Remembering Pearl Harbor 68 Years Later

It was 68 years ago today that military forces of Japan's militarist dictatorship bombed Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, igniting American involvement in World War II.

In today's Honolulu Advertiser a news story features ceremonies held at Ewa Field. It was here, and not Pearl Harbor itself, where American forces first defended the nation against the attack. Click here for a link to the story. The story mentions:

About 200 people gathered yesterday at a cracked, potholed, weedy strip of concrete at 'Ewa Field, where part of the opening salvo in that long, brutal fight was fired.

'Ewa Field has a history that time has obscured. When the carrier-launched warplanes of the Japanese Empire roared in to attack Pearl Harbor, they also hit the Marine Corps Air Station in 'Ewa, where several hundred Marines were stationed and nearly 50 aircraft were on the ground at 'Ewa Field. Four Marines and two civilians at nearby 'Ewa Plantation were killed, one of them a 6-year-old girl.

In two strafing waves and other sporadic attacks, Japanese planes destroyed or damaged most of the aircraft on the tarmac. None got into the air. Machine gun and 20mm strafing gouges and burn marks can still be seen on the concrete area where the planes were tied down.

'Ewa Beach historian John Bond, who is spearheading efforts to preserve the battle site, said the attack at 'Ewa Field may have preceded the Pearl Harbor bombing by a few minutes. So it is possible that the first U.S. shots fired at Japanese forces in World War II were at 'Ewa Field.

HawaiiNewsNow.com features a story about John Bond's leadership and efforts to save Ewa Field from demolition and development. Click here for a link to that story.

Historic Hawaii Foundation has also listed Ewa Field as one of Hawaii's nine most endangered historical sites. Click here for a link to Honolulu Magazine.

For teachers there are a number of resources online. Scholastic's 'My Pearl Harbor' is here.

The National Endowment for the Humanities is sponsoring Landmarks in American History and Workshop for Community College Faculty, focusing on Pacific War sites in the Honolulu area, particularly Pearl Harbor. Click here for more information on the 2010 workshops.