Bill Text: HI HR164 | 2019 | Regular Session | Introduced

Hawaii House Resolution 164 (Prior Session Legislation)

Introduced

Bill Title: Urging The United States Government And Hunt Companies To Reserve The Ewa Field Land To Preserve World War Ii Historic And Hawaiian Cultural Sites At The Former Marine Corps Air Station Ewa For The Creation Of The Ewa Battlefield Memorial Park.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2019-03-20 - The committee(s) on PVM recommend(s) that the measure be deferred. [HR164 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2019-HR164-Introduced.html

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.R. NO.	164
THIRTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2019
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE RESOLUTION

urging the united states government and hunt companies to RESERVE the ewa field land to preserve world war ii historic AND HAWAIIAN CULTURAL sites at the former marine corps air station ewa FOR the creation of the ewa battlefield memorial park.

WHEREAS, the December 7, 1941, attack on the Ewa Mooring Mast Field (later re-designated Marine Corps Air Station Ewa) on the island of Oahu, constitutes one of the very first points of the attack against the United States which precipitated our nation's entry into World War II; and

WHEREAS, it is far less known that in early 1942, Ewa field became the phoenix rising from the ashes to become a major U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine airfield responding to the defense of the Hawaiian Islands at a very crucial period when the aggressive Japanese Empire was at the height of its naval power; and

WHEREAS, the Hawaii State Legislature unanimously passed House Resolution No. 49, H.D. 1, Regular Session of 2009, advocating the designation and development of Ewa field as a national monument, museum, and restored park, which would preserve this critical American historic site, allowing stories to be told of the associated military conflicts, American sacrifices, and the heroism and determination that became the foundation for victory in the Pacific arena and eventually in World War II itself; and

WHEREAS, a national park service battlefield protection grant in 2015 documented the December 7, 1941, airfield site that was subsequently nominated to the Hawaii State Historic Register and National Register of Historic Places in May 2016, as the Ewa Plain Battlefield; and

WHEREAS, new research done with a 2016 national park service battlefield protection grant documenting the Ewa field revetments has found that the major American response to the attack of December 7, 1941, was mounted by the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marines in June 1942, at the Battle of Midway from the then nascent Ewa field as funds, manpower, and materiel were redirected from the nearby Naval Air Station Barbers Point, just beginning construction, and meant to rapidly expand Ewa field into a major Navy aircraft carrier support facility to include construction of approximately one hundred seventy-five air attack resistant aircraft revetments in preparation for a future major naval battle; and

WHEREAS, further research for the National Register of Historic Places nomination of the 1942 aircraft revetments has determined that the aircraft flown in the June 1942, Battle of Midway, a crucial turning point of the Pacific War and considered as the U.S. Navy's most important battle in its history with the sinking of four of the Imperial Japanese aircraft carriers that bombed Pearl Harbor, can be traced directly to the still existing 1942 Ewa field revetments sites; and

WHEREAS, a national monument and national historic landmark designation of the historic 1942 aircraft revetments at former Marine Corps Air Station Ewa would further preserve and document Hawaii's involvement in World War II, serving as a focal point for the commemoration, remembrance, and honoring of the many brave Navy and Marine pilots from those same Ewa Field aircraft revetments who willingly sacrificed their lives for the foundation of victory in the Pacific and in World War II; and

WHEREAS, the local community and veterans have proposed a protective and commemorative park solution known as the "Ewa Battlefield Memorial Park" to the State and the City and County of Honolulu to serve as a focal point for the commemoration, remembrance, and honoring those many brave U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine pilots; and

WHEREAS, the envisioned memorial park will be an educational, peaceful, commemorative, environmental, and ecologically self-sustaining long-term park project utilizing a dedicated core of military veterans, supporting families, and local community organizations including Wounded Warriors, Youth Challenge Academy, and university and high school JROTC and cadet scout programs that currently support annual Ewa Battlefield Commemorations; and

WHEREAS, the announced plans for a major new Battle of Midway motion picture creating new national awareness of this incredible 1942 Pacific battle and the sacrifices made during this battle will further public interest in the preservation and site visitation of the Marine Corps Air Station Ewa revetments as a national monument and national landmark creating opportunities for employment, education, and community pride for the people of Hawaii; and

WHEREAS, the Hawaii Community Development Authority (HCDA) plans to spend $500,000 for a new Kalaeloa Master Plan and it is important that the National Park Service have a role in defining a battlefield park, a matter that HCDA has no previous experience with; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Thirtieth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2019, that the United States government and Hunt Companies reserve the Ewa Field land for the preservation of World War II historic and Hawaiian cultural sites at the former Marine Corps Air Station Ewa for the creation of the Ewa Battlefield Memorial Park; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Hawaii's Congressional delegation is urged to introduce a bill to Congress requesting a National Park Service feasibility study to determine whether the Ewa Plain Battlefield listed on the National Register of Historic Places is suitable for inclusion in the national park system; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the President of the United States, Secretary of Defense of the United States, Secretary of the Interior of the United States, Commander of Navy Region Hawaii, each member of Hawaii's Congressional delegation, Executive Director of the Hawaii Community Development Authority, Mayor of the City and County of Honolulu, Director of Parks and Recreation of the City and County of Honolulu, and President of the Hawaii Division of Hunt Building Company, Ltd.