World War II Talk Story Program
Gun being fired on Hawaii Island during World War II (Photograph courtesy U.S. Army Corps of Engineers).
Many Hawaii Island residents today are unaware of the importance that this island had in securing the Allied victory over Japan during World War II. According to Jim Browne of the Marine Corps League, “More than 55,000 Marines, Navy Corpsman and Seabees trained at Camp Tarawa [in Waimea]…a total of 5,145 were listed as killed in action or died from their wounds and 18,029 were wounded in action in the invasions of Saipan-Tinian and Iwo Jima.” Before these important battles had taken place, these men drilled in Waimea, trained in their tanks in the sugarcane fields of Hamakua and took part in a mock invasion of Iwo Jima along the Kohala Coast, where multi-million dollar resorts now stand.
On Friday January 29 from 10:00am-11:00am, Pu’ukohola Heiau National Historic Site will host a special “Talk Story” program that will highlight the unique role of Hawaii Island during World War II. Jim Browne of the Marine Corps League, Camp Tarawa Detachment #1255 will retell some of the amazing stories that came out of Waimea and the Kohala Coast during World War II and will offer park visitors a chance to ask questions about life on Hawaii Island during the War. If you are interested in attending this unique program, please contact the Park’s Visitor Center at (808) 882-7218 Ext. 1011 or you may contact the Park by email.
