War! December 7th, 1941, a date that will live in infamy…
Brief Timeline/ Evolution of Ewa Battlefield/Plain:
1851: Ewa Field owned by the Hawaiian Royal Family
1864: Ha’alele’a’s second wife, Anadelia Amoe, deeds Ha’alele’a’s land to John H. Coney.
Coney organized property and names is Honouliuli Ranch and uses land for beekeeping, limestone quarrying and charcoal production.
1877: John Campbell, a Maui businessman purchases 41,000 acres from John Coney for $95,000.
1879: James Ashley constructs Ewa’s artesian well.
1889: The Government of Hawaii for the Oahu Railway and Land (OR&L) Company grands Ben Dillingham a charter.
Oahu Railing and Land serves as primary transportation for agriculture and commercial transportation.
During WWII, the OR&L railroad rights were leased to the US government to support the troops and activities at various military bases.
1925: Navy signs a sublease with OR&L for a new mooring mast.
The lease allows the Navy to construct the mooring mast along with temporary buildings.
1939: Ewa’s artesian well capped.
1941: The field a Ewa contains small houses, several outbuildings, a mooring mast, and a runway.
Late 1930s, Early 1940s: Construction of Marine Corps Base Ewa (Ewa Field) in congruence with the military and economic expansion into the Pacific region to counter the growth of the Japanese Empire.
07 DEC 1941: From 0740-1000 hours, Ewa Field experiences three waves of attacks from Japanese torpedo planes.
1952: Ewa Mooring Mast field disestablished.
2016: Ewa Plain Battlefield listed in the National Register of Historic Places
77th Anniversary of December 7, 1941 – Ewa Battlefield still has many undocumented historic sites
– 2LT Danielle Nuszkowski
AmVets Hawaii, Volunteer