Honolulu City Council Bill 65 Will DESTROY
Historic Dec 7 Ewa Battlefield, Hawaiian Railway Yard
and 1942 Aircraft Revetments
I oppose Bill 65 putting into law road
plans that will allow Hunt Development Corp to run roads through the historic Ewa
Field December 7, 1941 battlefield. There are well documented and previously advised alternative road routes
that will meet all traffic needs for this area well into the future. This bill isn't for "guidance"- this is a legal transfer of road right-of-ways to land developers anxious to destroy these historic sites using Bill 65.
This roadway plan is purely for land
developer speculation purposes and the intent is to destroy the historic integrity of this December 7, 1941 battlefield, the adjacent 1890's Hawaiian narrow gauge railway yard and museum, and the 1942 fighter aircraft revetments. These NEW roads are not needed at all and existing historic roads can be expanded to meet all future traffic needs in the decades ahead.
This is a travesty to the US Marines who
died in battle at this location and I object to this US government property,
leased to Hunt Corporation, being used for these land speculation schemes. This area needs to be preserved as an open space historic
site and memorial to the Marines killed there on December 7, 1941. Three neighborhood boards and the Hawaii State legislature passed resolutions supporting full preservation of MCAS Ewa.
National Park Service Pearl Harbor Historian Daniel Martinez calls the
December 7, 1941 Ewa Field "Sacred Ground." The National Park Service has publically stated that Ewa Battlefield has historic battlefield integrity in a 2011 battlefield survey.
The Ewa Neighborhood Board in 2008 passed unanimously a
resolution advocating for the preservation of MCAS Ewa Air Field and making it
an Historic Landmark and National American Battlefield. This was followed by a very similar preservation resolution also being passed by the Waipahu Neighborhood Board and the Kailua Neighborhood Board.
In 2009 the Hawaii State Legislature (House and Senate) passed HCR-49, calling for the full preservation of MCAS Ewa as a National Monument, Museum and Restored Park and nomination to the State and Federal Historic Registers.
There have been annual Ewa Field battlefield commemoration ceremonies every year at this very same site that Bill 65 intends to destroy, including in October 2012 honoring the 12 MCAS Ewa Field combat pilots awarded the Medal of Honor. This Ewa Field event was attended by 8 living US Marine Medal of Honor recipients. Honorary Certificate presentations from the Honolulu City Council were made and there was an official proclamation dedicating the week to the Medal of Honor recipients on behalf of the City Council.
It seems now the Honolulu City Council is highly influenced by developer money and wants to go down in American history for their dishonor and defilement of this sacred battlefield.
SCROLL DOWN TO SEE MORE ABOUT THIS AND
SEE OUR OTHER BLOG POSTS
SEE OUR OTHER BLOG POSTS
There is almost NO HISTORIC PROTECTION in Hawaii as the State has the absolute WORST (and very well documented) historic preservation "SHPO" office which has been threatened with closure for years because extremely bad mismanagement and lack of preservation integrity. The SHPD administrator recently resigned after widespread calls for her to leave. But the State of Hawaii is run by politicians that are only interested developer kickbacks, not public interest and land preservation- even for an American battlefield.
Former MCAS Ewa is located
by historic Ewa Village Plantation, on the State Historic Register, with the
nearby Oahu Railway and Museum, on the National Historic Register, and with a
likely future National WW-II Battlefield designation.
1925 Ewa Mooring Mast Field (later MCAS Ewa Field) is one of the
very oldest historic aviation sites and airfields in the State of Hawaii.
National Park Historian Daniel Martinez calls the
December 7, 1941
Ewa Field Battlefield "Sacred Ground."
Significant oral history testimony has been collected
from Ewa Village residents, many of whom are still alive, detailing the
extensive air and ground battle over and around Ewa Field and Ewa Village on December
7, 1941.
In 1944 FDR toured MCAS Ewa
Field in a convertible sedan, also carrying General Douglas MacArthur and
Admiral Chester Nimitz.
MCAS Ewa is famous as the home of many famous WW-II Corsair Squadrons
12 Medal of Honor winning combat pilots came out of MCAS Ewa Field
"Pappy" Boyington is one of MCAS Ewa's famous pilot alumni, which also includes aviation legend Charles Lindbergh who trained at MCAS Ewa in 1944. Others include baseball legend Ted Williams, a US Marine Corsair pilot.
National Register EWA
FIELD (1925-1942)
o
(Includes Approximately 2/3 of the FAA Site)
o
Perimeter Property Line / Former Fence Line (1925 -1942)
o
Southwest Extension to Main Ewa Field Runway (1941)
o
Former Main Hangar 123 Bldg. Platform (1941)
o
Hawaiian Habitation Complex (State No. 3721) (Just inside Perimeter
Line)
o
Sisal Walls Remnant (State No. 3722) (Just outside the Perimeter Line)
National Register MCAS EWA (1942-1952)
o
(Includes Approx. 1/3 of the FAA Site)
o
Perimeter Property Line / Former Fence Line
o
Bldg. 137, Former Communications Splinter-proof Structure (ca. 1943)
o
Bldg. 1146 Hangar (1944)
o
Bldg. 1546 Operational Storage & Electrical Shop, Quonset hut) (ca
1943)
o
Anti-Aircraft Battery WWII (State No. 5096)
o
Anti-Aircraft Complex Remnants (State No. 5097)
o
WWII Housing Complex Remnants (State No. 5099)
o
Potential Former 5" Anti-Aircraft Gun Site, (Location South of
Runway)
o
Sinkhole Complex, near and along Coral Rd. (State No. 5094)
o
Sinkhole Complex (State No. 5198)
-- MCAS Ewa Cold War Era Structures
(1962-1999)
-- Pride baseball Field – MCAS Ewa and later
NASBP (1941-1999)
