Day 198: Honouliuli National Historic Site, Oahu, Hawai’i
📌APIA Every Day (198) - Honouliuli, opened on March 1, 1943, was the largest and longest-operating World War II incarceration and prisoner of war (POW) camp in Hawaii. Built on 160 acres in west Oahu, the camp was hidden in a deep gulch that incarcerees called jigoku dani, or "hell valley." This site became a focal point of wartime policies following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.
The camp held approximately 320 civilian incarcerees, mostly second-generation Japanese Americans, as well as Japanese, German, and Italian permanent residents living in Hawaii. It was divided into sections separated by barbed wire to segregate incarcerees by gender, nationality, and military or civilian status. Honouliuli was also the largest POW camp in Hawaii, incarcerating nearly 4,000 individuals, including Okinawans, Koreans, and Taiwanese captured during Pacific campaigns. In total, over 2,300 Japanese American men and women from Hawaii were incarcerated during World War II, including many prominent community leaders, teachers, journalists, religious leaders, local politicians, and World War I veterans.
Preservation efforts for Honouliuli gained momentum in 2009 when Senators Daniel K. Inouye and Daniel K. Akaka, along with then-Congresswoman Mazie Hirono, introduced bills to evaluate the site for potential inclusion in the National Park System. The site was rediscovered in 2002 by volunteers from the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii, having been largely forgotten as vegetation reclaimed the area. On February 24, 2015, President Obama designated Honouliuli as a National Monument, which was later redesignated as a National Historic Site on March 12, 2019, through the John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act. This designation serves to preserve the site's history and provide educational opportunities. The site now stands as a powerful reminder of civil rights violations during wartime, aiming to educate future generations about this dark chapter in American history. Various organizations, including the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii, National Park Service, Historic Hawaii Foundation, and the University of Hawaii - West Oahu, continue to play crucial roles in preservation efforts and public education about the site's significance.
LEARN MORE:
National Park Service: Honouliuli National Historic Site Hawai'i
Hawaii Internment: The Untold Story: Internment of Japanese Americans in Hawai’i
Historic Hawai’i Foundation: President Designates Honouliuli Internment Site as a National Monument
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