Event
Mary Farrell and Jeff Burton; Hell Valley: Uncovering a WWII Civilian and POW Prison Camp in Paradise
Fee:
Free.Location:
This event will be virtual.Dates & Times
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Type of Event
Description
When it was rediscovered by the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai’i (JCCH), the Honouliuli Prisoner of War (POW) and Civilian Internment Camp was hidden in a densely vegetated gulch-- only 14 miles northwest of Honolulu, but worlds away. The site was buried not just physically, but also historically: although the mass removal and incarceration of Japanese Americans from the west coast of the United States was chronicled in books, movies, plays, museums, and countless articles, there was a widespread belief that there had been no internment of civilians in Hawai’i during World War II. Volunteers from JCCH and students from the University of Hawai’i braved the dense vegetation to document that the site indeed had many remnants of the prison camp. With those concrete slabs, rock walls, guard tower foundations, and fences, Honouliuli retains enough archaeological integrity to be listed on the National Register, an important first step on becoming a National Historic Site. As a unit of the National Park Service, Honouliuli will be able to tell its story of how the U.S. has treated its citizens and POWs in times of crisis.