thedrifter
06-26-08, 11:06 AM
June 26, 2008
WWII’s ’lost battlefield’ could disappear under development
William Cole
Honolulu Advertiser
KALAELOA, Hawaii - Bushwhacking through knee-high weeds and thorny shrubs, John Bond points out the stretches of asphalt and concrete where World War II fighters once roared into the sky at the former ’Ewa Marine Corps Air Station.
There’s not much left of the airfield - only foundation outlines, a Quonset hut and a concrete building or two are standing - but the original runways are still there.
But what happened here on Dec. 7, 1941, and how that long-neglected history could be paved over by future development, is of concern to Bond, a graphic artist and amateur historian who wants to see key parts of the base preserved.
In the minutes before Pearl Harbor itself was touched, as many as 24 Japanese Zeroes attacked low and fast, striking some of the first blows in the battle. The defense was “heroic stuff,” with Marines manning the machine gun of a damaged U.S. aircraft, Bond said.
“It’s like a John Wayne movie at that point,” Bond said. “People are firing .45s and Tommy guns. Man, what a movie that could have been. Nobody ever made it.”
Nobody ever made it because few seem to even know that one of the first battles of World War II happened over ’Ewa Field - or, for that matter, that the base even existed.
Bond, who lives in ’Ewa Beach, has started a one-man campaign to preserve the original part of the airfield, which began as an airship mooring station in the mid-1920s and grew considerably in size during the course of World War II.
Famous dogfights involving Japanese fighters and Haleiwa Field pilots George Welch and Ken Taylor - Medal of Honor nominees who in the first battle scored at least six kills on little sleep after a night of partying (actors Josh Hartnett and Ben Affleck recreated a heavily-fictionalized version of the battle in the movie “Pearl Harbor”) - occurred over ’Ewa Field on Dec. 7.
Bond calls it the “Lost World War II Battlefield.”
“There are guys who fly all the way out to the Pacific to hack through jungles to look for B-29 wheels or bullet hole fragments,” Bond said. “But here’s a base in urban Honolulu that was a battle where Marines were killed. The war started here, and there’s not even hardly anything about it. It’s amazing.”
At the time of the attack, there were almost 50 aircraft on the ground at ’Ewa Field. Most were damaged or destroyed in three passes by the Japanese. Four Marines were killed.
Marines fought back initially with only small arms and rifles, and a Marine Corps account of the attack noted that Lt. Yoshio Shiga, commander of nine Zero fighters, recalled one Leatherneck, who, oblivious to the machine gun fire striking the ground around him, stood transfixed, emptying his sidearm at Shiga’s Zero as it roared past.
“Years later, Shiga would describe that lone, defiant, and unknown Marine as the bravest American he had ever met,” the report states.
Bond’s cause for concern is a planned land swap that could lead to development of the land. The Navy, which owns the ’Ewa Field land, plans to lease to Ford Island Properties 499 acres for 40 years with an option to take title to the property.
The Navy said the lease still is being negotiated, with an agreement expected by the end of August. Officials said Ford Island Properties planned to build 433 civilian residential units on Ford Island, but Navy concerns were raised about civilian home ownership on what is an active military base. The company agreed to give up the Ford Island land in exchange for the 499 acres in Kalaeloa.
The Navy in January said the market value of Ford Island Properties’ leasehold interest at Ford Island was appraised at $61 million, and the 499 acres at Kalaeloa - which includes much of the old ’Ewa Field land - was appraised at $75 million.
Steve Colon, president of the Hawaii division of the Hunt Development Group (Ford Island Properties is a part of that company), said in a statement that the Kalaeloa land “offers an opportunity to create needed jobs near the urban center of Kapolei,” but added that specific plans have not been made for its use.
Navy Region Hawaii said in a statement that “it’s honorable that Mr. Bond wants to preserve history, and we certainly understand his concerns about the airfield.”
The Navy command said the long-term lease will recognize the center of the former ’Ewa Field airfield as being eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. That area encompasses about 4 to 5 acres where the runways crisscross, and where the original 1920s airship mooring mast and later control tower were located.
Bond wants a much larger area preserved. He thinks sections of both runways that were in existence on Dec. 7, 1941, should be set aside, along with the old mooring mast and control tower locations, and some base entry roads.
“That’s the original main gate,” Bond said. “That’s where FDR came through. That’s a historic road.”
Ellie
WWII’s ’lost battlefield’ could disappear under development
William Cole
Honolulu Advertiser
KALAELOA, Hawaii - Bushwhacking through knee-high weeds and thorny shrubs, John Bond points out the stretches of asphalt and concrete where World War II fighters once roared into the sky at the former ’Ewa Marine Corps Air Station.
There’s not much left of the airfield - only foundation outlines, a Quonset hut and a concrete building or two are standing - but the original runways are still there.
But what happened here on Dec. 7, 1941, and how that long-neglected history could be paved over by future development, is of concern to Bond, a graphic artist and amateur historian who wants to see key parts of the base preserved.
In the minutes before Pearl Harbor itself was touched, as many as 24 Japanese Zeroes attacked low and fast, striking some of the first blows in the battle. The defense was “heroic stuff,” with Marines manning the machine gun of a damaged U.S. aircraft, Bond said.
“It’s like a John Wayne movie at that point,” Bond said. “People are firing .45s and Tommy guns. Man, what a movie that could have been. Nobody ever made it.”
Nobody ever made it because few seem to even know that one of the first battles of World War II happened over ’Ewa Field - or, for that matter, that the base even existed.
Bond, who lives in ’Ewa Beach, has started a one-man campaign to preserve the original part of the airfield, which began as an airship mooring station in the mid-1920s and grew considerably in size during the course of World War II.
Famous dogfights involving Japanese fighters and Haleiwa Field pilots George Welch and Ken Taylor - Medal of Honor nominees who in the first battle scored at least six kills on little sleep after a night of partying (actors Josh Hartnett and Ben Affleck recreated a heavily-fictionalized version of the battle in the movie “Pearl Harbor”) - occurred over ’Ewa Field on Dec. 7.
Bond calls it the “Lost World War II Battlefield.”
“There are guys who fly all the way out to the Pacific to hack through jungles to look for B-29 wheels or bullet hole fragments,” Bond said. “But here’s a base in urban Honolulu that was a battle where Marines were killed. The war started here, and there’s not even hardly anything about it. It’s amazing.”
At the time of the attack, there were almost 50 aircraft on the ground at ’Ewa Field. Most were damaged or destroyed in three passes by the Japanese. Four Marines were killed.
Marines fought back initially with only small arms and rifles, and a Marine Corps account of the attack noted that Lt. Yoshio Shiga, commander of nine Zero fighters, recalled one Leatherneck, who, oblivious to the machine gun fire striking the ground around him, stood transfixed, emptying his sidearm at Shiga’s Zero as it roared past.
“Years later, Shiga would describe that lone, defiant, and unknown Marine as the bravest American he had ever met,” the report states.
Bond’s cause for concern is a planned land swap that could lead to development of the land. The Navy, which owns the ’Ewa Field land, plans to lease to Ford Island Properties 499 acres for 40 years with an option to take title to the property.
The Navy said the lease still is being negotiated, with an agreement expected by the end of August. Officials said Ford Island Properties planned to build 433 civilian residential units on Ford Island, but Navy concerns were raised about civilian home ownership on what is an active military base. The company agreed to give up the Ford Island land in exchange for the 499 acres in Kalaeloa.
The Navy in January said the market value of Ford Island Properties’ leasehold interest at Ford Island was appraised at $61 million, and the 499 acres at Kalaeloa - which includes much of the old ’Ewa Field land - was appraised at $75 million.
Steve Colon, president of the Hawaii division of the Hunt Development Group (Ford Island Properties is a part of that company), said in a statement that the Kalaeloa land “offers an opportunity to create needed jobs near the urban center of Kapolei,” but added that specific plans have not been made for its use.
Navy Region Hawaii said in a statement that “it’s honorable that Mr. Bond wants to preserve history, and we certainly understand his concerns about the airfield.”
The Navy command said the long-term lease will recognize the center of the former ’Ewa Field airfield as being eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. That area encompasses about 4 to 5 acres where the runways crisscross, and where the original 1920s airship mooring mast and later control tower were located.
Bond wants a much larger area preserved. He thinks sections of both runways that were in existence on Dec. 7, 1941, should be set aside, along with the old mooring mast and control tower locations, and some base entry roads.
“That’s the original main gate,” Bond said. “That’s where FDR came through. That’s a historic road.”
Ellie