Major Pacific War Sites in Ewa Remains Completely Undocumented
by John Bond, Ewa Historian
75th Anniversary of December 7, 1941 - Ewa Battlefield still has many undocumented historic sites
http://ewabattlefield.75th Anniversary: USMC Pilots Sacrifice- Ewa Field Was Front Lines In Early Pacific War
http://ewabattlefield.
Part of old Ewa Field nears historic list
A
state review board OKs the nomination, despite objections from a lessee of the
site
By William Cole Nov 29, 2015
The Hawaii Historic Places Review Board has unanimously recommended the placement of about 180 acres of Ewa Field on the National Register of Historic Places — over the objection of the Hunt Development Group, which leases a lot of the land.
The National Park Service, which
oversees the register, and the Navy, as the property owner, previously deemed
remnants of the old Marine Corps Air Station Ewa eligible for the historic
recognition.
The state review board's Nov. 13
recommendation puts Ewa Field one step closer to that listing — and conflicts
with Hunt's development plans. The issue also calls into question what is and
isn't officially declared to be historic in a state with a lot of unique
history.
Historian Ross Stephenson wrote a
letter of support for the Ewa Field nomination, pointing out that while some
claim there is "nothing there," foundations, runways and artifacts do
in fact exist. Buildings have been torn down.
"Note that recently the
Honouliuli Internment Camp, just a few miles mauka of Ewa Field, was placed on
the National Register," he said. "Honouliuli also consists mostly of
foundations. I can see no difference between these two sites in
eligibility."
In a letter, Hunt asked the
review board to reject or defer the nomination and listing of 180 acres
relating to Ewa Field, located in the northeast corner of what later became
Barbers Point Naval Air Station.
Steve Colon, president of
development for Hunt's Hawaii region, said in an email that "the Navy
leased this property to us at full market value. Both the Navy and Hunt
believed the area had significant potential for productive use."
The actual National Register
designation may come back at about 150 acres by removing, for example, parts of
a golf course. About 140 acres of the old airfield are leased by Hunt, Colon
said.
As envisioned under the Hawaii
Community Development Authority master plan, the area was intended for a
variety of projects including renewable energy, light industrial, research and
development, and mixed-use residential/retail, Colon said.
"Our understanding is that
if the entire area is placed on the register, a significant amount of our
property will not be put to a productive use like providing renewable
energy," Colon said.
But those development guidelines
were considered when few officials even knew the old Ewa Field still existed,
obscured by thorny kiawe and other overgrowth at what many assumed was just
part of the later Barbers Point air station, which closed in 1999.
Ewa Beach historian John Bond,
who discovered what was left of the airfield around 2007, mounted a relentless
campaign to bring attention to the Marine Corps history that lay hidden in the
weeds.
William Chapman, chairman of the
Hawaii Historic Places Review Board, called the site "extraordinary."
"To realize what's there is
just breathtaking, really," said Chapman, who walked the site on Veterans
Day. He noted strafing marks and an original runway that are "very
clearly" visible.
"It's a powerful evocation
of the site," he said.
The establishment of Ewa Mooring
Mast Field brought a 160-foot mast in 1925 for dirigibles, but two crashes on
the mainland led to the cancellation of the program.
The Ewa site later served as the
forward Marine Corps airfield in the Hawaiian Islands during World War II.
Prior to Dec. 7, it was fully functioning but still under construction,
according to a report by GAI Consultants.
The Marines had 48 aircraft at
Ewa at the time of the Japanese attacks. Most were SBD Dauntless dive bombers
and F4F Wildcat fighters. In the aerial attack that preceded Pearl Harbor by
two minutes, nine of 11 Wildcat fighters, 18 of 32 scout bombers, three utility
planes, one trainer and two utility planes were eventually lost on the ground
as Marines fired back with Springfield rifles and handguns, the report said.
Four Marines were killed, along
with two civilians. Thirteen Marines were wounded.
Japanese planes were attacked
over Ewa by celebrated U.S. Army pilots George Welch and Kenneth Taylor, who
took off from Haleiwa Airfield in P-40 fighters. The GAI report said Ewa Field
is the only major battle site from the Japanese attack on Oahu not listed on
the National Register of Historic Places.
A $54,000 American Battlefield
Protection Program grant was secured by Ewa Beach resident Valerie Van der Veer
for the GAI study of the Ewa Plain Battlefield. It is that report the state
will submit back to the Navy and National Register of Historic Places for final
approval, officials said.
Ewa Field "retains
sufficient architectural, archaeological, and/or landscape integrity to convey
its historical significance," the GAI report states. The National Register
of Historic Places last year said it supported the GAI findings.
At the Nov. 13 meeting, attorney
Sarah Love, representing Hunt, told the state historic review board the
nomination "goes beyond what should be included under law," adding,
"It includes areas that we believe don't retain sufficient amount of
integrity."
Love also noted that Ewa Field is
the first National Register "battlefield" nomination in Hawaii, with
other bases — Hickam, Kaneohe and Pearl Harbor included — not included as
battlefields.
"The entire island was a
part of that day (Dec. 7), so I think that this is going to have
implications," she said.
The National Park Service said
the American Battlefield Protection Program "promotes the preservation of
significant historic battlefields associated with wars on American soil."
