Hawaii-2015-HR172-Introduced

WHEREAS, in the 1930’s, military and commercial interest in Central Pacific air routes between Australia, California, and Hawaii led to a desire by the United States to claim the islands of Howland, Baker, and Jarvis, although the ownership of such islands was unclear; and

WHEREAS, in 1935, a secret Department of Commerce colonization plan was instituted, aimed at placing citizens of the United States as colonists of the islands of Howland, Baker and Jarvis; and

WHEREAS, to avoid conflicts with international law, which prevented colonization by active military personnel, the United States sought the participation of furloughed military personnel and Native Hawaiian civilians for the colonization project; and

WHEREAS, William T. Miller, Superintendent of Airways at the Department of Commerce, was appointed to lead the colonization project, traveled to Hawaii in February 1935, met with Albert F. Judd, Trustee of Kamehameha Schools and the Bishop Museum, and agreed that recent graduates and current students of Kamehameha School for Boys would make ideal colonists; and

WHEREAS, the ideal Hawaiian candidates were young men who could “fish in the native manner, swim excellently, handle a boat, be disciplined, friendly and unattached,” and where as many of such young men were also part of the ROTC program and readily took to military protocol and procedures; and

WHEREAS, on March 30, 1935, the United States Coast Guard Cutter Itsasca departed from Honolulu Harbor in secrecy with six young Native Hawaiians aboard, all recent graduates of Kamehameha School for Boys, and 12 furloughed army personnel, whose purpose was to occupy the island of Howland, Baker, and Jarvis in teams of five for three months, and record weather conditions, cultivate plants, maintain a daily log, record the types of fish that were caught, observe bird life, and collect specimens for the Bishop Museum; and

WHEREAS, in June 1935, after a successful first tour, the furloughed army personnel were ordered off the islands and replaced with additional Kamehameha Schools alumni, leaving the islands under the exclusive occupation of four Native Hawaiians on each island; and

WHEREAS, the successful year-long occupation by the colonists directly enabled President Franklin D. Roosevelt to issue Executive Order 7368 on May 13, 1938, which proclaimed that the islands of Howland, Baker, and Jarvis were under the jurisdiction of the United States; and

WHEREAS, while multiple Federal agencies vied for the right to administer the colonization project, it was granted to the Department of the Interior, where the colonization project emphasized weather data and radio communication, which brought about the recruitment of a number of Asian radiomen and aerologists, as well as expanding recruitment of Hawaiians beyond Kamehameha School for Boys to include Hawaiians and non-Hawaiians from other schools in Hawaii; and

WHEREAS, on December 8, 1941, Howland Island was attacked by a fleet of Japanese twin-engine bombers, and such attack killed Hawaiian colonists Joseph Keliihananui and Richard Whaley; in the weeks to follow, Japanese submarine and military aircraft continued to target the islands of Howland, Baker, and Jarvis, jeopardizing the lives of the remaining colonists; and

WHEREAS, the United States Government was unaware of the attacks on such islands, and was distracted by the entry of the United States into World War II, which delayed the retrieval of the colonists, and on January 31, 1941, four colonists from Baker and the two remaining colonists from Howland were rescued; it took until February 9, 1942, to rescue the remaining eight colonist from Jarvis; and

WHEREAS, during the seven years of colonization, more than 130 young men participated in the project, the majority whom were Hawaiian, and all of whom made numerous sacrifices, endured hardships and risked their lives to secure and maintain the islands of Howland, Baker, Jarvis, Canton, and Enderbury on behalf of the United States, and three young Hawaiian men made the ultimate sacrifice; and

WHEREAS, none of the islands, except for Canton were ever used for commercial aviation, but the islands were used for military purposes; in July 1943, a military base was established on Baker Island, and its forces, which numbered over 2,000 members, participated in the Tarawa-Makin operation; and

WHEREAS, in 1956, participants of the colonization project established an organization called “Hui Panala‘au,” which translates to “society of colonists,” or “club of settlers,” which was established to preserve the group’s fellowship, to provide scholarship assistance, and “to honor and esteem those who died as colonists of the Equatorial Islands”; and

WHEREAS, in 1979, Canton and Enderbury became part of the Republic of Kiribati, but the islands of Howland, Baker, and Jarvis still remain possessions of the United States, having been designated as National Wildlife Refuges in 1974; and

WHEREAS, March 30, 2015, marks 80 years to the day that the very first group of Hui Panala‘au colonists departed Honolulu Harbor for the Equatorial Islands, and May 13, 2015, marks the 79^th anniversary of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Executive Order proclaiming United States jurisdiction over the islands of Howland, Baker, and Jarvis that remain possessions of the United States; and

WHEREAS, the State of Hawaii has never fully recognized the accomplishments, contributions, and sacrifices of the colonists, three of whom are still alive today and in their 90s; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-eighth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2015, that this body acknowledges the accomplishments and sacrifices of the Hui Panala‘au colonists and extends appreciation, acknowledges the international significance of the seven-year colonization project which resulted in the United States extending sovereignty into the Equatorial Pacific, and recognizes and commends the accomplishments, sacrifices, and contributions of the more than 130 young men, the majority of whom were Native Hawaiians, who participated in the Equatorial Pacific colonization project.

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title: Hui

Recognizing the contributions of the young men, Hui Panala‘au.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.R. NO.	172
TWENTY-EIGHTH LEGISLATURE, 2015
STATE OF HAWAII