MAKAKILO/ KAPOLEI/ HONOKAI HALE NEIGHBORHOOD BOARD NO. 34 c/o NEIGHBORHOOD COMMISSION 530 SOUTH KING STREET, ROOM 406 HONOLULU, HAWAII, 96813 TEL: (808) 768-3710 FAX: (808) 768-3711 INTERNET: http://www1.honolulu.gov
Oahu’s Neighborhood Board system – Established 1973
RESOLUTION SUPPORTING PROTECTION OF THE EWA AIRFIELD AS A NATIONAL HISTORIC MONUMENT AND NATIONAL BATTLEFIELD STATUS
WHEREAS, historic Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Ewa, one of the first airfields in Hawaii, was established in 1925; and
WHEREAS, the US Navy, which had owned the property, has transferred 499 acres of land, including parcels containing the former Marine Corps Air Station, to private developer Ford Island Properties LLC, a subsidiary of Texas-based Hunt Companies; and
WHEREAS, the transfer took place without the historic resource inventory analysis requested by the Historic Preservation Division of the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources, a survey that would have cataloged the historically significant architectural, archaeological and cultural elements of the property; and
WHEREAS, this neighborhood board, is of the opinion, that Ford Island Properties, a subsidiary of Hunt Campany have failed to acknowledge the historical significance of the area, by actively blocking its nomination to the historic register, and
WHEREAS, this neighborhood board, is of the opinion, that Hawaii Community Development Authority (HCDA) has failed to acknowledge the historical significance of the area, by complicit refusal to take pro-active measures to protect the area, and
WHEREAS, the terms for the lease between Ford Island Properties and the Navy have not been made public, or our community, which is not in keeping with the requirement for government transparency, in all of its actions, and
WHEREAS, MCAS Ewa was a designated mooring site for the US Navy’s dirigible program of the 1930’s; and
WHEREAS, MCAS Ewa was the first US facility attacked by naval air forces of the Empire of Japan on December 7th 1941; and
WHEREAS, four United States Marines (Sergeant William E. Lutschan, Sergeant Karolo Micheletta, Private First Class William George Turner and Private First Class Edward Steven Lawrence) gave their lives defending the air station; and
WHEREAS, two innocent civilian residents of the Ewa community, six-year-old Yaeko Lillian Oda and 34year-old Francisco Tacderan, were also killed by the attacking Japanese naval air forces; and
WHEREAS, MCAS Ewa was the major United States Marine Corps aviation headquarters in the Pacific during World War II and a staging and transit point for all Marine aviation assets moving into the combat zones of the South Pacific; and was also the place to which all Marine aviation assets returned after hard combat against the air, naval, and ground forces of the Empire of Japan; and
WHEREAS, MCAS Ewa is the birthplace of Marine Fighter Squadron Two One Four, made famous as “The “Black Sheep,” as well as other famous Marine aviation units, and
WHEREAS, MCAS Ewa Field is being considered by the President of the United States to establish the airfield at Ewa as an expansion of the Pearl Harbor National Monument; and
BE IT RESOLVED that MCAS Ewa Field either be designated by the President of the United States as an expansion of the Pearl Harbor National Monument; or be designated a National American Battlefield by the National Park Service; and that it be registered as a National Historic Landmark; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the aforementioned Historic Preservation Division be permitted to inventory MCAS Ewa Field’s historic elements; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED Ford Island Properties LLC and the Hawaii Community Development Authority work together with the community on development plans for the area that would include the preservation of MCAS Ewa Field; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the members of the Hawaii Congressional Delegation actively support the preservation of historic MCAS Ewa Field and encourage all parties involved to actively cooperate in achieving that objective; and
BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED that copies of this Resolution be forwarded to the President of the United States; all members of Hawaii’s Congressional delegation; the Secretary of Defense; the Secretary of the Navy; the Commander, United States Pacific Fleet; the Commandant of the Marine Corps; the Commander, US Marine Corps Forces Pacific; the Director, National Park Service; the Governor of the State of Hawaii; all members of the Hawaii State Legislature; the State of Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources; the Mayor, members of the City Council, Managing Director, Director of Parks and Recreation and the Director of the Office of Economic Development (all of the City and County of Honolulu); Ford Island Properties LLC; to all Oahu Neighborhood Boards, Managing Editor of the Star Advertiser, Voice of Kapolei, and the KHON News Desk
Drafted by D. Kalani Capelouto, Secretary NB # 34 on 5-9-2016.
EWA AIRFIELD AS A NATIONAL HISTORIC MONUMENT AND NATIONAL BATTLEFIELD.2
EWA AIRFIELD AS A NATIONAL HISTORIC MONUMENT AND NATIONAL BATTLEFIELD
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