Hawaii's Other Internment Camps

A Forgotten History

Many Americans are still unaware that incarceration of citizens ever took place during World War II. To many who are local to Hawai‘i, the idea of incarceration is often thought of as something that only occurred on the continent. Even most who live on O‘ahu, home to the state's largest and longest-run incarceration camp, Honouliuli, never knew of its existence.

But there was more than just Honouliuli Internment Camp. In actuality, across the archipleago, there were seventeen sites that housed incarcerated people, many of which were temporary detention centers before sending people off to the mainland or to Honouliuli.

A total of 1,330 Japanese American citizens and Japanese nationals living in Hawai‘i were incarcerated across the islands. Incarceration in Hawai‘i was different than the mainland because leaders were selectively chosen from the Japanese communities to be detained; it would have been near impossible to arrest every person from an "enemy" country without completely decimating the economy. Most people who were interned in Hawai‘i had occupations that associated them with Japanese culture, such as Shinto priests, Japanese language school teachers, employees of Japanese language newspapers and journals, bankers, and even sake brewers.

These days, the sites have either been left for nature to reclaim or have been built over, leaving no trace of what had once occurred to innocent civilians there. The ones listed below are only the ones known so far, and for some, the location and details of its operation are unknown. It is very possible there have been others simply lost to time.

Read More: Dark Clouds Over Paradise: An Overview of World War II Japanese American Confinement Sites in Hawai'i

Click here for the "Sites of Shame" interactive map of the Hawaiian Islands

O‘ahu

There were four sites used for either processing and detaining incarcerees temporarily or long term. Aside from Honouliuli, there was Sand Island Detention Camp, U.S. Immigration Station, and the Honolulu Police Department/Honolulu Military Police Station.

U.S. Immigration Station

All Hawai‘i residents who eventually were sent to internment camps were first processed at the U.S. Immigration Station, with many being sent to Sand Island after. This location served just as a temporary holding site, but people were held in extremely tight living spaces, forced to eat on the ground, and received no shelter from weather conditions. They would often sit in dark rooms for a couple weeks awaiting their judgment by the military and having no say in their fate. Although this was only the first step in the incarceration process, the dehumanization tactics had begun almost instantly.

The U.S. Immigration Station building is still in tact and being used today.

Sand Island Detention Camp

Sand Island Detention Camp, or Sand Island Detention Center, opened on December 8, 1941 as the Territory of Hawaii's first internment camp and was commanded by Carl F. Eifler, described as "mean" and "cruel" by internees. Prior to its conversion into a camp, Sand Island was scouted by the military as an ideal place to hold civilians due to the Territorial Quarantine Hospital located on its grounds. Just 48 hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor, nearly 500 people had been arrested and ultimately sent to Sand Island, which served as a holding area until either they were shipped to a mainland camp or Honouliuli once it completed its construction.

Because of its makeshift nature, the conditions at Sand Island were often described as the worst experience in incarceration by many individuals, even worse than Honouliuli. Living quarters were tight; tents were erected that held eight people each and were exposed to the elements, often times flooding during heavy rainfall. People were deprived of basic necessities and forced to participate in invasive strip searches that chipped away at their dignity and violated their autonomy. Treatment of these citizens was comparable to how the military typically treated prisoners of war.

After surviving in these conditions in the sweltering heat for six months, barracks were finally built to house those imprisoned at Sand Island. Quality of life slowly improved over time despite the circumstances as more suitable amenities were established. The community began to hold their own elections to gain representatives for the people incarcerated, and eventually family visits were even allowed.

In operation for fifteen months, Sand Island Detention Camp closed the day that Honouliuli was opened. It reopened two years later to house prisoners of war, but the 600 residents of Hawai‘i that had passed through there had been moved to Honouliuli or mainland camps before then.

Honolulu Police Station/Military Police Station

During the war, the Honolulu Police Station was converted into the Alien Property Custodian office, established under Executive Order 2729-A in 1917, which gave it authority to seize possessions and property in the United States that were "enemy-owned". Properties included bank accounts, currency, life insurance, businesses, personal property, patents, copyrights, and more. Vesting Orders were issued through this office which allowed the seizure of these properties.

Across the street from the new Alien Property Custodian office sat the Yokohama Specie Bank. The military police seized the bank and turned it into the Honolulu Military Police Station, out of which they interned bank officials and liquidated assets. Many Japanese Americans and Japanese nationals did not receive their money back until 1949 and the bank never reopened.

The buliding still stands in Honolulu today and is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Kaua‘i

Like O‘ahu, four internment sites opened on Kaua‘i during the course of the war, but none matched the scale of the operations done on O‘ahu and were relatively smaller. Half of them were already established jails used to hold internees and incarcerated citizens. The facilities on Kaua‘i were Wailua County Jail, Waimea Jail, Kalaheo Stockade, and Lihue Plantation Gymnasium/Kaua‘i County Courthouse.

Around 106 Japanese nationals and citizens were interned on Kaua‘i between 1942 and 1946.

Wailua County Jail

Much like O‘ahu's Sand Island, Wailua County Jail was the first stop for most who were arrested on Kaua‘i after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Approximately twenty people were initially arrested, far more than the jail capacity allowed, and authorities were unsure how great a threat these new inmates posed so they kept them all in tight quarters, not caring to separate the civilian detainees from convicted criminals.

The conditions of the jail were abysmal, with a plethora of insects including bedbugs, mosquitoes, cockroaches, and others that constantly bit the incarcereated inmates. A single gallon bucket was used as the communal toilet since the jail did not have an operational one, and the jail provided only two blankets in total for the cold nights.

As time went by, they were allowed more freedoms such as being able to walk out into the yard, family visits, and communal activities. Eventually, a two-story dormitory was built to separate the prisoners from detainees where they finally gained access to working toilets, a kitchen, and were able to work small jobs.

In 1942, all the detainees were transferred either to Sand Island or to other camps. The dormitory was destroyed via hurricane after the war, and despite attempts to salvage the remains for historic purposes, the building was torn down and replaced by the Kaua‘i Community Correctional Center.

Waimea Jail

Waimea Jail only held up to ten detainees in total.

Kalaheo Stockade

Not much is known about the Kalaheo Stockade. Its exact location and when it started to intern Japanese citvilians is unknown. Theories as to where it could have been include the Medeiros Chicken Farm, as the location seems to match testimonials stating the ocean could be seen from the site. The infrastructure at Kalaheo Stockade could hold up to 25 people, but along with the detainees, Kalaheo Stockade also housed around 50 members of the army who were detained for misconduct or crimes. The two groups were kept separate, however.

Lihue Plantation Gymnasium/Kaua‘i County Courthouse

Kaua‘i County Courthouse was where arrested individuals would go to have their hearings.

Only one incarceree was held at Lihue Plantation Gymnasium, a man named Paul Muraoka. For one month, he was kept in solitary confinement, his only interaction was with those who served him his meals. As for his "crime", he could only surmise he was placed into confinement due to several trips to Japan and working for the consulate in Honolulu.

With the location of Kalaheo Stockade being unknown, Lihue Plantation Gymnasium is the only internment site remaining on Kaua‘i, still in use today.

Hawai‘i Island

Three major incarceration sites opened on Hawai‘i Island in the wake of WWII. The first of which, Kilauea Military Camp, opened the same day that Pearl Harbor was bombed. The others, Hilo Independent Japanese Language School, and Waiakea Prisoner Camp, opened shortly thereafter.

Kilauea Military Camp

What began as a simple training base for the military eventually held up to 100 resident Japanese at a time after the camp opened its doors hours after Pearl Harbor was bombed. Kilauea Military Camp is located within Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park, and is still used as a vacation spot for military families to this day. It was the only actual military faciilty used to intern Japanese civilians during wartime since it never came under enemy fire.

Conditions of Kilauea Military Camp were very different than the other islands' detention centers and camps. The mess hall provided ample food and the silverware was clean. Baths and modern toilets were provided - a luxury most did not have upon initial detainment. New arrivals to the camp were also met with warmth from those already there, raising camaraderie and reliance on one another for support. Unlike other camps, detainees were kept in the dark about why they had been incarcerated in the first place.

Aside from O‘ahu's internment sites, Kilauea Military Camp was the largest prison for ethnically Japanese individuals in Hawai‘i. The Park staff fully backed the military's actions in detaining Japanese residents beginning the afternoon of December 7, 1941. Its operation did not last long, however, as by May 1942, all of the incarcerated had been transferred to O‘ahu because international law forbade interned foreigners from being held in a potential combat zone. Families were encouraged to buy their interned loved ones warm clothes and supply proper documentation for their transfer to O‘ahu before tearfully saying goodbye.

Hilo Independent Japanese Language School

The Hilo Independent Japanese Language School became a target of suspicion of the U.S. military because it was the largest Japanese language school on the island, teaching over one thousand students.

To accomodate its growing numbers, the language school moved to a location that included a building they planned on using as a kindergarten, quarters for the principal and even a dormitory. Inside the main building were a number of classrooms, a library, and an assembly hall.

Unfortunately, none of this was meant to be, as the military confiscated the buildings and shut down the school to erect it as the military police headquarters shortly after its opening. The would-be kindergarten was transformed into a jail, and the principal's office a temporary holding cell. Those who were jailed here were eventually transfered to Kilauea Military Camp.

The language school never reopened.

Waiakea Prison Camp

Waiakea Prison Camp operated differently from other camps because of one major distinction: those who were imprisoned here were forced to participate in hard labor, mostly projects that were "essential to national defense". The prison itself and surrounding roads predated the war and were built by prisoners. During their time at the camp, the incarcerated were employed to work defense projects around Hilo International Airport.

According to known records, six Japanese were interned here although for how long is unknown. Though innocent, they worked side-by-side with the other thirty prisoners, many of whom had committed violent crimes such as rape and bulglary. Penalties were especially harsh at Waiakea Prison Camp, as actions such as swearing, being in possession of a Japanese flag or being a general nuisance could earn a person months of hard labor time.

The exact location of Waiakea Prison Camp is still unknown.

Maui

Wailuku County Jail

Wailuku County Jail, also known as Maui County Jail, was a major incarceration site on Maui that likely housed around 50-60 individuals at its max, though exact numbers are unknown. The FBI's custodial detention list had labeled 58 Japanese to be arrested immediately in the event of war on Maui.

The jail was primarily used as a temporary holding facility while the incarcerated individuals were transferred to other islands and camps.

Haiku Military Camp

Like Wailuku County Jail, the number of detainees at Haiku Military Camp held is unknown, along with its location. Testimonies of the formerly incarcerated and interned help approximate its location to be near the Hawaiian Plantation company or the Old Haiku Pineapple Company, although this information has not yet been verified.

Prisoners held at this camp were held here even shorter than they were at Wailuku County Jail, so most lived in tents or temporary structures before being transferred.

Moloka‘i

Kaunakakai County Jail

Located in what is now Malama Park on Moloka'i is the island's oldest wooden building, Kaunakakai County Jail. During WWII, it temporarily held the only four people who were interned on the island before they were sent to Wailuku County Jail on Maui, and then to O'ahu's Sand Island. It is unknown how long they were interned for.

Lana‘i

Lana‘i City Jail

Very little information is known about Lana‘i City Jail's internment site. Only two to three people were interned here temporarily before being sent to Wailuku County Jail on Maui to Sand Island on O‘ahu. The original courthouse and jail are still in downtown Lana'i today.