleet tanker Platte; roamed the Pacific. We were flying every day, searching, looking. Nothing, nothing. What the hell was happening? What kind of a war was this? When will we start to even the score?

seven, we were on our way down, diving from fourteen thousand feet. The early morning sky was full of black bursts from AA. Red tracer from machine gun fire laced the sky. All hell had broken loose. This was my first experience sitting backward facing the tail in a dive. It was a hard fact to accept...hurtling earthward about three hundred miles an hour and you cannot see where in the hell you are going. you have to trust

“This was my ﬁrst experience sitting backward facing the tail in a dive. The building frustration because of the lack of confrontation began to subside the latter part of January. Our course was a constant southerly heading. The night sky changed, the heavens were covered with stars. A not so common star group, the Southern Cross was in the sky now. The ambiance surrounding us seemed to suddenly change also. Expectation of a nearing encounter dominated our thoughts and conversation. Something was about to happen. And then, it did! We hit the Marshalls on February 1, 1942. By 4:45 on that morning, we were on our way to bomb Roi. A few minutes before seven Roi was sighted and the “Skipper” ordered an echelon to the right. At

someone else with your life, your fate. It ain’t easy. When there is someone in the front seat with whom you are comfortable there are other things: mechanical failure, losing part of the airplane, AA and machine gun fire. If the pilot is injured, can you turn that seat around, put in the stick, and pullout? It is virtually impossible. So, if the pilot is hit, you are going in whether you are hit or not. How will it feel? What a way to die! Dale bored on. Never had the seconds seemed so long. The altimeter was spinning like a top. I called out, “Mark” at fifteen hundred feet over the ICS. Dale released our five hundred pounder and we went screaming across the strip as I emptied a can of .30 caliber strafing. years later,

Above: Jack Leaming at his home in Las Vegas, 2009. Right: The original caption of this Naval Historical Center photograph states, “Enterprise dive bombers, Oct. 27, 1942.” On close inspection, the plane just below and to the right of 6-S-14 carries what look like the number 6-S7. If the date is somehow incorrect, that’s Jack sitting in the rear seat. 1 6

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Jack Leaming’s US Navy Air Crew Wing with three stars.

Top left: The official Navy photo caption states: “Liberated from a prison camp in Japan, after being captured while floating on a raft off Marcus Island, Jack Leaming, Aviation Radioman First Class, USN, of Wildwood, NJ, examines a collection of pinups at the US Naval Hospital, San Diego, where he is a patient.” Top center: The aviation radiomen of Scouting Squadron Six, after the Marshall Islands campaign and before Wake Island. Jack Leaming is top, far left. Top right: Jack Leaming (right) and Joe Cupples. Lower left:

Loading a bomb onto an SBD on the deck of the Enterprise. “The altimeter was spinning like a top.... Dale released our five hundred pounder and we went screaming across the strip as I emptied a can of .30 caliber strafing.” Lower right: Jack Leaming’s belongings while a Japanese prisoner of war. The knapsack was captured by the Japanese in Singapore and given to prisoners in Japan. The book is a diary sent from home after his capture. The pipe was an admitted luxury during time spent in captivity.

It was a hard fact to accept...hurtling earthward about three hundred miles an hour and you cannot see where in the hell you are going.” Dale reminded me that it was the fourth bomb of WWII to strike Japanese soil! Dale pulled up into a turn behind the plane ahead of us as we circled around for our next run to deliver the two one hundred pounders, one under each wing. There were no attacking aircraft. I was facing aft and wondered what was ahead as Dale nosed over for a fast glide-bombing attack. I turned, looked over my shoulder, and saw an SBD opposite us receive a direct hit. The starboard wing was blown off. The wing spiraled upward through the air as the rest of the plane dropped straight down. This happened very quickly and was directly in front of us but too far away for me to identify. Our own hide was too important for me to devote too much attention to others. The air was saturated with AA and machine gun fire. Dale released our 100 pounders and I strafed a building where some soldiers were running out a door. Several of them fell as my bullets struck. The gun was bucking like a hot tormented animal. The spent shells were flying into the cockpit and into the slipstream, a r e m e m b r a n c e

shiny brass shower. I stopped firing and then it was up, up, and away as we headed back to the Big E. It was a rapid return, a constant scanning from horizon to horizon and our position for enemy attackers. This was really my indoctrination into war and combat. It engendered feelings and emotions never before experienced. Suddenly, your throat feels dry, your brow becomes hot and moist, and an uncontrollable slight tremble ripples through your fingers, the trembling of real fear. you feel all alone up there, that every gun available to the enemy is pointed at you. you are going to die, if there is a goof, quickly and suddenly. If the pilot goofs or if he does not have eyes in his behind or if you see something, and it is not too late, you better tell him fast. Either way, you do not have complete control of your life. It is all chance. Even in peace, life is a chance. War just accelerates the timing. The finality of death is awesome, frightening. The faces of the men that were hit and missing scroll across your mind’s eye and neither the sweat nor the tears can blur or erase them. n f a l l

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Old Soldiers Never Die… By Paul Heintz AMMA Education Director “Old soldiers never die; they just fade away.” Those were the words spoken by General Douglas McArthur to a joint session of the U.S. Congress in 1952 at the close of his military career. For Pearl Harbor survivors, old soldiers never die; they return to their duty stations. That’s the motto Bob Kinzler follows. This past year, Bob, a Pearl Harbor survivor who has worked as a volunteer at the U.S.S Arizona Memorial since 1985, returned to his December 7, 1941 duty station at Roosevelt High School for the first time. He visited the school as a participant in the “Pearl Harbor Survivor in the Classroom” program sponsored by the National Park Service and the Arizona Memorial Museum Association. Bob Kinzler is “Old Army.” He was born March 7, 1922 in Newark, New Jersey. He joined the U.S. Army in June 1940 and requested duty in Hawaii instead of the Philippines because it meant less time at sea for a young solider heading out to the Pacific. Bob arrived in Hawaii on September 26, 1940 and was assigned to Headquarters Company, 27th Infantry Regiment (nicknamed the “Wolfhounds”), at Schofield Barracks. Life in Hawaii was great for a young soldier in those days. Soldiers could go to the beach in their off duty hours, spend time in Honolulu, hang out at the Black Cat Café or the Army-Navy yMCA. The clouds of war were ominous on November 27, 1941 when a war warning was issued. On the evening of December 6th, Bob attended a cookout at Kailua Beach. He returned to Schofield at 2 a.m. on the morning of December 7th. Bob was sleeping when he heard the

explosions that signaled the attack on Wheeler Field. He went out onto the lanai to see a Japanese plane just complete a bombing run. He was ordered to go to the motor pool to disperse trucks, but learned the trucks had already been dispersed. He then proceeded by truck to Roosevelt High School where he was assigned to a telegraph position. As he ascended the heights above Kipapa Gulch he witnessed the horror of the destruction at Pearl Harbor. Bob stayed at Roosevelt for several months before being assigned to the University of Hawaii Radar School. He was then sent to Canton Island in the South Pacific where he endured frequent bombing raids by Japanese aircraft from the Gilbert and Marshall Islands. He served the remainder of the war at duty stations on the U.S. mainland and Canada. Bob retired from the U.S. Army in October 1962 with the rank of Captain after working his way up from the enlisted ranks. His daughter Karen continued the tradition of service in the Army upon her graduation from West Point in May 1980. During his visit to Roosevelt High School Bob told the students about the events of December 7th, gave them unique insights about the history of their school and the key role it played during World War II. Bob was given a tour of the campus and returned to his old duty station for the fist time since December 7, 1941. It was an emotional visit. The memories of his assignment there returned. Bob was happy to learn the ROTC program at Roosevelt High School still uses the area of his old duty station for training. Major Rodney W. Kimura, Senior Army Instructor in the Roosevelt ROTC program presented Bob with a unit insignia pin and T shirt. In September 2008 Bob received the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award from U.S. Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne for 24 years service as a volunteer at the U.S.S. Arizona Memorial. Old Soldiers Never Die...a grateful nation remembers. For Bob Kinzler the events of December 7, 1941 at Roosevelt High School will always be remembered. n Left: Bob Kinzler shows fine form in his return to his old duty station, holding a Springfield M1903 rifle in front of the same wall where he posed 68 years earlier. Middle: Bob, left, on December 7, 1941. He helped set up a battle station at the school, serving as a telegraph operator. Right: Bob talks to school kids at Roosevelt High School.

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Son of Guam Remembered Jorge Cristobal 1918–2009

By Tom Shaw AMMA President and CEO

It is with a great deal of sadness that I report to you the passing of Jorge Cristobal. Many of you have probably never heard of Mr. Cristobal, nor his story of being reunited with his family during the horrific battle in July of 1944 to wrest control of the island of Guam by American forces from the Japanese. Mr. Cristobal tells his story in the book Pacific War Stories by Rex Alan Smith and Gerald A. Meehl. I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Cristobal on Guam in December of 2003. The Arizona Memorial Museum Association in cooperation with the National Park Service at War in the Pacific National Historical Park on Guam was dedicating a memorial at Asan Overlook to the 12 men of Chamorro background (natives of the Marianas Islands including Guam) who lost their lives in the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Jorge Cristobal was gracious enough to be the keynote speaker at the dedication of that memorial. I picked Mr. Cristobal up at his home overlooking Tumon, Guam and proceeded with him to Asan overlook and the memorial dedication. On the way, Mr. Cristobal took the time to tell me the fascinating story of his experience surviving the attack on Pearl Harbor and then returning to Guam during the American liberation of that island in 1944. “I graduated from high school in 1934 on Guam. After graduation my father, a very industrious businessman, decided he’d send me to Japan so I could learn the porcelain trade from the Japanese. Not knowing a word of Japanese I thought it would be hard for me, because I would first have to learn the lingo.... I started from the beginning, and in almost eleven months I learned Japanese.... “I left there after the Sino-Japanese war started. A friend of mine said to me, ‘I think it would be a good idea if you moved out of Japan. This is going to be a big war between China and Japan.’ My father was surprised with how much I’d learned. But I told him I had to come back because of the Japanese war with the Chinese.... I left Japan in September 1939 and arrived at Guam about a month later. I was hoping to continue my studies in Hawaii. But my father said, ‘Remember you have brothers and sisters, and I have to send them to school, too. Maybe you should get a job here on Guam and make some money and then use that money to get to where you want to go.’” Jorge decided that he wanted to see the world and serve the United States of America in the armed services, the US Navy was accepting native Chamorro as mess attendants aboard its ships throughout the world. After physicals and training and qualification Jorge was assigned to the battleship USS Maryland and was assigned to attend to the Executive Officer r e m e m b r a n c e

Commander Baker. While getting used to the routine of his duties and accustomed to his surroundings and his spaces in the ship, he was asked to report to the Commanding Officer of the USS California, Captain Bunkley. The USS California was on a Northern Pacific exercise and returned to Pearl Harbor on the evening of December 5, 1941. Jorge witnessed the attack on and destruction of the Pacific Fleet from the deck of the USS California. During the attack 12 men from Guam assigned to various ships of the fleet died. After the attack Jorge was assigned to Vice Admiral Ghormley in New Zealand. Arriving there on the USS Regal he was transferred to the staff of Admiral Halsey. During the course of the war in the Pacific Jorge was asked by Admiral Halsey if he would like to return to Guam. Being from Guam, Jorge responded enthusiastically in the affirmative. He truly wanted to see to the welfare of his family, but there was one problem: the Japanese occupied Guam at that time. Jorge was assigned to headquarters, First Battalion, Ninth Regiment, Third Marine Division and arrived back on Guam on July 21, 1944 with the Third Marine Division landing force at Asan Beach. He was eventually reunited with his family and served out the rest of the war and provided translation services for the war crimes commission after the war in Japan. Please read all about Jorge’s exploits before, during and after the war in Pacific War Stories along with many other stories of individuals who participated in many of the battles during the Pacific War. Pacific War Stories is available in our bookstore at the USS Arizona Memorial, at War in the Pacific National Historical Park on Guam and our bookstore on Saipan at American Memorial Park. This book is also available on line at www.arizonamemorial.org We make this book available as well as many more titles to keep the memory of our heroes such as Jorge Cristobal alive in our hearts. Proceeds from the sales of all of our materials benefit programs related to education and interpretation at all of the parks we serve in the Pacific which in turn helps keep the memory of the “Greatest Generation” alive. your support through donations, membership and purchase of our products is greatly appreciated. Permission to use quotes from Pacific War Stories was granted by the author Gerald A. Meehl. n f a l l

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The 2010 AMMA calendar will ship to all Gold and Platinum members in November. Our 2010 calendar features 12 indelible images of the December 7, 1941 attack on Oahu interpreted by famed maritime artist Tom Freeman from the exclusive collection of the USS Arizona Memorial Archives Or, order yours online or from our mail order department and receive your 15% member discount. www.arizonamemorialbookstore.org mailorder@arizonamemorial.org 1-888-485-1941

Current Platinum Members Mr. Rick W. Allen Mr. David Borger Ruth L. Campbell Mr. and Mrs. Robert Klein Mr. Howard G Lee Mr. Craig P. Moisio Mr. Richard F. Montgomery Mr. Joseph R. Rezash Mr. and Mrs. Phil and Marilyn Schroder Ms. Helen M. Seredynsky Mr. and Mrs. Thomas and Marilyn Troy, Jr. Waikiki Beach Condominium

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Current Silver Members

Current Silver Members Mr. and Mrs. Chris and Kelley Basoco Mr. and Mrs. Steven Bauer Brian Beirne Royce J. Biddle Robert and Maria Boyle Mr. Glenn L. Cole Mr. Glenn T. Conyers, III D. Coopen Mr. Dwight D. Daniel Mr. Thomas W. Dillon Charles J. DiPando Mr. Elmer Engman Mr. and Mrs. Frank Farris Mr. George D. Fosdick Mr. and Mrs. Robert W. Gallagher Mr. and Mrs. Joseph and Laura Gott BGen. Jerome T. Hagen, USMC-ret Mr. Robert J. Hatfield Mr. James M. Hoffhine Mr. and Mrs. Robert Holstrom Mrs. Linda Ann Langin Hugh

Mr. Richard M. Attilio Mr. Anthony L. Czarnecki Mr. Charles H. Erhart Mr. Edward K. Funkhouser Mr. George H. Harrison William and Jane Irvine Mr. Kevin Kersh Mr. Patrick J. Meehan Mr. and Mrs. Ronald L. Rombalski Mr. Tom Sakiyama Mr. Graham Scott Mr. Winn Stephenson Mr. John Swearingen Mr. and Mrs. Joseph F. Vaccaro Col. Victor W. Whitehead, USAF-ret Mr. Gregg Yost

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Mr. Mark Johnson Mr. David D. Kirby Mr. and Mrs. Theodore and Susan Kirsch Mr. Timothy Knight Mr. Keith J. Kolasinski William and Karen Lee Linda Masaryk Mr. Edward Z. Miller HMCS Robert J. Mitchell, USN-ret Mr. Rolf S. Palmer Mr. Kenton L. Smith Mr. Dale Smith S. Sodaro Mrs. Roberta Sullivan Jessica Sutherland Mr. and Mrs. Roger Tener Gary Viano Mr. and Mrs. Steven and Tracey Walczak Chris Washko Mrs. Donna Zang

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Would you like to become a member of the Arizona Memorial Museum Association? Members support AMMA’s mission to develop and implement educational programs, curriculum, and publications related to the history of Pearl Harbor, World War II in the Pacific, and Kalaupapa. In partnership with its members, AMMA supports the interpretation and related visitor service activities of the National Park Service at four parks across the Pacific: USS Arizona Memorial National Park, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii; American Memorial Park, Saipan; Kalaupapa National Historical Park, Molokai, Hawaii; and War in the Pacific National Historical Park, Guam. Become a member today! To do so, complete the application on the right-hand side of this page or sign up online at www.arizonamemorial.org/membership. In appreciation of your membership, we offer the following benefits:

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Already a member of AMMA? Please visit our website at www.arizonamemorial.org to view current membership specials or to take advantage of your 15% discount at our online bookstore. Did you know that in addition to Remembrance magazine AMMA is now sending an e-mail newsletter to its members? Please contact us at membership@arizonamemorial.org so we can add your email address to our mailing list. Member Polos! Member polos with the AMMA logo are now available in navy blue and white. They are being sold exclusively to members and cost just $20.00. Polos can be embroidered with your name (up to ten characters) for an additional $5.00. To place your order, go to www.arizonamemorialbookstore.org or call 888-485-1941 today!

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