[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 113 (Tuesday, July 26, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4913-S4914]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SENATE RESOLUTION 239--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
Mr. AKAKA (for himself and Mr. Inouye) submitted the following
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary:
S. Res. 239
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
disappearing 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 Senate--
(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;
(3) recognizes and commends the accomplishments,
sacrifices, and contributions of the more than 130 young men,
the majority
[[Page S4914]]
of whom were Native Hawaiian, who participated in the
Equatorial Pacific colonization project; and
(4) extends condolences on behalf of the United States to
the families of Carl Kahalewai, Joseph Keliihananui, and
Richard Whaley for the loss of their loved ones in the
service of the United States and apologizes for the lack of
compensation afforded to these families.
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