[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 388 Introduced in House (IH)]
112th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. RES. 388
Acknowledging the contributions and sacrifices of the young men who
served as colonists on behalf of the United States in the Federal
occupation of the islands of Howland, Baker, Jarvis, Canton, and
Enderbury from 1935 through 1942, facilitating the United States claim
of jurisdiction over such islands.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
August 5, 2011
Ms. Hanabusa (for herself and Ms. Hirono) submitted the following
resolution
September 6, 2011
Referred to the Committee on Natural Resources
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Acknowledging the contributions and sacrifices of the young men who
served as colonists on behalf of the United States in the Federal
occupation of the islands of Howland, Baker, Jarvis, Canton, and
Enderbury from 1935 through 1942, facilitating the United States claim
of jurisdiction over such islands.
Whereas in the mid-19th century, the Guano Islands Act (48 U.S.C. 1411 et seq.)
enabled companies from the United States to mine guano from a number of
islands in the Equatorial Pacific;
Whereas after several decades, when the guano was depleted, such companies
abandoned mining activities, leaving the islands open to British
exploitation;
Whereas in the 1930s, military and commercial interest in Central Pacific air
routes between Australia and California led to a desire by the United
States to claim the islands of Howland, Baker, and Jarvis, although the
ownership of such islands was unclear;
Whereas in 1935, a secret Department of Commerce colonization plan was
instituted, aimed at placing citizens of the United States as colonists
on the remote islands of Howland, Baker, and Jarvis;
Whereas to avoid conflicts with international law, which prevented colonization
by active military personnel, the United States sought the participation
of furloughed military personnel and Native Hawaiian civilians in the
colonization project;
Whereas William T. Miller, Superintendent of Airways at the Department of
Commerce, was appointed to lead the colonization project, traveled to
Hawaii in February 1935, met with Albert F. Judd, Trustee of Kamehameha
Schools and the Bishop Museum, and agreed that recent graduates and
students of the Kamehameha School for Boys would make ideal colonists
for the project;
Whereas the ideal Hawaiian candidates were candidates who could ``fish in the
native manner, swim excellently, handle a boat, be disciplined,
friendly, and unattached'';
Whereas, on March 30, 1935, the United States Coast Guard Cutter Itasca departed
from Honolulu Harbor in great secrecy with 6 young Hawaiians aboard, all
recent graduates of Kamehameha Schools, and 12 furloughed army
personnel, whose purpose was to occupy the barren islands of Howland,
Baker, and Jarvis in teams of 5 for 3 months;
Whereas in June 1935, after a successful first tour, the furloughed army
personnel were ordered off the islands and replaced with additional
Kamehameha Schools alumni, thus leaving the islands under the exclusive
occupation of the 4 Native Hawaiians on each island;
Whereas the duties of the colonists while on the island were to record weather
conditions, cultivate plants, maintain a daily log, record the types of
fish that were caught, observe bird life, and collect specimens for the
Bishop Museum;
Whereas the successful year-long occupation by the colonists directly enabled
President Franklin D. Roosevelt to issue Executive Order 7368 on May 13,
1936, which proclaimed that the islands of Howland, Baker, and Jarvis
were under the jurisdiction of the United States;
Whereas multiple Federal agencies vied for the right to administer the
colonization project, including the Department of Commerce, the
Department of the Interior, and the Navy Department, but jurisdiction
was ultimately granted to the Department of the Interior;
Whereas under the Department of the Interior, the colonization project
emphasized weather data and radio communication, which brought about the
recruitment of a number of Asian radiomen and aerologists;
Whereas under the Department of the Interior, the colonization project also
expanded beyond the Kamehameha Schools to include Hawaiians and non-
Hawaiians from other schools in Hawaii;
Whereas in 1937, in preparation for Amelia Earhart's arrival on Howland Island,
the colonists constructed a landing field, readied a shower and bedroom
for her, and prepared a performance for her, but she never arrived,
having disappeared en route to the island on July 2, 1937;
Whereas in March of 1938 the United States also claimed and colonized the
islands of Canton and Enderbury, maintaining that such colonization was
in furtherance of commercial aviation and not for military purposes;
Whereas the risk of living on such remote islands meant that emergency medical
care was not less than 5 days away, and such distance proved fatal for
Carl Kahalewai, who died on October 8, 1938 en route to Honolulu after
his appendix ruptured on Jarvis island;
Whereas other life-threatening injuries occurred, in 1939, when Manuel Pires had
appendicitis, and in 1941, when an explosion severely burned Henry Knell
and Dominic Zagara;
Whereas in 1940, when the issue of discontinuing the colonization project was
raised, the Navy acknowledged that the islands were ``probably worthless
to commercial aviation'' but advocated for ``continued occupation''
because the islands could serve as ``bases from a military standpoint'';
Whereas although military interests justified continued occupation of the
islands, the colonists were never informed of the true nature of the
project, nor were the colonists provided with weapons or any other means
of self-defense;
Whereas in June of 1941, when much of Europe was engaged in World War II and
Imperial Japan was establishing itself in the Pacific, the Commandant of
the 14th Naval District recognized the ``tension in the Western
Pacific'' and recommended the evacuation of the colonists, but his
request was denied;
Whereas, on December 8, 1941, Howland Island was attacked by a fleet of Japanese
twin-engine bombers, and such attack killed Hawaiian colonists Joseph
Keliihananui and Richard Whaley;
Whereas in the ensuing weeks, Japanese submarine and military aircraft continued
to target the islands of Howland, Baker, and Jarvis, jeopardizing the
lives of the remaining colonists;
Whereas the United States Government was unaware of the attacks on such islands,
and was distracted by the entry of the United States into World War II,
which delayed the retrieval of the colonists;
Whereas the 4 colonists from Baker and the 2 remaining colonists from Howland
were rescued on January 31, 1942, and the 8 colonists from Jarvis and
Enderbury were rescued on February 9, 1942, 2 months after the initial
attacks on Howland Island;
Whereas, on March 20, 1942, Harold L. Ickes, Secretary of the Interior, sent
letters of condolence to the Keliihananui and Whaley families stating
that ``[i]n your bereavement it must be considerable satisfaction to
know that your brother died in the service of his country,'' and
subsequently urged the families to submit claims for compensation;
Whereas in April 1942, the claim of the Keliihananui family was denied because
there were no ``qualified dependents'' to submit claims;
Whereas during the 7 years of colonization, more than 130 young men participated
in the project, the majority of whom were Hawaiian, and all of whom made
numerous sacrifices, endured hardships, and risked their lives to secure
and maintain the islands of Howland, Baker, Jarvis, Canton, and
Enderbury on behalf of the United States, and 3 young Hawaiian men made
the ultimate sacrifice;
Whereas none of the islands, except for Canton, were ever used for commercial
aviation, but the islands were used for military purposes;
Whereas in July 1943, a military base was established on Baker Island, and its
forces, which numbered over 2,000 members, participated in the Tarawa-
Makin operation;
Whereas in 1956, participants of the colonization project established an
organization called ``Hui Panala`au'', which was established to preserve
the group's fellowship, to provide scholarship assistance, and ``to
honor and esteem those who died as colonists of the Equatorial
Islands'';
Whereas in 1979, Canton and Enderbury became part of the republic of Kiribati,
but the islands of Jarvis, Howland, and Baker still remain possessions
of the United States, having been designated as National Wildlife
Refuges in 1974;
Whereas three-quarters of a century later, the Equatorial Islands colonization
project has been nearly forgotten;
Whereas May 13, 2011, marks the 75th anniversary of President Franklin D.
Roosevelt's Executive Order proclaiming United States jurisdiction over
the islands of Howland, Baker, and Jarvis, islands that remain
possessions of the United States; and
Whereas the Federal Government has never fully recognized the accomplishments,
contributions, and sacrifices of the colonists, less than 6 of whom are
still alive today, and most of whom are in their 90s: Now, therefore, be
it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) acknowledges the accomplishments and sacrifices of the
Hui Panala`au colonists and extends appreciation on behalf of
the people of the United States;
(2) acknowledges the local, national, and international
significance of the 7-year colonization project, which resulted
in the United States extending sovereignty into the Equatorial
Pacific; and
(3) recognizes and commends the accomplishments,
sacrifices, and contributions of the more than 130 young men,
the majority of whom were Native Hawaiian, who participated in
the Equatorial Pacific colonization project.
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