Prisoners of War

Overview

Honouliuli was designed from the start to hold both POWs and civilians; in the end around 4000 POWs and 400 Americans were held, mostly of Japanese descent. Since the majority of the population living there were prisoners of war, that differentiated it from many mainland camps that incarcerated thousands of Japanese Americans in a single camp. The prisoners of war outnumbered the civilian incarcerees nearly 10:1 at Honouliuli and were spread across five compounds within the site. Little about their stories is known as the focus tends to be on the Japanese-American experience. Furthermore, it is more difficult to track down the histories of every internee at Honouliuli because the POW population was multi-ethnic and arrived under various circumstances.

Prisoner of war camps were all designed to follow the Geneva convention and meet basic needs for those captured, and the food provided was even the same as the type given to U.S. soldiers. Basic needs included cold-water showers and toilets that were pits in the ground, and tents packed with six to eight people served as living quarters.

The 1943 report from the Office of the Military Governor stated:

The prisoner of war section of the Camp has been divided into separate enclosures to take care of Japanese officers, enlisted men, and noncombatant Japanese prisoners of war. As a result of the Gilbert Island operation and the capture of Korean noncombatant prisoners of war, it has been found necessary to construct an additional enclosure to separate the Japanese from the Koreans. There are two large prisoner of war kitchens and mess halls, each with facilities to feed one thousand or more prisoners. In the prisoner of war section there are cold water showers and pit latrines. Prisoners of war live in pyramidal tents, usually six to eight men in a tent.

In the case of Hawai‘i, many POWs were brought over with labor in mind. An ongoing labor shortage on the islands left work gaps that POWs could easily fill, and, adhering to the Geneva Convention, work would only last a typical eight hours on site.

Although imprisoned, far from home, and separated from loved ones, POWs were allowed four postcards and two letters a month from family. They could even receive packages from abroad with appropriate inspection.

Their health was closely monitored by monthly checkups and consistent vaccinations, and sports were commonplace as soccer was a common pastime.

Little conflict occurred in Hawaii's POW camps, with no suicides, few homicides, and a couple of escape attempts. Occasionally work strikes were formed, but starvation as punishment resigned them to return to their camp jobs.

The majority of these POWs were of Korean or Okinawan descent, but there were a handful of European POWs, and even some from the Philippines. Given that a large percentage of Hawaii's population at the time reflected the ethnic makeup in the POW camps, important connections of understanding were created between the civilian Hawai‘i population, the POWs, and the U.S. military.

Japanese POWs

Compared to other countries, there were very few Japanese POWs that were held within the United States. Allied countries tended to take on the brunt of housing prisoners, so the U.S. saw only around 5,500 Japanese POWs total. Those that came through Hawai'i or the mainland were often sent to neighboring ally countries, commonly Australia or New Zealand, with the promise of America sharing costs and responsibility.

Part of this was also cultural; those in the Japanese Imperial Army were taught to take their own life rather than surrender to the enemy or else shame would be brought to them and their families. Those who were captured often obstinately refused to write home, instead letting their loved ones think they perished in battle rather than face embarrassment.

The very first Japanese prisoner of war, Kazuo Sakamaki, was captured December 7, 1941 from a midget submarine off of Waimanalo Beach on O'ahu. Following his capture was a group of 37 sailors that had been taken after the Battle of Midway and the other battles that took place around the Gilbert Islands. Few stayed in Hawai‘i and were processed through Sand Island before being sent to a mainland POW camp.

Only 342 Japanese POWs stayed in Hawai‘i, most at Honouliuli. Japanese POWs who remained in Hawai‘i internment camps the following years were kept separate from other POW groups. Within the Japanese POWs, they segregated themselves based on rank and honor as well as what branch of the military they served. Those who received wounds in battle, officers, enlisted, and noncombatants found issue with one another. Tensions were ever-present in the Japanese POW compound.

Okinawan POWs

Trying to decipher where Okinawans' loyalties were during wartime proved to be difficult. Because the ethnic group had immigrated to Hawai‘i several decades after the Japanese, there was not enough time to become accustomed to American culture and language, making them standout suspects when the military began rounding up people for the camps.

In addition, Okinawans contained a large number of people who fell into the generation known as the kibei. Kibei were technically nisei in the sense that they were born in Hawai‘i as second-generation Okinawans, however they grew up and were raised primarily overseas in Okinawa and their understanding of Americanisms was sparse.

Simultaneously, the Japanese military had begun its colonization of Okinawa, so while Okinawans in America were attempting to convince the U.S. government that they posed no threat, those in Okinawa were similarly attempting to display loyalty to Japan for their safety.

These confusing circumstances culminated in the Okinawans being sent to prison camps in their own homeland and abroad where the American army considered them "neo-Japanese" citizens, despite potentially being kibei. As a result, Okinawans were not only incarcerees, but also prisoners of war, a unique circumstance seen during this period of time.

Most Okinawan and Korean POWs were conscripted by the Japanese army, who at the time was moving to expand Japan's borders into further regions of Asia by force. Their homelands had been seized by the encroaching Japanese military and the citizens forced to join the ranks. Even still, the vast majority of these troops were noncombatant with a few exceptions.

Seiki Miyazoto, one of the Okinawan POWs who was sent to Hawai‘i wrote of his experience traveling by ship from Okinawa to Honouliuli Internment Camp:

On July 8(?), 1945 we left Okinawa, arrived at the Saipan port on the fourth day. The ship was an infamous "naked carrier" since they were stripped of their clothes and plunged into oil stained "dumbles" or compartment. The note starts by describing it as a "ship of hell", landing at island of Oahu on July 24(?). The prisoners were confined at Honouliuli Camp. Someone named the place "Red Clay Girls School".

Okinawan POWs were allowed by the military to go outside the camps for labor jobs. In doing so, the army was taken by surprise at how many Okinawan POWs - nearly all of them - had relatives living in Hawai‘i who would come greet them with gifts and news of loved ones overseas. The guards feared potential escapes and work disruption. Eventually, visiting days were established by the camp to mitigate the potential risks.

Student Corps of Iron and Blood for the Emperor

Many of the POWs captured in Okinawa were sent to Hawai‘i for processing and internment. A surprising number of these were children, mostly boys as young as 14 years old.

Japan's colonization of Okinawa included conscription into their military in the fight against America. The Student Corps of Iron and Blood for the Emperor was a unit comprised of school children across 21 Okinawan schools. While the government's officials recruitment stance for the unit was "volunteerism," the military coerced children into applying for service. Hundreds of children died, and those that survived were taken as POWs by the American military and placed in camps, 53 of which ended up in Honouliuli before being transferred to the continent. Most had little to no understanding of the situation they were in or even why they were classified as prisoners of war.

Okinawa and Hawai‘i

Okinawan Americans who remained in Hawai‘i after the war were integral in helping the US military rebuild their homeland across the sea. In doing so, the United States used it as leverage to justify their military presence on Okinawa that still exists today. Okinawans in Hawai‘i ended up developing an identity unique both to the Japanese Americans and native Okinawans that has been examined in transnational studies, the people referring to themselves as "Uchinanchu" today.

Korean POWs

Interned at Honouliuli were nearly 2,700 Korean POWs. Much like the Okinawan POWs, Korean men were conscripted to join Japan's war effort, and 214,000 had been forced into labor jobs to support the Japanese Imperial Army. Although the exact time and date is still unknown, the first 100 Korean POWs most likely arrived in Honouliuli after their defeat at the battle of Makin Atoll which took place in the Gilbert Islands. Hundreds more arrived in after each battle in the Pacific, including from Guam, Peleliu, Tinian and Palau. Compounds VI and VII are thought to have housed the noncombatant Korean POWs.

Following the 1944 battle in Saipan, 300-400 more Korean POWs were sent to Honouliuli, all noncombatant. Many required medical attention because of bullet and slash wounds. The bullet wounds came from the American troops, but it appeared the slash wounds were born from Japanese army swords, indicating noncombatant Koreans endured military abuse at the hands of the Japanese.

Similar to the Okinawans, Korean POWs were incredibly vocal about their loyalties towards their home country, yearning for independence from Japanese rule. The US military understood this, but it also made it complicated on how to label the POWs since they were certainly not "for" the Japanese army. Their pro-American sentiments curried favor even with the camp's commanding officer, Colonel H.K. Howell. Their anti-Japanese rhetoric was rewarded with weaker security in their compound and may have even been seen sitting outside of the compound's fenced area in some historic photos.

Korean POW morale was exceptionally high throughout their detainment period. They held political plays on stages they built of scrap lumber, grew vegetables, worked little-paying jobs, and played soccer. They were even allowed a movie once a week and took full advantage of the English classes provided. Colonel Howell encouraged this activity and pushed them to create a system where they could self-govern their own democratic country.

To show support, the Korean locals in Hawai‘i (none of whom were incarcerated) sent Christmas gifts to the POWs and were visited frequently by Christian church groups on the island.

Despite being favored by the U.S. military for their persistent nationalism, the Korean POWs were held at Honouliuli for the duration of the war and were never able to change their designation as "enemy aliens". Even still, many showed gratitude to America because of their support for Korean independence from Japan.

In December of 1945, all Korean POWs in Honouliuli were repatriated.

The Three College Draftees

Little was known about the Korean POW experience until the stories of three Korean international students studying abroad in Japan, Pak Sundong, Yi Chongsil, and Pak Hyongmu, were drafted by the Japanese military. Sundong and Chongsil ended up defecting and were captured by the British while fighting in Burma, sent to a POW camp in New Delhi, India, and met Hyongmu there.

Once the British realized that the three men were not Japanese, they were introduced to Korean American soldiers who questioned if they would work for the American war effort against Japan. The three men eagerly agreed and were sent to California where they trained for special missions under the Office of Secret Services.

Unfortunately, the war ended before they could depart on their first mission. In an act of surprise and betrayal, the men were then labeled as prisoners of war and sent to Honouliuli Internment Camp. Although bitter and disappointed, Chongsil, Sundong, and Hyongmu began the in-camp newsletter, the Free Press for Liberated Korea.

A written record of 2,615 Korean POWs interned at Honouliuli was successfully recorded thanks to this newsletter that promoted Korean nationalism and peace. Cards were distributed to every Korean POW where they recorded their name and address and then published, a rare and significant historical record.

For more information regarding Chongsil, Sundong, and Hyongmu, please refer to this article.

Italian POWs

The U.S. military watching over Italian POWs on Hawai‘i found them to be the most admirable of the groups of internees that came through. With their manners, articulate speech, pastime of listening to the radio or phonograph, they were given the label "civilized".

Despite this, group morale amongst the Italian POWs remained low as they felt further isolated from home and sympathetic communities while being imprisoned on an island. Coupled with the fact that they rarely received information about the war and their loved ones, being detained at Honouliuli came at a high cost to their mental health.

Mainland Italian POWs found more support within the Italian communities living outside the camp. Some made friends and even found wives for themselves, giving them a reason to return to the United States for good upon war's end. Italian communities in Hawai‘i did not give them the same warm, helping hand as many Italians were interned at Honouliuli or Sand Island themselves. Unlike their mainland counterparts, Hawaii's Italian internees upon release did not return to Hawai‘i and settle down.

Filipino POWs

The United States' territories included the Philippines at the start of the war. The country's independence was slated to begin in 1946, but when war broke out, everything was postponed. During the war, three fisherman were captured by the military and placed into Honouliuli even though the Philippines was an ally nation. Their stay in the camp was short as they were paroled and sponsored by their new supervisor while they worked at the U.S. Engineers, Mills Division, Construction Service.

The fourth and final man to briefly be interned at Honouliuli had a different story - he claimed to have volunteered for the 101st Infantry Regiment in the Philippines, asked to be evacuated to Leyte with his wife, participated in guerilla warfare in Leyte with the American troops, and then was picked up by an American submarine which brought him to Hawai‘i. The military took their time in verifying his story, so while he waited he did odd jobs and was reportedly friendly. After five months, he was declared a Filipino national lawfully residing in Hawai‘i, but wasn't released until nearly a year later because the military wanted to keep a close eye on him "just in case".