2016 Fall Remembrance

Remembrance F A L L

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A PAC I F I C H I S TO R I C PA R K S P U B L I C AT I O N

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President & CEO Ray L’Heureux

Board of Directors Neil A. Sheehan, Chairman Alan Mattson, Vice-Chairman Giorgio Caldarone, Secretary Jeff Bell, Treasurer James Boersema Noel W. Bragg Brenda Lei Foster Colette J. Higgins Ray L’Heureux Patricia A. Lucas Mark Y. Matsunaga Clif Purkiser Alfred B. K. Rodrigues Alby L. Saunders George E. Sullivan Jim VanDerKamp Kwai S. “Sunny” Young

Directors Emeritus James K. Sylva Geoffrey M. White

Contents

94-1187 Ka Uka Blvd.

Waipahu, HI 96797 www.pacifichistoricparks.org 808-954-8726 Toll-free: 888-485-1941

National Park Service Celebrates Centennial

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Summer at the Park

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Walter T. Oka: Dec. 7, 1941 Civilian Witness

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Service of Japanese Americans in World War II

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Kisa Hatate: Dec. 7, 1941 Civilian Casualty

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Honouliuli National Monument Summer Field School

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Translating Japanese Grave Markers

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ParkEDU Update

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Fieldtrip!

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My Most Memorable Experience

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President’s Message p. 3 Mahalo to Donors p. 3 Pearl Harbor Gram p. 13 Cover: Volunteers for the 442nd, all Americans of Japanese ancestry, gathered in front of Iolani Palace in March 1943 for a farewell ceremony prior to sailing to Camp Shelby for training. Photo courtesy of Hawaii State Archives.

Prayer for the Dead p. 13 Support PHP p. 15 Report of Death p. 15

Legal Adviser Joachim P. Cox 

Editor Elaine Simon esimon@pacifichistoricparks.org

Editorial Advisers Edean Saito Minette Lew-McCabe 

Mission Statement

Pacific Historic Parks supports the National Park Service through research, preservation, restoration, fund development, education and interpretive programs of WWII in the Pacific and other Pacific historic sites.

Remembrance is published four times a year as a benefit to members of Pacific Historic Parks.

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Improvements at Diamond Head: In partnership with the Hawaii Department of Land & Natural Resources, Pacific Historic Parks created new signage for the Diamond Head Visitor Center on June 24. The Diamond Head Visitor Center and retail store is operated by

Pacific Historic Parks and handles a variety of visitor services, such as park information, first aid, lost and found and vending machine refunds. Proceeds from retail sales help to support preservation and educational efforts at Diamond Head State Monument.

President’s Message Aloha, This fall issue of Remembrance conveys a very special message to our members and community as we ramp up to the 75th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor this coming Dec. 7th. You see, it was not just an attack on Pearl Harbor ... the human story goes beyond the brave men in uniform that day at the Naval Base, Hickam Field, Ewa Field, Kaneohe NAS and Ford Island. There is also an Oahu story that includes American citizens of Japanese ancestry who suffered untold hardship and would end up in a war fought on two fronts.

Many of the stories in this issue focus on Americans of Japanese ancestry (AJA), sharing the Hawaii stories of men, women and children who were affected by the attack on Oahu. In this issue, read about Walter T. Oka, who at age 11 witnessed the attack from his home in Aiea, and Kisa Hatate, a single mother of three young children who lost her life from the friendly fire destruction at King and McCully streets.

The late Sen. Daniel Inouye, who later was awarded the Medal of Honor, was working as a young Red Cross volunteer that day in McCully and wrote about what he saw in his memoir, Journey to Washington. “We had all been attacked, and the dead on December 7 were not only the brave soldiers and sailors at Pearl Harbor and Hickam Field, but unarmed civilians in McCully, too … There were always those to whom the only good Jap was a dead Jap, and never mind

Mahalo!

We would like to recognize the following donors for their recent contributions.

Edward Altamirano Albert Antaki, Jr. Pam Baughman George Carr, III Combat Artist Collection Thomas Dillon

whether he happened to be an American citizen.” A very poignant statement of the mindset of a Japanese American who thought it his duty to serve … and would be among the This past July, members of the 75th bravest who did.

Commemoration Committee, myself included, attended EAA AirVenture Oshkosh In spite of the to share why the 75th Commemoration is a distrust and suspicion national event of remembrance. The support leveled against and interest was overwhelming. Daniel Japanese Americans Martinez (right) of the National Park Service after the attack, nearly accompanied us and delivered no less that 30 presentations on the attack.

10,000 AJA men in Hawaii volunteered to serve in the U.S. Army when given the chance.

This is powerfully conveyed by our cover photo, which shows AJA volunteers for the 442nd gathered outside Iolani Palace in 1943. Their story of service can be found on page 7.

It is our sincere hope that you enjoy this issue, and take from it some of the sometimes untold stories of that event … and that time.

Ray L’Heureux President & CEO

Dale Dupuy Jack & Nancy Evans Brenda Lei Foster Edward Funkhouser John Garrity Ana Guzman Joyce & Chuck Ivicic Ed Judisch John Kogut Sheri Layton Dennis Mar

Glenn Mattijs Maui Divers NOAA Pacific Islands Institute Brian Romias Phillip Ronish Edean Saito Paul Sanborn William Santora Gary Stephenson Donald & Lucretia Wolski REMEMBRANCE FALL 2016 | 3

National Park Service Celebrates Centennial

BY JACQUELINE ASHWELL, SUPERINTENDENT, WWII VALOR IN THE PACIFIC AND HONOULIULI NATIONAL MONUMENTS

Below is an excerpt of remarks given at WWII Valor in the Pacific National Monument on Aug. 25.

National parks are

more than amazing landscapes and places to recreate. They have come to be places where we strive to understand the American experience as well.

processes to occur with less impact from our growing populations, they create jobs and give economic benefit to our communities, and they provide us with places of solitude – ever more important in modern life.

And while I am extraordinarily proud to serve alongside so many incredible professionals, from the As the National Park ranger who greeted Service moves into WWII Valor in the Pacific National Monument staff, from left, back you at the front gate to its second century of row: Jay Blount, Frank Middleton, Robert Joslin, Kyle Neiser the maintenance staff service to this nation and Dan Brown; front row: Pamela Flores, Vianna Lam, Kenneth who keep up with the and the world, we are Mitchell, Jacqueline Ashwell, Patty Brown, Daniel Martinez and 4,000 daily visitors to working hard to tell a Naomi Drye. this Monument, to our more comprehensive hope to new generations of many partners who support us, and inclusive story, one that people from across our planet we can’t do the work that we do incorporates not only the – that seemingly intractable alone. moments that strengthen our disagreements can be overcome. connection to each other, but It is only with the support of the These are the stories of national also the moments that we must public that we can achieve our parks. never forget. mission. When you tell others This is why we, as a people, of the experiences you’ve had For example, here on Oahu, the have set aside the most beautiful at national parks, and encourage recently established Honouliuli and most meaningful places for them to care about America’s National Monument serves as a this and future generations to most treasured places, we as powerful reminder of the need explore, to learn and from which a society gain more stewards, to protect civil liberties in times more advocates for our parks. of conflict, a lesson that America to gain inspiration for a better future.

When you volunteer at your has learned, and will hopefully remember. local national park unit – and This birthday? It’s not just they exist in every state and about us, those who wear the Here at WWII Valor in the territory – you give back to your green and gray. It’s something Pacific, we recognize our now country. Thank you for all that we should all celebrate, because enduring peace with Japan, you’ve done to support us over it’s something we’ve done which 75 years ago at Pearl the past 100 years, and thank together. We set parks aside Harbor would have seemed you in advance for what we because society has recognized unfathomable. That story of will do together in the second the benefit that parks provide. peace and reconciliation, which century of the National Park the National Park Service shares They are important places of Service. « with millions of visitors, gives reflection, they allow ecological 4 | REMEMBRANCE FALL 2016

Below, volunteers pitched in for a Day of Service at American Memorial Park in Saipan on Aug. 27. Photo by Brooke Nevitt.

Above, on July 8-9 and July 15-16, 49 students between the ages of eight and 17 participated in American Memorial Park’s first-ever Soldier Skills summer program. Rangers along with the park’s first Teacher Ranger Teacher, Jovannalyn Mafnas, engaged Saipan’s youth in learning about the mission of the park through fun activities during the two-day camp. Highlights included a guided tour of the museum and memorials, learning traditional and modern navigation, survival and field soldier skills. Photo by Jovannalyn Mafnas.

Summer

at the Park

At left, second from the top, Pearl Harbor Survivor Sterling Cale speaks with the USS Missouri Chief Petty Officer Legacy Academy. Photo by Edean Saito.

At left, Naomi Drye pins a Junior Ranger badge on a boy during the National Park Service centennial celebration at World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument on Aug. 25. Photo by Minette LewMcCabe.

At left and above, during the month of July, Pacific Historic Parks and the National Park Service partnered to host two educational programs at War in the Pacific National Historical Park on the island of Guam. The summer programs were held at Asan Beach, a former World War II battlefield, and engaged youth from ages nine to 17 years old on issues of climate change, coral reef and watershed protection and water safety. Above photo| by Mikayla REMEMBRANCE FALL 2016 5 Legaspi. Photo at left by Devin Sortor.

For more details, visit remembrance.pacifichistoricparks.org.

Walter T. Oka Dec. 7, 1941 Civilian Witness

BY MARK MATSUNAGA, MEMBER, BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Walter Tadao Oka grew up in Aiea in the 1930s.

was questioned and cleared, but his radio gear was confiscated.

Aiea was a plantation town, dominated by the sugar mill where Walter’s father and four siblings worked. The Oka home was on the Pearl City side of the Aiea plantation cemetery, overlooking Pearl Harbor.

A few days later, two FBI agents came by, asking for a Walter T. Oka who reputedly knew so much about the ships in Pearl Harbor. Walter wasn’t at home, but the agents noticed a family photo on the wall (pictured below) and asked which one was Walter. Haruto pointed to the youngest boy and the agents left, disappointed. Walter got rid of his matchbook covers.

American by birth, he was the 12th child, and eighth son, of parents who immigrated from Japan.

Walter was one of the neighborhood boys who frequented the nearby Navy pier and railroad station. They would sell newspapers and chewing gum to sailors, or shine their shoes. Walter was fascinated by the Navy ships, and he would ask sailors for matchbooks whose covers bore pictures of their ships. He had a big collection.

All of his brothers volunteered for the Army.

Three served with the 442nd Regimental Combat Team in Europe, another with the 1399th Engineer Construction Battalion in Hawaii.

On the morning of Dec. 7, 1941, 13-year-old Walter was at home listening to the radio with some of his family when they heard the roar of airplanes, explosions and machine gun fire.

Running out to their porch, they saw dive bombers and torpedo planes attacking the ships, smoke billowing, the USS Utah listing and the Oklahoma capsizing. Then the USS Arizona blew up.

“In all of this mayhem, I said to myself, ‘Boy, the Army is mad at the Navy and is dropping real bombs and torpedoes at the ships.’” A plane flew overhead, and Walter saw the red insignia on its wings. “Only then did I realize it was Japanese planes attacking our ships.”

The attack’s second wave was greeted by heavier antiaircraft fire. “You could hear the blasts of the weapons, and many flaming planes streaked across the sky and crashed into the harbor,” Oka said. “A couple of machine gun bullets hit the top of our roof, but somehow, it never occurred to us that we were in danger, and we kept watching in awe.”

Two of his brothers were called to work as the plantation rushed to help the military. Another brother, David, was among the University of Hawaii ROTC cadets called to duty on Dec. 7 with the Hawaii Territorial Guard.

Two days later, a sailor and a marine appeared at the Oka home to secure Walter’s brother Haruto’s ham radio. The visitors were friendly and stayed until Haruto came home a couple days later. He 6 | REMEMBRANCE FALL 2016

Walter T. Oka is standing at left in this family portrait, taken in 1938. He was 10 at the time. Seated, from left, are his sister-inlaw Chieko (Yoshito's wife), sister Itsumi, mother, father, sister Yasue and sister Tomie. Standing, from left, are Walter, brothers Haruto, Yoshito, Shizuo, Toshio, Mitsuo, Kazuyoshi and David and sister Yoshie. Photo courtesy of Walter T. Oka and the Go For Broke National Education Center.

Walter enlisted after graduation from Waipahu High School in 1946 and served with the 354th HQ Intelligence Detachment in occupied Japan.

He earned degrees from the University of Cincinnati and settled there, working as a medical technician and teaching until he retired in 1991. « For Walter’s Oka’s account of what he saw from Aiea on Dec. 7, 1941, visit remembrance.pacifichistoricparks.org.

Japanese American volunteers pose for a photo in Aiea, Oahu, after being accepted by the U.S. Army.

Photo courtesy of Hawaii State Archives.

Service of Japanese Americans in World War II

BY EDEAN SAITO, SPECIAL PROJECTS MANAGER, AND MARK MATSUNAGA, MEMBER, BOARD OF DIRECTORS

A

mericans of Japanese ancestry (AJAs) who served the United States in World War II answered distrust and suspicion with unsurpassed service and sacrifice.

AJAs, or Nisei, of the 100th Battalion and 442nd Regimental Combat Team paid a bloody price in Europe to become the most decorated regiment in U.S. history. In the Pacific, Military Intelligence Service (MIS) AJAs made priceless but secret contributions to victory over Japan.

Before the war, Japanese made up 37 percent of Hawaii’s population. The war’s final tally found AJAs were 63 percent of the Hawaii residents who died in

service to the United States.

Cultural values – duty, honor, mutual obligation – helped the Nisei succeed, but they left no doubt that they were Americans.

Japan’s Dec. 7, 1941, attack on Oahu cast suspicion on all Japanese in America. Few mentioned the faithful service of 2,000 Nisei soldiers – former National Guardsmen and recent draftees – in Hawaii that day.

One was Torao Migita, killed by friendly fire in Honolulu while on his way to report to Schofield Barracks.

Also responding were University of Hawaii ROTC cadets, most of them Nisei, who became the nucleus of the Hawaii Territorial Guard (HTG). They were issued boltaction rifles and five rounds apiece to guard key locations.

Six weeks later, however, the HTG dismissed its Nisei members without explanation.

Rather than wallow in rejection, 170 of them organized as the Varsity Victory Volunteers (VVV) and presented a petition to Gen. Delos Emmons, the military governor. It said, “Hawaii is our home; the United States, our country. We know but one loyalty and that is to the Stars and Stripes. We wish to do our part as loyal Americans

in every way possible and we hereby offer ourselves for whatever service you may see fit to use us.” The VVV spent the next 11 months performing manual labor for the Army to demonstrate that they deserved a chance to fight for America.

In February 1942, all persons of Japanese descent were ordered out of the West Coast and federal authorities began herding them into concentration camps in the U.S. interior.

Meanwhile, the Selective Service reclassified all Japanese as enemy aliens ineligible for the draft.

In mid-1942, 1,400 Hawaii Nisei were removed from their units and shipped to the Mainland. At Camp McCoy, Wisconsin, they were organized as the 100th Infantry Battalion and adopted the motto “Remember Pearl Harbor.” At the same time, MIS Nisei language specialists were deploying to the Pacific in the war against Japan. Meanwhile, the VVV were crushing rocks and digging trenches to prove their patriotism.

They got their chance in early 1943, when the War Department and White House authorized creation of a Nisei regimental combat team (RCT), the 442nd.

AJAs couldn’t be drafted, so CONTINUED ON PAGE 9

REMEMBRANCE FALL 2016 | 7

Kisa Hatate

Dec. 7, 1941 Civilian Casualty

BY ELAINE SIMON, DIGITAL MARKETING MANAGER

I

n the historical narrative of Dec. 7, 1941, a lesser known story is the 49 civilians who lost their lives. Kisa Hatate was one of those civilian casualties, and she is included in the list of names engraved upon the blue commemorative plaques at Remembrance Circle at World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument.

Kisa Kagihara was born on Maui at the turn of the century. She was the oldest daughter of Japanese immigrants Unosuke Kagihara and Rie Kawakami, who had arrived in Hawaii in 1898.1 According to the 1920 census, Kisa, her younger brother Toraichi and her father were all employed at the pineapple cannery in Haiku Village on Maui. Kisa and her father were laborers, while her brother worked as a timekeeper. Rie stayed at home with the seven youngest children, four boys and three girls.2 Among the girls was Ruth, who was Kisa’s daughter but was being raised as one of her sisters.

By 1930, Kisa had moved to Honolulu and had married Tsuruaki Hatate, a grocery store manager originally from Japan. They lived on North School Street.3 The couple had three children: Raymond (born 1931), Richard (born 1933) and Elinor (born 1935). A couple of years prior to the war, Tsuruaki died from tuberculosis.

By the time of the 1940 census, Kisa had moved to 946 McCully St., close to the intersection of McCully and King streets. She was in her late 30s with an eighth grade education, a single mother working 48 hours a week as a servant for private families. Her annual income was $572, and her monthly rent was $11. Kisa’s eldest daughter, 20-year-old Ruth Horimoto, lived a few blocks away on Date Street with her husband and son.4 The story of what happened to Kisa Hatate on Dec. 7, 1941 is passed on through oral stories recounted by family members, down through the generations.

“At the time of the bombing, grandma [Ruth] ¹ U.S. Census (April 29, 1910) ² U.S. Census (Jan. 10, 1920) ³ U.S. Census (April 23, 1930) ⁴ U.S. Census (April 4, 1940) 8 | REMEMBRANCE FALL 2016

said that Kisa was upstairs doing laundry, and Auntie Elinor was in the house with her, but she knew the boys were on the street playing,” says one great granddaughter, who heard these stories from Ruth. “So she grabbed — I guess when she heard the bombing was going on — she grabbed Auntie Elinor, and they ran on the street to go look for the boys.”

“I heard she [Kisa] was outside when the attack happened,” says another granddaughter. “I think she was hanging laundry or something. Elinor was upstairs, so when the boom came, Elinor ran to the window — this is from Elinor — she looked outside and everyone was running across the street, so she ran downstairs, the inside stairs, and ran across the street. But Kisa was outside, so she ran upstairs to the outdoor steps, so they didn’t get to see each other.”

A projectile started the first fire at a drugstore at McCully and King. The fire then spread by tradewinds to adjacent buildings until nearly the whole city block was on fire.5 The fire burned for

Kisa Hatate’s descendants gathered at Remembrance Circle, front row, kneeling, from left: Chet Taira, Channe Lake, Celia Phillips, Christian Cruz; second row: CJ Taira, Devn Lake, Beryle Ishizaki, Celyn Cruz, Jeanne Sato; third row: Chester Taira, David Matlin, Shirleen Horimoto, Kenneth Horimoto, Brandon Lake, Cheryl Taira, Cole Phillips, Adam Lake, Cara Phillips, Cade Phillips, Gary Phillips and Dana Matlin. ⁵ “Eyewitness Accounts of Brutal Bombing from Around Oahu,” The Honolulu Advertiser, Dec. 7, 1941 50th anniversary commemorative edition (1991), 12.

At left and below, historic photos from Dec. 7, 1941 show the destruction at King and McCully streets. Photos courtesy of the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.

hours, causing $158,000 (or $2.5 million today) worth of damage to stores and dwellings occupied by 31 families at 1919-1923 S. King St. and 940-946 McCully St.6 Most civilian casualties in Honolulu were the result of flying shrapnel from American antiaircraft projectiles, fragments of pavement or other objects thrown by explosions or from concussion.7 It was while Kisa was out on the street that she was hit by a piece of shrapnel. Ruth and Paul Horimoto drove her to nearby Lunalilo School, which served as a first aid center during the attack. At Lunalilo School was a young Red Cross volunteer named Daniel Inouye, who would later go on to enlist in the Army, earn the Medal of Honor and serve as a U.S. senator. Thirty minutes after the McCully fire was reported, the Lunalilo School roof burst into flames, and first aid personnel were forced to treat 18 casualties under coconut trees.8 Kisa did not die right away; she was still conscious and talking when she was taken in. A doctor removed a piece of the shrapnel and asked the family if they wanted to keep it. The Horimotos said no.

The shrapnel was placed in a bottle and lined up next to other bottles containing similar evidence collected from other patients. Kisa died later that day due to blood loss.

After Kisa’s death, her three children were separated, and each child was sent to live with a different family member for some time.

Seeing how unhappy the children were, the Horimotos eventually decided to take in the three children themselves.

Many of Kisa’s descendants still live on Oahu: her son Raymond and daughter Elinor as well as a multitude of grandchildren, great grandchildren and great great grandchildren. Her son Richard Hatate lives in California, and her daughter Ruth Horimoto passed away in 2008.

On July 15, 2016, nearly two dozen members of the Hatate family were given a boat tour around Ford Island, visiting the USS Arizona Memorial and later stopping by the Pearl Harbor Visitor Center to view the list of Pearl Harbor civilian casualties recorded at Remembrance Circle. For many of the family members, this was their first time seeing the blue plaques. At Remembrance Circle, her name and age when she died are engraved: “Kisa Hatate, 41.” « ⁶ Advertiser, 12. ⁷ Allen, Gwenfread E., Hawaii’s War Years, the territory’s official history (University of Hawaii Press, 1950), 6-8. ⁸ Allen, 6.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7

volunteers were sought. About 1,100 responded on the Mainland. In Hawaii, nearly 10,000 volunteered and more than 2,600 were inducted.

The 100th Battalion entered combat near Salerno, Italy in September 1943.

The Hawaii Nisei soon earned battlefield respect and the nickname “Purple Heart Battalion.” The 442nd RCT joined the 100th Battalion near Anzio in June 1944 and fought fiercely in Italy then France, where the 442nd rescued the “Lost Battalion” when other U.S. units failed.

The 442nd’s 522nd Field Artillery Battalion was shifted to Seventh Army’s drive into Germany and helped liberate death camp inmates near Dachau. The rest of the 442nd returned to Italy and broke through the Germans’ Gothic Line.

In the Pacific, MIS Nisei served from Guadalcanal and Burma to the Philippines and Okinawa, as interpreters and translators, electronic eavesdroppers, spies and guerilla leaders. They captured and interrogated prisoners, flushed caves and fought as infantrymen, all while at risk of being mistaken for the enemy and shot by fellow GIs. After the war, the MIS Nisei had a vital role in the occupation of Japan. In Hawaii, another Nisei unit, the 1399th Engineer Construction Battalion, built dozens of major military facilities.

With few exceptions, the Navy, Marine Corps and Army Air Forces refused to enlist AJAs, but 33,000 of them served in the Army in World War II. In July 1946, President Truman honored the 442nd and said, “You fought not only the enemy, you fought prejudice, and you won.” Two years later, he ordered the end of racial segregation in the military.

After the war, many AJAs earned college degrees on the GI bill that would have been unattainable before the war. They came home to open up Hawaii’s society and economy and paved the way for statehood. Prominent Hawaii Nisei veterans included U.S. Senators Daniel Inouye (442nd) and Spark Matsunaga (100th) and Gov. George Ariyoshi (MIS). « REMEMBRANCE FALL 2016 | 9

Honouliuli National Monument

Summer Field School

BY JO YEOMANS, EDUCATION SPECIALIST

As a ParkEDU education specialist

at World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument, funded by Pacific Historic Parks (PHP), I was given a rare opportunity to participate in the University of Hawaii - West Oahu’s (UHWO) archaeological field school held at Honouliuli National Monument.

In June, students from UHWO, led by Dr. William Belcher, headed into the former site of Hawaii’s largest and longest-operating internment and POW camp during World War II. The 16 students are undergraduates either working on their bachelor’s degree with a concentration in archaeology or UHWO’s Certificate in Applied Forensic Anthropology.

The primary focus for the class was to examine the POW areas as well as the pre- and post-camp land use of the area. Specific topics covered in the class included lectures on cultural resource management, photography, field mapping, field GIS (with ArcPad), total

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Group photo of the field school students and the author. Many of the students are from Oahu’s leeward communities. Photo by Dr. William Belcher.

station use and excavation strategies.

The students learned hands-on skills that they will use in their future careers.

The students were divided into four teams, and the teams rotated between Compound I and VII. Towards the end of the second week, three other students and I were tasked with walking to the west end perimeter.

It was there that I discovered an aqueduct running the entire slope of the farthest northwestern hill. We brought Dr. Belcher to where I had found the first pieces, and he was ecstatic at the find. He noted the GPS coordinates, and the students worked on excavating the aqueduct over the rest of the course.

The UHWO 2016 field school was one of many examples of archaeological investigations carried out at Honouliuli

by UHWO and the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii (JCCH) since the rediscovery of the site by the JCCH in 2002. In September 2016, a collaborative partnership was established between the National Park Service (NPS) and UHWO that will engage students in collecting, coalescing and incorporating all existing data from past investigations into a database, in addition to continuing with additional survey work through a 2017 field school. This database will help the NPS create a resource protection program as planning for Honouliuli is further along. 

Example of an artifact found at Honouliuli. Once the artifact was given a GPS location and pictures were taken of the artifact in its found location, the students were allowed to examine the artifact more closely. Based on the writing on the bottom of this glass bottle, and a little research, Dr. Belcher’s students were able to tell what the contents were — alcohol. Photo

by Jo Yeomans.

At left, students work on clearing the aqueduct and wall, both of which predate the internment and POW camp. Students used hand tools to remove trees, shrubs and debris from the area. Photo by Dr. William Belcher.

Translating Japanese Grave Markers

Shigeru Sugihara’s grave

BY KA‘OHULANI MCGUIRE, CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGIST, KALAUPAPA NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK

In the Kalaupapa cemetery

records, the Japanese grave markers written in kanji are simply noted with “O.C.” for Oriental characters. For more than 80 years the markers went untranslated until one spring day in April, 2016.

With the help of Rev. Yubun Narashiba, a Buddhist priest from Jodo Mission, and Lorraine Minatoishi, we now have English translations for everyone buried in the two cemeteries for Americans of Japanese ancestry at Kalaupapa. The grave markers total 66 between both cemeteries, Site G and Site K. The markers run the gamut of materials – sandstone, cement, marble and basalt. But, for many of the markers, the kanji script is eroding away due to extreme weather conditions on the peninsula – sun, wind, dirt and rain.

For accuracy, it was important for Rev. Narashiba to see the stone in person rather than translating using photos. He explained, “In a photo an imperfection or crack in the stone can be mistaken for a line in the script, and this can lead to errors when translating.”

Some of the stones proved challenging and were difficult to read. In these cases, rubbings were done to enhance the kanji to make it more readable.

The grave markers revealed some interesting information. They

echoed the migration pattern of Japanese to Hawaii – they came predominantly from the four southern Japanese prefectures of Hiroshima, Yamaguchi, Fukuoka and Kumamoto. There were also a few from Okinawa, Niigata and Fukushima.

When we first looked at Shigeru Sugihara’s grave and marker, we initially thought it marked just one grave. But the translation indicated his child was buried there also. We swept away the sand and realized the smaller grave next to his was surrounded by a concrete border that encompassed both graves and set them apart from the other graves in that row. His child’s grave is marked simply by a small upright stone, and according to the inscription, they both died on the same day in November, 1932.

Close up of Shigeru Sugihara’s grave

Grave of Sugihara child

The most challenging marker to decipher was in ruins. But when we pieced it together, the marker indicated it was a memorial for five people, all who died on the same day.

We are still analyzing the information in the translated markers, and names and dates are being verified against Board of Health records. Now we can place a name to the burial, and this is a wonderful project to connect families to their ancestors and loved ones buried at Kalaupapa. 

At right: The bottom photo shows a grave marker in pieces, and the photo immediately above it shows the same marker pieced together. Photos by Ka‘ohulani McGuire.

REMEMBRANCE FALL 2016 | 11

ParkEDU Update

BY JO YEOMANS, EDUCATION SPECIALIST

ParkEDU, a program funded

entirely by Pacific Historic Parks (PHP), engaged a total of 29,568 students from 536 schools and youth groups this past school year.

For 2015-2016, ParkEDU approached schools differently by visiting the schools prior to the schools visiting World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument (VALR). By the end of 2015, ParkEDU staff along with Pearl Harbor witness Jimmy Lee were conducting presite visits to classrooms. Mr. Lee enjoys sharing his story about when he was a “rascal little boy and watched the attacks unfold less than a mile from his house,” and these visits have helped the students learn about the National Park Service and prepare for their visit.

Increasing student visits to the park was an objective set forth by the Ticket to Ride program, via a grant from the National Park Foundation (NPF). PHP matched the grant, dollar for dollar. ParkEDU exceeded the goals set forth by the NPF and brought in eight schools and two youth organizations, totaling nearly 1,500 students from across Oahu who otherwise would not have been able to visit.

This year, ParkEDU also created a new program called Two Questions and an Arrowhead.

The program has students working together as a team to answer two questions. Each team is given a different set of questions. Once the students return from the Arizona Memorial, they are given a 12 | REMEMBRANCE FALL 2016

chance to ask ParkEDU team members questions. The students are then sent home with the task of creating an arrowhead that expresses their thoughts or feelings about their field trip. We ask them to draw or write within the arrowhead border how VALR makes them feel. The overall reaction to this program has been wonderful and a great success, and both the students and the teachers enjoy this program.

In June, ParkEDU welcomed Kenneth “Mitch” Mitchell, a former VALR park guide, to our team as the educational curriculum coordinator. A recent graduate of Hawaii Pacific University with a master’s in education, Mitch has spent much of his time researching and observing the programs fellow Educational Specialist Lau Sualevai and I have given to our summer groups. Mitch and Education Coordinator Frank Middleton are working closely with the African-American Cultural and Diversity Center of Hawaii and the Hawaii Department of Education on creating the Teacher Workshop for this October 2016.

In July, ParkEDU conducted its first international virtual classroom visit between Mr. Lee and Kinjo Gakuin High School in Japan. At the end of July, the students from Kinjo Gakuin came to VALR and laid a wreath at the Memorial on behalf of their school and town. The students also presented Mr. Lee with a gift in appreciation for his commitment to sharing his story and the story of Pearl Harbor with their class.  From left: Jimmy Lee, Al Rodrigues, Sterling Cale, Robert Lee and Julia.

Photo by Edean Saito.

Fieldtrip!

BY EDEAN SAITO, SPECIAL PROGRAMS MANAGER

For students who can’t visit Pearl Harbor, the National World War II Museum (NWWIIM) is preparing to launch a virtual classroom in its museum on the 75th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Working with the National Park Service and WYES-TV, a nonprofit educational television foundation, and using the services and crew of Hawaii Public Television, NWWIIM conducted interviews with Pearl Harbor Survivors Al Rodrigues and Sterling Cale and civilian eyewitnesses Jimmy Lee and Robert Lee. Julia, a Kaiser High School student reporter, artfully engaged each interviewee to share his personal experience in front of the camera at the Pearl Harbor Visitor Center.

To capture footage that will be integrated in the virtual classroom, the camera crew filmed the museum exhibits and grounds of the Visitor Center before taking the boat trip to the USS Arizona Memorial. For the purpose of providing a sense of being there on that fateful morning, Jimmy Lee, who was only 11 years old at the time of the attack, took the camera crew and student reporter Julia to the fishponds where he witnessed the attack. 

My name is Donald Stratton, USS Arizona survivor, one of six remaining.

The 75th Anniversary is just around the corner, and I'm looking forward to seeing my shipmates again.

This will be a very special trip for all the Pearl Harbor Survivors.

Thanks to all for their service to this country, Don Stratton USS Arizona Survivor

Nebraska's Remaining Pearl Harbor Survivors Honored On June 23, the only three known Pearl Harbor Survivors living in Nebraska met at the Heartland Veterans Memorial at South Park in Central City, Neb., for a reunion — to be honored for their service to their country.

Earl Brandes (95), Ed Guthrie (97) and Larry Osterbuhr (96) were longtime members of the Nebraska chapter of the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association.

Merrick County Veterans Services Officer Gary Berry presents Pearl Harbor Survivors (from left) Earl Brandes, Lawrence Osterbuhr and Ed Guthrie with commemorative medals.

says Brandes. “Our main theme was, ‘Remember Pearl Harbor.’”

During the ceremony at the Heartland Memorial, the three survivors were each presented with a medal commemorating the 75th anniversary of the attack.

Brandes served as the president of the organization for its last 10 years.

“I didn’t really expect anything like this,” Brandes says, “but it sure was meaningful to be with those guys again and to remember what we went through.”

“It was a special group, the kind of group that grows on you the longer you’re associated with it,”

This story originally appeared in The Central City Republican Nonpareil.

Reprinted with permission.

Prayer for the Dead “Eternal rest grant unto them and let perpetual light shine upon them and may they rest in peace.”

Clarence Busch Ford Island Naval Air Station West Columbia, S.C. Myron J. Carraway USS Hulbert Gulf Breeze, Fla.

Leon Kita USS Honolulu Marion, Ind. Herbert A. Miller USS Detroit Turlock, Calif.

John A. Nelson Jr. 55th Coastal Artillery, Ft. Kamehameha Middletown, N.Y. Joseph Pesek Hickam Field Ellicott City, Md.

Phillip B. Serio USS Curtiss Bossier City, La. Chester H. Urban Schofield Barracks Auburn, Mass.

Norman L. Vance USS Pennsylvania Rushville, Ind.

REMEMBRANCE FALL 2016 | 13

My Most Memorable Experience

BY JACK H. MOORE

On the morning of Dec.

7, 1941 the USS Sacramento was tied up to a dock in Pearl Harbor. I was two decks below reading the Sunday newspaper.

Occasionally I would peer through the porthole to watch harbor activity and to admire the battleships of the U.S. Pacific Fleet. They were lined up in two rows abreast and, this morning, were preparing for church services. Even though I was little more than a recruit, I was so very proud to be a part of the U.S. Navy, the greatest Navy in the world according to the military experts of the time and to 19-year-old Jack H. Moore, Seaman 2/c.

As I returned to my bunk to finish reading the Sunday paper, I heard the unmistakable sound of “General Quarters.”

Automatically, I reached for my helmet and ran up two flights of steps to the main deck. Believing this to be just another routine drill, I felt no apprehension, only irritation for being disturbed on this peaceful Sunday morning. However, when I reached the main deck and looked astern, I saw torpedo planes with large red insignias on their wings and fuselages.

They were flying just above water and were in the process of releasing their torpedoes.

As I watched the torpedoes speed toward Battleship Row and explode against the hulls of those great ships, it was unbelievable but true, we were being attacked by the Japs and 14 | REMEMBRANCE FALL 2016

Moore in 1943

this was not a drill, this was war!

I immediately ran to my battle station, a .50 cal. machine gun located on the flying bridge.

My assignment was to pump water into the water cooled machine gun, but since I was the first man to arrive at my battle station, I pulled off the gun cover with one hand and with the other tried to flip open the lid of the ammunition storage box. To my amazement the storage boxes were locked!

Looking down I saw a hammer near the storage boxes which someone had forgotten to put away. With the hammer I smashed the locks open and with all my strength lifted the fully loaded ammunition container onto the gun mount and began firing at the attacking aircraft.

They were flying on a flight path that passed over our port bow and near a huge hammerhead crane located on the dock near the ship. Because of the crane’s location and its proximity to the ship, strafing aircraft fire ricocheted harmlessly off the crane. Although the entire fleet concentrated their antiaircraft fire on the attacking aircraft, it was too late, all of the proud and “invincible” battleships had been sunk or damaged in the first few minutes of the attack!

During the first attack our gun malfunctioned, and while the gunner’s mate was repairing the gun, I had time to observe and absorb the humiliating and horrible sights of the harbor.

Hundreds of sailors were clinging to the overturned hull of the USS Oklahoma while others were trying to swim through or under the burning oil to reach rescue boats or the docks. It was a sight that I will never forget. Too, the coolness under fire that our gunner’s mate displayed while repairing our gun had a lasting impression. I decided then I must acquire those same skills for I never wanted to feel that useless or helpless ever again.

My morale got a tremendous boost in the next few minutes as we watched a smoking Jap plane crash near the Navy hospital.

However, my confidence soon vanished for as I looked across the harbor I saw a bomb drop down the stack of the Arizona.

Almost immediately the ship exploded and began to sink while Marines high up in the crow’s nest continued to fire at the attacking aircraft! An unbelievable hit, but not any more unbelievable than this treacherous and surprise attack.

About this time the USS Nevada, although damaged, made a courageous attempt to escape the harbor. She pulled away from her mooring and under full speed proceeded down the channel with all of her AA guns firing. What a sight to behold! This was the power and fighting capability of a battleship being demonstrated to what was left of Battleship Row and other ships of the fleet.

Of course the Japanese observed this last remaining battleship trying to leave the harbor and they immediately began their attack... To continue reading, please visit remembrance.pacifichistoricparks.org.

This story originally appeared in the book Pearl Harbor Survivors.

Reprinted with permission.

Support PHP Your support makes it possible for Pacific Historic Parks (PHP) to provide important funding for programs, such as restoration, preservation and education, as we continue to fulfill PHP’s mission.

At right: Jim Richardson (far left), superintendent for War in the Pacific National Historical Park and American Memorial Park, and Kina Lewis (far right), education specialist assistant for PHP, pose with kids who participated in the Reef Ranger Summer Camp and Preservation Ranger Academy this summer. Photo by Mikayla Legaspi. For more photos and information, turn to page 5 or visit remembrance.pacifichistoricparks.org.

Membership Be part of the PHP Membership by joining online, at any of our sites or through our online and retail stores.

Donations Your one-time or recurring donation can be easily set up online or by checking the box on the membership/donation form found in the center of this publication.

Online: www.pacifichistoricparks.org By mail:

Pacific Historic Parks P.O. Box 29940 Honolulu, HI 96820-2340

By phone:

(808) 954-8726

PEARL HARBOR SURVIVORS ASSOCIATION REPORT OF DEATH Unit or station on December 7th:__________________________________________________________ Name:________________________________________________________________________________ Address:______________________________________________________________________________ Date of death: _________________ Services: ______________ Funeral Home:_____________________ Interment: ____________________________________ Continue sending Remembrance?  Yes  No Next of kin: __________________________________ Relationship:______________________________ Address:______________________________________________________________________________ Remarks:______________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ Form prepared by: _________________________ Relationship:____________________Date:_________ Address:______________________________________________________________________________ Email: ___________________________________________ Phone: _______________________________ PLEASE INCLUDE AN OBITUARY NOTICE, IF POSSIBLE

This form is available online at grams.pacifichistoricparks.org/PDFs/Report-of-Death.pdf Please complete and mail to: Edean Saito, Special Projects Manager Pacific Historic Parks, 94-1187 Ka Uka Blvd., Waipahu, HI 96797

94-1187 Ka Uka Blvd.

Honolulu, Hawaii 96797

REMEMBER PEARL HARBOR YOUR OFFICIAL SOURCE FOR 75TH ANNIVERSARY MERCHANDISE

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Limited edition merchandise approved by the National Park Service.

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75th Anniversary Patch...$3.95

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Visit phpstore.org or call 1-888-485-1941.

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