Shad Kane: Pu'uloa: Where once there was life…

Post Date December 01, 2008
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Category Hawaiian Sovereignty, Land, Culture & Human Rights, Ho’ola Hawai’i – Environmental Justice, Ke Awalau o Pu'uloa / Pearl Harbor

This essay from the Honolulu Advertiser blog by Shad Kane gives a history and cultural interpretation of Ke awa lau o Pu’uloa (aka Pearl Harbor).

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http://culturalkapolei.honadvblogs.com/2008/12/01/pu%E2%80%99uloa-where-once-there-was-life%E2%80%A6/

Pu’uloa: Where Once There Was Life…

December 1st, 2008 by Shad

Aia i Keawalauopu’uloa he kai hāuliuli ….. ‘o neia lā he pōuliuli
There at Pu’uloa the sea is blue.. today it is dark/murky.

Aia nui nā kahawai i laila … koe kaka’ikahi nō.
There were many streams there … only a few remain.

Aia i ulu pono nā loko i’a ….. e kanu ‘ia.
There the fishponds flourished … they (are now) buried.

Aia nā lo’i kalo i ulu ai …. He pōhaku puna i laila
There the kalo terraces produced rich harvest … It is now concrete (spring of stone).

Aia ka nui o nā limu maoli … he limu ‘ē
There were many native limu …now foreign.

Aia nā i’a hāmau leo o ‘Ewa i ulu ai… he mō’alihaku
There the pearl oysters thrived … now fossil.

Aia nui nā i’a ‘o laila … kaka’ikahi wale nō.
There were many fish there … Only a few( today).

Aia i kani nā manu maoli… kaka’ikahi a nalowale nō.
There the native birds sang … Scarce and vanishing.

Aia ‘o Ka’ahupahau i Pu’uloa …. Ua pa’a ka hale
There lived Ka’ahupahau, the shark at Pu’uloa .. her home is all closed up.

Aia ‘o Kanekua’ana, he mo’o….. ha’alele ‘o ia.
There Kanekua’ana, a mo’o lived …. She left.

Aia nā ali’i e kū nei… poholo lākou
There were chiefs that stood firm there… they plunged out of sight.

Aia nā kanaka i laila … Pio loa la
There were people there … they were snuffed out.

Aia kākou e ola nei…… ua hāmau ‘ia.
There we lived .. we were silenced.

Hawaiian translation by Rona Dale Rosco Rodenhurst

This Oli came from these words………

Where once there was blue water……..is now black.
Where once there were many rivers…..are now few.
Where once there were loko i’a ……….is now buried.
Where once there were lo’i kalo…….is now concrete.
Where once there was limu……….are now foreign.
Where once there were pearl oyster……..are now fossils.
Where once there were fish………are now scarce.
Where once there were native birds…….are no longer.
Where once there was Ka’ahupahau……..is now homeless.
Where once there was Kanekua’ana…….has since left.
Where once there were chiefs….have since vanished.
Where once there were people……….are now gone.
Where once there was life……..is now silent.

This essay is about the urbanization of a cultural landscape. It holds true today as it did in 1778 when Cook arrived. The issue whether it is good or bad is up to us to decide. It will change and evolve with every generation. However these stories are not meant to judge the decisions of those of the past or those of today…….but rather to be observant……..and having the strength to be strong when you need to be strong. Foremost in all our thoughts should be the care of this land of our ancestors.

There are no mistakes. There is a plan and order to everything. Perhaps there is a plan to redefine us as a people. And when I refer to “us” I mean………..all of us who live in these beautiful islands. To see if we have the strength to do the things we need to do. There is a time for everything. There is a time for each of us. It will be different for all of us. It may take some of us longer than others. But in the end most all of us would have made some contributions in our lifetime. That is the fabric from which life is made. The level of that contribution defines us as a people. That level of contribution is in direct relationship to the tools that we have gathered along the way. Those tools may be our education or life experiences or our commitment to a way of life. What is important to understand is that we will all have that opportunity. We only need to recognize it when it presents itself.

These cultural essays are meant to do a number of things. I have shared only a few. It is hoped that they help us develop a sense of personal relationship for this place that we all call home. Whether it is Kapolei or Waianae, whether it is Los Angeles or New York or Bangkok or London or wherever you live. Most importantly for those of you who take the time to venture through these pages……it is hoped that you see yourself amongst them. All these pages are for naught if it cannot accomplish that simple task. For although these stories are of our ancient past…….it is really about us……….and how we can make a difference in the years to come. It is about connecting the past with the future and make it better.

So…….what is it that we need to do. We need to decide that for ourselves for it is a personal journey. Much the same as I am sitting here alone in the quiet of my room with my fingers to the keys of a laptop. Our world needs our help and only we can make it happen. The path I have chosen is to write about it not knowing whether anyone is there. But nevertheless it is my personal effort………it is something. For me that motivation comes from an appreciation of knowing how things once were………..and the hope that we can make things better…….and this is where I shall start………

Our ancestors lived in a subsistence world. Perhaps one of the most difficult things to do today as a consulting Native Hawaiian Organization is getting federal agencies to understand that you cannot separate the land or oceans or inland waterways from traditional practices and beliefs. The word religious also becomes a sensitive reference in consulting documents where it should not be. Access to lands and oceans is an intrinsic part of these traditional practices and beliefs. There are prayers, rituals and protocols that kahea and call out to bring back these better days when fish, birds and food were plentiful in terms of a traditional subsistence lifestyle. Much like the Native American Plains Indians pray for the day when the buffalo returns.

Our ancestors were farmers and fishermen. Their laws were based on conservation…….of a people living on an island with limited resources. However it was not just a matter of providing food and eating to strengthen one physically……but also spiritually. It is this aspect of the act of eating that we as a people today have lost touch with the ancient past of our ancestors. We today take eating as commonplace and a simple act of necessity. Eating was sacred. That was the basis of the “Aikapu”. The gods would manifest themselves as “kinolau” or body forms in the many different foods that one would partake of. For example Kalo was the kinolau for Kane, Ulu (breadfruit) was the kinolau for Ku, Uala (sweet potato) was the kinolau for Lono, Limu kala was the kinolau of Hina and the list is endless. Let me go one step further so we can all understand how powerful and how all consuming the simple aspect of eating and how important these places of subsistence played in their world. In the Catholic Church is the celebration of the Eucharist where in the mass the priest consecrates and transforms bread and wine into the body and blood of Jesus. This grew out of the religious significance of the “Last Supper” when Jesus changed bread and wine into his body and blood. The celebration of the Eucharist is meant to help all of us who join in partaking of his body and blood to become like him. In order to understand the importance of different places of subsistence we would need to understand this relationship between a people and the foods of their toil. For it is this relationship that binds them to the aina (land). It is here that their strength, commitment and perseverance can be found and must be understood by all. It is a spiritual and fundamental religious belief. This is the story of Pu’uloa…….

Anciently when reference is made to Keawalauopu’uloa it is referred to as being “momona” or fat. Fat in terms of the abundance of Loko i’a and Lo’i kalo. It was a place known to be rich and abundant in fish, oysters and many varieties of shell fish, kalo, uala, ulu and all the necessities of life. Moku ‘O Kakuhihewa (Mokupuni of O’ahu) was known to be the bread basket of all these islands. All the chiefs of all the islands knew for generations that the island of O’ahu had more inland fresh water than all the other islands combined. Much of this fresh water fed Keawalauopu’uloa.

 

Our ancestors knew that when the water reached the shoreline it was rich in nutrients and attracted shoreline fish. It was in these areas where these rivers exited into Pu’uloa that they built numerous fishponds. Amongst these ponds are those that were built by Kalaimaunuia around the late 1500s. Kalaimanuia was the daughter of Kukaniloko who was the great granddaughter of Mailekukahi. Kalaimanuia was also the grandmother of the great and benevolent Chief Kakuhihewa. She built a fishpond named Loko Paaiau just adjacent to today’s McGrew Point. She lived at this time on the high ground above today’s McGrew Point anciently known as Kuki’iahu. Loko Paaiau was in the Ahupua’a of Kalauao and was fed by water from the surrounding Lo’i Kalo.

These lands today are occupied by the Pearlridge and Pearl Kai Shopping Centers. Another Loko i’a built by Kalaimanuia is Loko Opu, also in the Ahupua’a of Kalauao close to where Sumida Watercress Farm is located and perhaps fed by the same waters. Kalaimanuia is credited for building Loko Pa’akea at Waimalu close to where Best Buy and Cutter Ford is located.

Another interesting fishpond is Loko Kahakupohaku where remnants of the old Aiea Railroad Station still stands and can be seen from Kamehameha Highway. This pond has been filled and is at the site of the present Honolulu Pearl Canoe Hale and an adjacent public park.


This is the site of the former Kahakupohaku Fishpond. It is opposite from McGrew Point, Aiea. Right: The canoe house is in the background

Other fishponds in this area are Loko Kukona and Loko Luakahaole at Waiau close to the Hawaiian Electric Waiau Power Plant and Zippy’s Restaurant. Loko Weloko at Pearl City Peninsula is filled in today (Left: Former site of Weloko Fishpond now paved over with concrete and buildings in the distance). There is a story that in the construction of Loko Weloko a line was formed by people from the site of the construction for a mile in the mauka direction. Stones were passed from one person to the next hand over hand till it reached the construction site of Weloko. It is said that not a single stone had touched the ground till it reach Weloko. This was at a time perhaps in the early 1700s which is an indication that there were substantial numbers of people living in the area of Waiawa, Manana and Waimano. This was before the invasion of Kahekili, Kamehameha and foreign diseases.

 

 

 


1927 aerial photo: Loko Weloko on the right hand side of the Pearl City Peninsula.

Loko Pa’au’au, top left, has been filled in.

Loko Pa’au’au also in Pearl City Peninsula has now been filled in and so is the story of Loko Apala in Waiawa adjacent to Loko Pa’au’au. Loko Pamoku and Loko Okiokilepe are reported to have been destroyed however their outline in the mangroves can be seen by Google Earth on the internet. To access these 2 ponds one needs to get access to the Iroquois Point Naval Magazine. Laulaunui, a little island off the West Loch Homes Subdivision, is also reported to have been a former fishpond. It is however presently overgrown in mangrove.

There are fish structures identified as fish traps rather than fishponds. Such is Kapakule. It is reported to have been used by ancient Hawaiians for catching sharks, large akule, opelu, weke and kawakawa. It had the shape of a tennis racket. Traditions indicate that the gods Kane and Kanaloa with the help of the Menehune built this fishpond. Stories from families living in the area also indicated that there were 2 stones identified as Ku and Hina associated with Pakule. With the dredging of the channel entrance by the Navy in the 20th Century, Ku and Hina were removed from Kapakule and taken to a safe place in deeper water never to be disturbed again.

It is also of interest to note that the first time the entrance was dredged was perhaps 29 generations ago by an Ewa Chief by the name of Keaunui who was the son of Maweke. This becomes much more interesting when considering the travels of his father. Maweke’s voyaging traditions are repeated in the oral traditions of Southwest Native Americans and the stories of the battles between Cortez and Montezuma. It was Maweke who perhaps brought the sweet potato to Honouliuli from which the name of “blue poi” comes from. The sweet potato or uala came from South America. So….it is not surprising that his son Keaunui would be the first person to dredge the entrance of Keawalauopu’uloa to accommodate large canoes.

I will finish with this short story. In an attempt to find some interesting photos to accompany this cultural essay I came away initially feeling both disappointed and somewhat sad. I drove the perimeter of Pu’uloa all the way from Aiea to Iroquois Point looking for at least one lo’i or ancient fishpond that I could share with the readers by way of a photo. I did get help from the Navy to access some fishponds on Navy property. I am very thankful to them. I am also thankful to them for sharing public documents and maps on the progression of urbanization of Pearl City Peninsula.


Pearl City Peninsula fishponds in 1873. Click to enlarge


Pearl City Peninsula fishponds in 1897. Click to enlarge


Current aerial view of Pearl City Peninsula (Google Maps)

Most all of the fishponds were either destroyed, paved over with concrete, filled in or buried in mangrove. Pa’au’au Fishpond in the area of Pearl City Peninsula was turned into a landfill buried in trash.

Kuhialoko Fishpond had what appeared to be long lengths of yellow hoses strung out on the seaward side obviously to catch seeping oil or petroleum from ships anchored close by.

Loko Kuhialoko is beyond berm.  Segment of yellow hose to control oil and petroleum contamination of surrounding wetlands visible to the right

It does not end here but it is best to finish this story on a good note.

I spent 3 days trying to find a good picture. On the last day of the last hour I took a drive onto Waipi’o Peninsula from Waipahu Depot Road. Someone had cleared all of the mangrove that over the years had been growing in Kapakahi Stream in the area of the Honolulu Police Department’s Training Academy. They had also cleared all of the mangrove that was growing in Kaaukuu and Pouhala Fishponds. At one point I also counted 12 endangered Hawaiian Stilt, and one Blue Heron all feeding in the pond. The pond also seemed to be thriving in fish as I saw from a distance one Hawaiian stilt catch what looked like a small fish.

As I approached the edge of the pond I observed a large ripple and splash as hundreds of little fish scattering on my approach. I am not sure if it is City or private property but would like to get a letter to whoever is responsible and commend them. I think this effort can serve as an excellent example or model of what can be done. Maybe one day Waipahu will be known not for sugar but for its flocks of nesting birds at Kaaukuu Fishpond (Right: Several Hawaiian Stilt feeding close to shore in Kaaukuu Fishpond)

 

.

 

 


Restored Kaaukuu Fishpond with former Waipahu Sugar Mill in background

Where once there was black water……..is now blue.
Where once there were few rivers…..are now many.
Where once there were loko i’a ……….is now restored.
Where once there were lo’i kalo…….is now flourishing.
Where once there was no limu……….are now thriving.
Where once there were fossil pearl oyster……..are now alive.
Where once there were no fish………are now abundant.
Where once there were no native birds…….are now many.
Where once there was Ka’ahupahau……..is now home.
Where once there was Kanekua’ana…….has since returned.
Where once there were chiefs….are now visible.
Where once there were no people……….have since returned.
Where once there was no life……..is now hope.


Shad Kane grew up in Wahiawa and later moved to Kalihi where he spent most of his teen years. He attended Kamehameha and graduated from the University of Hawaii. He retired from the Honolulu Police Department in 2000. He is a member of the Kapolei Hawaiian Civic Club and former chair of the Makakilo/Kapolei/Honokai Hale Neighborhood Board, the Kapolei Outdoor Circle, the Friends of Honouliuli, Ka Papa O Kakuhihewa and the Makakilo-Kapolei Lions Club. He is also the Ewa Representative on the O’ahu Island Burial Council and a Native Hawaiian Representative on the Native American Advisory Group (NAAG) to the Advisory Council of Historic Preservation in Washington DC.

Fire ruins special forces mini submarine

Post Date November 11, 2008
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Category Accidents, Ke Awalau o Pu'uloa / Pearl Harbor

A six-hour blaze damaged a special-warfare minisub Sunday

Navy to start probe of sub fire

By Gregg K. Kakesako

POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Nov 11, 2008

The Navy will begin investigating today a battery fire that damaged the nation’s only special-warfare minisub, a costly and problem-plagued stealth boat that was getting a recharge at Pearl Harbor’s 22-acre SEAL facility on Waipio Peninsula.

Advanced SEAL Delivery System minisub

» In service: 1 (Pearl Harbor)

» Length: 65 feet

» Weight: 60 tons

» Crew: Pilot, submarine officer; co-pilot, SEAL officer

» Payload: Up to 16 SEALs

» Mission: Clandestine infiltration

» Range: Classified (at least 115 miles on a battery charge; can dive as deep as 200 feet)

» Transported: Piggyback on the deck of a nuclear attack submarine

Source: U.S. Navy

The Navy has not yet determined the cause of the fire or the extent of damage.

The black, 65-foot Advanced SEAL Delivery System minisub was undergoing routine maintenance in its shore-based facility at 8:30 p.m. Sunday when Navy personnel monitoring the battery recharging process noticed sparks and flames coming from near some of the battery compartments, officials said.

The building was immediately evacuated, and seven trucks and 25 federal firefighters responded but it took six hours to extinguish the fire and cool any remaining hot spots in the battery compartment, the Navy reported yesterday.

A investigation, led by the Naval Special Warfare Command and supported by experts from Naval Sea Systems Command and the Navy Safety Center, was expected to begin today.

The battery-powered minisub, designed to ride piggyback on an attack sub to within range of a hostile coast or other target, has been part of a troubled program that began in 1992. The vessel was delivered to the U.S. Naval Special Warfare Command in 2001 and assigned to Pearl Harbor’s SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team 1 in 2003.

There were initial problems with its propeller system, then problems with the electrical system and batteries.

A 2003 General Accounting Office report said the electrical system repeatedly shorted out and drained its silver-zinc batteries more quickly than the Navy projected. The zinc batteries were replaced with lithium-ion batteries.

The GAO report said the program, which initially called for six vessels, was to cost $527 million but rose to more than $2 billion.

Defense Industry Daily reported in April that “technical, reliability, and 400 percent cost overrun issues proved nearly insuperable.” Plans for six subs were halted in 2006, and the remaining ongoing effort was directed “to boost the performance of the existing sub and complete its operational testing,” the publication said.

The cigar-shaped minisub, which weighs 60 tons, is big enough to accommodate 16 SEALs, including two operators.

Source: http://www.starbulletin.com/news/20081111_Navy_to_start_probe_of_sub_fire.html?page=all&c=y

Nuclear Sub leaked radioactive water for months

Post Date August 01, 2008
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Category Accidents, Environmental Impacts, Guam / Northern Marianas, Ke Awalau o Pu'uloa / Pearl Harbor

August 1, 2008

CNN: Nuclear sub leaked radioactive water in Pacific for months

From Jamie McIntyre and Mike Mount
CNN Pentagon Unit

WASHINGTON (CNN) — Water with trace amounts of radioactivity may have leaked for months from a U.S. Navy nuclear-powered submarine as it traveled around the Pacific to ports in Guam, Japan and Hawaii,Navy officials told CNN on Friday.

The USS Houston arrives in Pearl Harbor for routine maintenance, during which the leak was found.

The USS Houston arrives in Pearl Harbor for routine maintenance, during which the leak was found.

The leak was found on the USS Houston, a Los Angeles-class fast attack submarine, after it went to Hawaii for routine maintenance last month, Navy officials said.

Navy officials said the amount of radiation leaked into the water was virtually undetectable. But the Navy alerted the Japanese government because the submarine had been docked in Japan.

The problem was discovered last month when a build-up of leaking water popped a covered valve and poured onto a sailor’s leg while the submarine was in dry dock.

An investigation found a valve was slowly dripping water from the sub’s nuclear power plant. The water had not been in direct contact with the nuclear reactor, Navy officials said.

Officials with knowledge of the incident could not quantify the amount of radiation leaked but insisted it was “negligible” and an “extremely low level.” The total amount leaked while the sub was in port in Guam, Japan and Hawaii was less than a half of a microcurie (0.0000005 curies), or less than what is found in a 50-pound bag of lawn and garden fertilizer, the officials said.

The sailor who was doused, a Houston crew member, tested negative for radiation from the water, according to Navy officials.

Since March, the Houston had crisscrossed the western Pacific, spending a week in Japan and several weeks in both Guam and Hawaii, Navy officials said.

The Navy on Friday notified the Japanese government of the leak, the officials said, and told them it was possible the ship had been leaking while in port in Sasebo, Japan, in March.

While Japan has agreed to allow U.S. nuclear-powered ships in Japanese ports, the decision was a not popular in Japan.

The Houston incident comes at a time when the Navy is trying to smooth over a problem with a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier.

The USS George Washington was due to replace the aging, conventionally powered USS Kitty Hawk this summer as the United States’ sole carrier based in Japan.

While en route to Japan this May, a massive fire broke out on the George Washington, causing $70 million in damage. The fire was blamed on crew members smoking near improperly stored flammable materials.

There was no damage or threat to the nuclear reactor, but the ship was diverted to San Diego, California, for repairs. It now is expected to arrive in Japan at the end of September.

The Navy this week fired the captain and his deputy, saying an investigation into the fire led to a lack of confidence in the leadership of both men.

Just two weeks ago, thousands of Japanese protested the pending arrival of the George Washington.

War and Peace: The challenges of staging modern-day makahiki celebrations on military lands

Post Date November 01, 2007
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Category Free Makua, Hawaiian Sovereignty, Land, Culture & Human Rights, Kaho'olawe, Ke Awalau o Pu'uloa / Pearl Harbor, Projects and Campaigns

WAR AND PEACE

The challenges of staging modern-day makahiki celebrations on military lands

By Lisa Asato

Publications Editor

Twenty-first century makahiki festivals encounter modern-day challenges, such as coordinating with the military for access and trying to stay true to tradition, but festival organizers at a recent panel discussion said they are undeterred and continue to learn as they go.

“The difficulty organizing our makahiki with the Navy is simply one of ship movements, and given the extreme difficulty of moving the submarines we have to pretty much plan ahead,” said Shad Kane, who has helped coordinate the Moku‘ume‘ume(Ford Island) and Kapuaikaula (Hickam

Air Force Base) festival for about seven years. “There’s been some years where we actually had to slow up, pull alongside and let the sub pass.”

Speaking to a group of about 75 people at the Kamakaküokalani Center for Hawaiian Studies on Oct. 9, Kane and five other panelists covered everything from the relevance of makahiki in modern times to what they envision for future festivals. Scenarios included an island-wide event with shared opening and closing ceremonies and games among the winners of each ahupua‘a.

But a recurring theme was one of challenges and deciding how true to stay to tradition. “Can you have a makahiki with the food you grow in your ahupua‘a, or do you have to go to Costco and buy sweet potatoes?” asked Kaio Camvel, whose wife’s uncle, Sam Lono, revived makahiki at Marine Corps Base Hawai‘i in the late ’70s on the basis of freedom of religion.

The Hawaiian culture is a “living culture,” Camvel said, so it’s OK to reinvent at times. What’s important for the Mökapu festival, he said, is ceremony, welcoming diverse groups and sharing food and mana‘o.

Makahiki, traditionally a four-month-long season of peace, sport and honoring the Hawaiian fertility god,

Lono, starts with the rising at sunset of Makali‘i, or the Pleiades constellation. This year the season begins Nov. 17.

William Ailä of Hui Malama o Mäkua, said the challenges of holding a makahiki in Mäkua center around destruction of the valley, which is an Army training ground, as well as more fundamental questions such as: Am I good enough? Is my ho‘okupu good enough? Is my oli in the correct form?

“The answer to those challenges are found in the wind,” he said. At times, he said, 40 mph winds in the valley have stopped for half an hour while an oli was being chanted, and at other times the breeze will surge and “all of a sudden you get that cool wind pushing from behind.

That’s the demonstration that what you’re doing may not be completely right, but your efforts are being appreciated.”

Makahiki events

Moku‘ume‘ume (Ford Island) and Kapuaikaula(Hickam Air Force Base)

Sat., Nov. 10

At 7:30 a.m. Lono enters harbor in a procession including canoe clubs, with 8:30 a.m.

landing at Moku‘ume‘ume and 11 a.m. landing at Hickam Harbor beach, followed by festivities and games. Access is limited and participants must RSVP in advance to Shad Kane at kiha@hawaii.rr.com

Kualoa Regional

Sat., Nov. 17; setup,

Nov. 16 after 12 p.m.

Sunrise procession followed by games and potluck at 9 a.m. Games are limited to men, and

competitors must provide their own game implements. Attendees must provide their own food and drink and RSVP in advance by email to Umi Kai at ulupono1@gmail.com

Makua Military Reservation

Fri.-Sat., Nov. 16-17

Community access at 9 a.m. Saturday. To participate in the entire ceremony, call William

Ailä at 330-0376 for a training schedule or email ailaw001@hawaii.rr.com. RSVP is required.

Mokapu (Marine Corps Base Hawai‘i)

Fri.-Sun., Nov. 23-25

Processions, games and cabanas to accommodate about 200. Access is limited and participants must RSVP to Kaio Camvel at iolekaa@hawaii.rr.com

Kaho‘olawe

Thurs.-Sun., Nov. 15-18

Open to Kaho‘olawe returnees and cultural practitioners, the 2007 event is now closed as it requires paperwork and orientation to be completed a month in advance. For information on next year’s event, contact Kim Ku‘ulei Birnie of Protect Kaho‘olawe ‘Ohana at kkb@kahoolawe.org,808-383-1651 or visit www.kahoolawe.org/home/?page_id=7

Pearl Harbor and 'Iolani Palace

Post Date September 17, 2007
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Category American Empire, Hawaiian Sovereignty, Land, Culture & Human Rights, Ke Awalau o Pu'uloa / Pearl Harbor

http://hnn.us/articles/41662.html

History News Network

9/17/07

When’s a Palace an Emblem of Democratic Aspirations?

By Ron Briley

Mr. Briley is Assistant Headmaster, Sandia Preparatory School.

A recent visit to Hawaii during the annual meeting of the Pacific Coast Branch of the American Historical Association offered an opportunity to observe the impact of historical narratives well beyond the narrow confines of the history conference papers and sessions. Visits to the Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor and the ‘Iolani Palace, the royal residence constructed by King Kalakaua in 1882, offer contrasting historical narratives regarding the American presence in Hawaii. The Pearl Harbor experience reinforces the popular national notion of American innocence, while the guided tour of the ‘Iolani Palace provides a tale of how the United States government and business interests participated in the overthrow of legitimate Hawaiian authority. Conflicting narratives of American innocence and imperialism in the history of Hawaii obviously have larger implications for how the Untied States is perceived in the world today. Although the long lines at Pearl Harbor, as opposed to the handful of tourists at the Palace, provide ample support for the hegemonic belief in the United States of American innocence.

The Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor remains a moving experience, and the National Park Service does an excellent job of expediting the overflow crowds through the roughly seventy-five minute film and tour. Before the short boat ride to the Memorial, the Park Service seeks to create an atmosphere of reverence and respect amongst the restive tourists with the screening of a twenty-minute film which places the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor within historical context. With the large number of Japanese tourists visiting the Memorial, there is no overt racism in the cinematic narrative. Japan is clearly portrayed as the aggressor in the Pacific, but this is neither due to the Japanese people nor Emperor Hirohito. Rather, the blame for the war is placed upon Japanese militarists, such as Premier Togo, who gained control of the government, invading China and allying with Hitler. On the other hand, Admiral Yamamoto becomes the noble man of the Japanese military, opposing the assault upon Pearl Harbor but executing his mission with precision.

The Americans are depicted as champions of democracy who seek to defend Hawaii, as well as the Philippine Islands and Vietnam, from Japanese conquest. There is no suggestion that the American military presence in Hawaii and the Philippines was motivated by any other concerns than promoting democracy. Of course, the history of American involvement with Hawaii and the Philippines is much more complicated. The U.S. military cooperated with American business interests to overthrow the Hawaiian monarchy, while U.S. Marines fought ferocious battles against Filipino insurgents following American acquisition of the Philippines from Spain in the 1898 Treaty of Paris ending the Spanish-American War.

Visitors to Pearl Harbor are not encouraged to question the reasons for the American presence in the Pacific. A more nuanced interpretation would introduce a note of ambiguity, with which many Americans are uncomfortable, into the perception of American innocence. It is no sign of disrespect to the fallen at Pearl Harbor to seek a better understanding of American foreign policy and the origins of World War II in order to avert future conflicts. It is fair to describe the Japanese as the aggressors at Pearl Harbor, but it misleading to depict the United States as having no economic or political ambitions in the Pacific.

This myth of Pearl Harbor exacerbates the sense of American purity which makes it difficult for many citizens to comprehend the complexities of the modern world. For example, many equate Pearl Harbor and 9/11 as manifestations of assaults upon an innocent America. One does not have to subscribe to the simplistic rhetoric and conclusions of Ward Churchill to recognize that it is crucial for Americans to examine the world view of those who wish to attack the United States. While the 9/11 victims were innocent, the history of American expansionism is more complicated. For example, the post World War II legacy of the U.S. supporting undemocratic regimes has its origins in the Truman Doctrine, for the litmus test of anticommunism all too often placed the United States in alliance with some unsavory bedfellows such as Saddam Hussein or the Shah of Iran.

This more conflicted history of America’s presence on the international stage is provided for Hawaiian tourists who stray from the beaten path and visit the ‘Iolani Palace. Here, visitors are cautioned about demonstrating proper reverence for the past, except this time the respect is for Queen Lili’uokalani whose monarchy was toppled in 1893 by American businessmen in cahoots with the United States Navy. As tourists move through the beautiful palace in their padded booties, they are informed that in 1895 the Queen was placed on trial, in her own throne room, for treason against the newly-constituted Republic of Hawaii, which represented the aspirations of American businessmen, such as Sanford Dole, rather than the indigenous Hawaiian people. The Queen was placed under house arrest for almost a year in a second floor bedroom of the Palace, where she worked on a quilt reflecting themes of Hawaiian sovereignty. Meanwhile, many of the royal furnishings were sold at public auctions by the new government. Lili’uokalani appealed to President Grover Cleveland to oppose a treaty of annexation and restore her monarchy. He said he was appalled by the takeover but five years later the United States backed the conquest of Hawaii. In the favorable expansionist atmosphere fostered by the Spanish-American War, Hawaii was accepted as an American territory, although statehood was not conferred until 1959. Lili’uokalani never regained her throne, and she died in 1917. The ‘Iolani Palace remains a symbol of Hawaiian nationalism and pride.

The narrative of Pearl Harbor is well known, and the Arizona is a worthy memorial and tourist destination. But the story of Lili’uokalani and the ‘Iolani Palace remains off the beaten path. Disregarding the troubled history of the Hawaiian monarchy distorts the American presence in paradise. History never takes a holiday, and an unquestioning acceptance of the American myth of innocence in Hawaii may cloud perceptions of the complicated international milieu in which we live and work.

Snakes on a Plane

Post Date August 23, 2006
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Category Environmental Impacts, Ke Awalau o Pu'uloa / Pearl Harbor, The Military in Hawai'i (All Islands)

Snakes on a plane

Frogs in your plants. Invasive species will find a way. But while Hawai’i bungles the job, New Zealand gets serious.

Joan Conrow
Aug 23, 2006

Hawai’i’s airports and harbors are ticking time bombs-and we’re not talking about the kind that do predictable stuff, like blow up, maim, destroy.

No, this catastrophe in the making is not so simple as that. For one thing, the threats are multi-faceted, and guaranteed to strike without warning, singly or en masse. The lethal agents are tiny-easily disguised and transported, but not so easily detected, hiding in seemingly innocuous places: the standing water on container ships and bilges of luxury liners; the potted plants and bareroot trees of the nursery trade; the landing gear of military planes and cabins of passenger jets; the pallets and parcels bearing everything from everyplace to this remotest spot on Earth.

Like the terrorists our government is constantly warning us about, and fighting in all manner of grisly, desperate ways, they lurk, waiting to invade, with dire consequences and no forewarning. It is these weird viruses, malarial mosquitoes, biting flies, fire ants, poisonous weeds, snakes, funguses, rusts, scales and molds that could quickly plunge this paradise of the Pacific into a living hell.

Welcome to the brave new world of biosecurity. It looks beyond the homeland to the far more critical biosphere, which does, after all, provide the services needed to support life on the planet.

Paula Warren is an expert on the subject, and when she’s not at her home in Wellington, on the South Island of New Zealand, she’s traveling the world advising countries on how they can do biosecurity better. She recently spent two weeks in Hawai’i, at the invitation of the Hawaii Conservation Alliance and met the folks charged with keeping the bio-baddies at bay.

‘The advantage of being an outsider is I can say things perhaps they would be reluctant to say,’ said Warren, principal policy analyst for New Zealand’s Dept. of Conservation, the central government agency responsible for protected areas and species. ‘But doing something about it, that has to come from inside. I struggle to understand American politics and bureaucracy.’

Although Warren is aware of the differences between the New Zealand biosecurity system, which is close to the ideal, and the American system, which is not, there’s no trace of smugness in her observations, which she offered in the cheerful, polite, understated Kiwi way.

‘There is room for improvement,’ she began.

How much room?

‘A lot of the elements of a good biosecurity system are here, but they’re fragmented across lots of different agencies.’

Well, Hawai’i catches about 1 percent of the stuff it’s trying to keep out. New Zealand, on the other hand, nails 95 percent. Even Chile and the Galapagos Islands are more vigilant than the Aloha State.

‘A lot of the elements of a good biosecurity system are here, but they’re fragmented across lots of different agencies,’ Warren explained. ‘Whether it’s fixable or not is another question. But I’m certainly not getting the sense that it’s hopeless.’

The problem isn’t lazy or uncaring workers. ‘What I’m finding among the people who work on this is a high desire to cooperate more effectively and a willingness to find ways to work outside their existing mandate,’ Warren said. ‘Within each agency, I found lots of enthusiastic people basically making the best of a bad situation, dealing with a lack of resources, legal authority, technology.’

Nor is it insufficient funding. ‘Overall, Hawai’i is probably spending enough on biosecurity,’ she said. ‘But it’s not being spent in the right places. It’s just being spent reactively.’

For instance, $50 million is spent each year on termite damage and control. ‘Wouldn’t it be nice if that money was used on prevention or eradication?’ she asked. ‘Instead, it’s used on suffering the consequences.’

Warren also noticed a lot of no-brainer prevention measures are missing in the Islands, although she is far too professional to use such a term. Instead, she provided a compelling example: Because New Zealand wants to keep out malaria, which is carried by mosquitoes, ‘You can’t bring in wet things, like tires, and standing water can’t enter.’ Hawai’i, on the other hand, has no such rules.

Nor can you deliberately import anything into New Zealand that will displace native species. That’s a concept that has yet to take hold in Hawai’i, where many conservationists consider invasive species the number one environmental threat, contributing to the state’s dubious distinction as the world’s endangered species capitol. Apparently the Southern Hemisphere has affected the Kiwis’ way of doing things, which seems the exact opposite of the Northern Hemisphere American approach.

In New Zealand, conservation groups ‘are essentially piggybacking’ on strict environmental protection efforts driven by business, tourism and agricultural interests, as well as the health ministry, because they recognize that alien pests and diseases are a drain on the nation’s economy. ‘In the end, it’s the economic groups in New Zealand that have created the biosecurity system,’ she said.

By comparison-and these are not Warren’s observations-U.S. environmental policy is largely determined by special interest groups, enforced through lawsuits brought by conservationists, then undermined by anti-green political appointees in regulatory agencies.

‘Litigation is not a big part of the New Zealand mentality,’ Warren said. ‘What the public does is encourage the agencies to do something, pressure them to take steps to change or review the system. There’s very strong scrutiny of what the agencies are doing.’

The military, too, plays a very different role in New Zealand, where it assists with marine mammal surveys, fisheries enforcement and invasive weed control, rather than seeking exemptions to national environmental laws, as the U.S. military is wont to do.

‘That does seem to be an issue here,’ Warren observed. ‘Pearl Harbor is the dirtiest piece of water in the state when it comes to invasive species.’ New Zealand’s armed forces, on the other hand, are required to abide by all environmental laws.

‘The military can be a positive as well as a negative,’ she noted. ‘It’s a matter of accepting that biosecurity is as large an issue to public safety as terrorism, and I don’t think your government understands that.’

‘Overall, Hawai’i is probably spending enough on biosecurity. But it’s not being spent in the right places. It’s just being spent reactively.’

Personally, Warren doesn’t see much difference in dying from a suicide bomb blast or malarial mosquito bite. ‘In the end, if you’re dead, you’re dead.’

Warren was surprised to discover in Hawai’i ‘there’s no way to stop the military from transporting things across the state because they are bound by federal, not state, laws.’

Those turf battles aren’t waged in New Zealand, which has a central system of government. Its Biosecurity Ministry oversees everything related to health, conservation, agriculture and biological resources, Warren explained. ‘And then there are a number of coordinating mechanisms to make sure they’re acting on behalf of everyone.’

Salvinia molesta once filled Lake Wilson. In 2003, it took the state a month to remove the invasive plant from the body of water.

The next layer of authority lies at the regional level, which deals with localized pests, individual landowners and private farms. ‘Under our system, it’s quite clear to see who is accountable for what,’ she said.

Standing in stark contrast is Hawai’i’s system, which Warren characterized as ‘fragmented and poorly coordinated.’ She added, ‘Frequently, agencies aren’t able to easily get together and decide how to handle pests.’

In New Zealand, the course of action is clear. ‘We get something in, we eradicate it. If eradication is not feasible, we try to contain, then control it, to protect other parts of the system. ‘

And New Zealand workers have the authority to carry out their plan of attack, she said. They can confiscate goods, force persons to assist their efforts, prevent vehicle movement and go on private land to deal with a biosecurity threat.

‘We have our own frustrations, but the sense we’re moving forward is much stronger,’ Warren observed. ‘In New Zealand, the momentum is within the system. In Hawai’i, it’s mostly built by individuals working against the system to get around the problems. So you lose it if that person changes jobs, or retires.’

That’s a concern to Warren, who said, ‘A lot of the people I’ve been talking to in Hawai’i are not that young. It’s time to be identifying and mentoring the future leaders. It’s a risk that new enthusiastic people will give up because they get sick of dealing with the bureaucracy. And you can’t really afford to have that happen when [you] have a system that’s very dependent on people, rather than processes.’

While in the Islands, Warren met with more than a dozen groups and agencies involved in conservation, inspection and quarantine work-the federal and state departments of agriculture, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, state Department of Land and Natural Resources, Maui County environmental services office, The Nature Conservancy and Bishop Museum among them- and still barely scratched the surface.

‘There are so many issues that more people are getting involved, which in a way is good,’ Warren noted. ‘But the problem is, now there are more and more agencies working in this fragmented jigsaw model.

‘It’s a matter of accepting that biosecurity is as large an issue to public safety as terrorism, and I don’t think your government understands that.’

‘There doesn’t seem to be the ability to look at the big picture and see what needs to be done,’ which is where Warren, with her expertise and outsider status, comes in.

So what is Warren’s prescription for bringing Hawai’i’s ailing biosecurity system into some semblance of good health?

‘I’m going to be making some recommendations on improvement, but at a fairly general level because I don’t understand the finer points of your system,’ she said. ‘And I also think there’s some very good things here that need to be cherished and expanded on.’
Coqui frog

Warren gave high marks to the state’s invasive species committee program, which has task forces on each island coordinating with various groups and agencies to prioritize and then eradicate targeted invasive species.

‘And everyone recognizes interisland quarantine is needed,’ she added.

That leads to another sticky issue, the so-called Superferry, which is expected to increase the movement of goods and vehicles between islands. The company’s plan for handling inspections has not been fully disclosed, and Warren said it appears there’s inadequate space for an inspection system at the crowded harbors where the ferries will dock.

She also noted that New Zealand still has not resolved all the inspection and quarantine issues associated with its own rail ferry system, which allows railroad cars, as well as people and motor vehicles, to pass freely between the North and South Islands.

Still, Warren pointed out, Maui has done a good job of keeping out pests at its expanded airport, even though many people were worried that direct overseas flights would bring more alien species to the island. ‘The example at Maui shows you can do something if you put your mind to it.’

Overall, Warren said, ‘the basic elements of the system are sitting there, waiting to be plugged in, and there’s a lot of enthusiasm among individuals. I truly think the system will improve because people want it to.

‘But there’s a real risk of lots of serious losses in the meantime,’ she warned. ‘Often it’s the major losses that make people say, ‘oh my God, we’ve got to do something.’ But by that time, unfortunately, it’s often too late.’

Source: http://honoluluweekly.com/cover/2006/08/snakes-on-a-plane-2/

Navy wife arrested over baby's death in Hawai'i

Post Date January 16, 2006
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Category Ke Awalau o Pu'uloa / Pearl Harbor

http://www.kitv.com/news/6164302/detail.html

Woman Arrested In Ohio Over Baby’s Death In Hawaii

Authorities Say Mother Smothered Infant

POSTED: 5:22 pm HST January 16, 2006

HONOLULU — Authorities arrested a military wife in Ohio wanted for the murder of her baby in Hawaii.

It involves a cold case from a few years ago. Initially authorities didn’t have enough evidence to go forward with a murder charge, but new evidence has come to light and a federal grand jury indicted the woman last month, a source close to the investigation said.

Nina Manning, 25, was placed in custody at an Akron, Ohio, jail. Akron police arrested Manning Friday after U.S. marshals in Hawaii alerted Ohio authorities of the federal warrant for her arrest.

Manning is accused of smothering her infant child to death while living in Pearl Harbor Navy housing in 2002, then trying to cover it up.

From Hawaii, Manning and her family moved to Georgia. There, according to a source, her other children were taken into custody by state authorities.

Manning was living in Ohio with relatives when she was arrested Friday, sources said.

Domestic violence experts said many people find themselves overwhelmed when faced with parenthood, but they say there are community resources to help.

“It is hard to ask for help, but it could save a life. I think they can call anonymously to certain agencies,” said Nancy Kreidman, of the Domestic Violence Clearing House.

Sailor's deal angers relative of slain women

Post Date May 08, 2003
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Category Ke Awalau o Pu'uloa / Pearl Harbor

Thursday, May 8, 2003

Sailor’s deal angers relative of slain women

The brother/son of the victims is upset that their killer avoids the death penalty

By Gregg K. Kakesako
gkakesako@starbulletin.com

A Singapore man whose sister and mother were killed last summer by a Pearl Harbor sailor is outraged by a plea agreement that limits the admitted killer’s jail time to 30 years.

Kasti Ahmad told the Star-Bulletin by e-mail yesterday that his family was never consulted about the agreement Navy prosecutors made with Petty Officer 2nd Class David DeArmond.

The agreement allowed DeArmond to escape a possible death sentence for killing his wife, Zaleha DeArmond, and his mother-in-law, Saniah Binte Abdul Ghani.

“I am outraged at the plea agreement and the extremely short time that the deal was made without even informing me,” said Ahmad. “Getting a conviction without the usual sentence is a total sellout. I think this is a deal of convenience to shorten the process and to protect other negligent circumstances that led to the death.”

Ahmad added that such a deal would have never happened in Singapore, where his sister, Zaleha DeArmond, and their mother, Abdul Ghani, are from and which is known for its strict judicial system.

DeArmond, 33, a 14-year Navy veteran, agreed to plead guilty to the murder of his mother-in-law and the voluntary manslaughter of his wife.

The plea agreement was accepted Monday by Navy Capt. Michael Hinkley, the military judge presiding over DeArmond’s court-martial. The murder conviction has a maximum sentence of life, while a maximum sentence for manslaughter is 15 years.

However, Lt. Cmdr. James Lucci, the Navy’s lead prosecutor, told Ahmad in an e-mail dated Saturday that the plea agreement limits the maximum prison time to 30 years.

Lucci said in the e-mail: “This agreement is very advantageous for us, the government as well as the defense. We are now guaranteed a conviction for murder, which removes the uncertainty and chance associated with any contested trial.”

It also meant that DeArmond would not face the death penalty, which is not allowed under state law but is permissible in the military.

However, Lucci acknowledged that DeArmond could spend less time in jail because he still has to be sentenced by a jury of at least five sailors and officers.

That will take place during the first week in June.

“Although HT2 (hull technician 2nd class) DeArmond has signed an agreement to limit his sentence to 30 years,” Lucci said, “the military court may sentence him to a shorter or longer sentence.”

However, under the plea agreement, the military judge would have to set aside any prison time longer than 30 years.

Lucci recommended that Ahmad and his family attend the June session to say how “the loss has affected them.” Ahmad said he plans to attend. He also said custody of his sister’s three children should be granted to his family. The children are in a foster home.

Zaleha DeArmond and her mother were killed on the second floor of her townhouse in the early morning hours of June 10 during a domestic argument.

Forensic evidence presented during pretrial hearings disclosed David DeArmond hit his wife about four or five times with an iron skillet.

His mother-in-law tried to stop the argument by attacking DeArmond with a steak knife, which he took away from her and used to stab her 10 times.

Source: http://archives.starbulletin.com/2003/05/08/news/story6.html

Sailor admits to killing wife, having sex with his wife's dead body

Post Date May 05, 2003
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Category Ke Awalau o Pu'uloa / Pearl Harbor

Sailor admits to killing wife, mother-in-law

By B.J. Reyes
ASSOCIATED PRESS

8:03 p.m., May 5, 2003

PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii – A sailor on Monday tearfully admitted to fatally beating his wife with an iron skillet and stabbing his mother-in-law to death at the couple’s home last year.

Petty Officer 2nd Class David A. DeArmond, 32, pleaded guilty to charges of murder, voluntary manslaughter and abuse of a corpse in exchange for prosecutors dropping charges of premeditated murder, which could have resulted in the death penalty.

DeArmond admitted having sex with his wife’s dead body.

Prosecutors dropped charges of attempted rape and obstruction.

“I just want to say I’m sorry for what I’ve done,” DeArmond said. “I accept responsibility.”

The murder charge carries a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.

A military jury will decide DeArmond’s sentence. That phase of his general court martial is scheduled to begin in early June.

Attorneys declined comment after Monday’s hearing.

DeArmond’s Singapore-born wife, Zaleha, 31, and her mother, Saniah Binte Abdul Ghani, 66, were found dead June 10 in the couple’s home in a Navy housing complex at Pearl Harbor.

Witnesses testified at a pretrial hearing that the relationship between DeArmond and his wife was strained.

At Monday’s hearing, DeArmond testified that he hit his wife with a skillet during a confrontation in the pre-dawn hours of June 10.

He then testified that his mother-in-law tried to intervene and swung at him with a steak knife, which he disarmed her of and used to stab her.

Though Hawaii doesn’t have the death penalty, murder can be a capital offense under military law depending on the recommendation of the presiding judge.

Source: http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/military/20030505-2003-navy-doubleslaying.html

Sailor faces execution

Post Date January 09, 2003
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Category Ke Awalau o Pu'uloa / Pearl Harbor

Thursday, January 9, 2003

Pearl sailor faces execution

The Navy petty officer is accused of killing his Singapore-born wife and mother-in-law

By Gregg K. Kakesako
gkakesako@starbulletin.com

Navy prosecutors will seek the death penalty against a Pearl Harbor sailor who they say killed his Singapore-born wife and her mother.

Rear Adm. Robert Conway, commander of Navy Region Hawaii, decided yesterday that Navy Petty Officer David DeArmond will be court-martialed for allegedly killing his second wife, Zaleha DeArmond, 31, and her mother, Saniah Binte Abdul Ghani, 66, on June 10.

DeArmond, 31, is accused of killing his wife by hitting her on the head with a skillet during an argument in the couple’s two-story home while their three children slept a few feet away. In the second premeditated-murder charge, DeArmond is accused of repeatedly stabbing his mother-in-law with a knife.

DeArmond also is charged with attempting to rape his wife, abusing her body and destroying, tampering and moving evidence from the couple’s townhouse on Leal Place outside Pearl Harbor’s Nimitz Gate.

If prosecutors are successful in seeking the death penalty, DeArmond would be the first Hawaii service member to be executed since statehood.

The Navy said a service member convicted of a capital crime would be executed with a lethal injection administered at Fort Leavenworth, Kan.

Dwight Sullivan, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union in Maryland who specializes in military capital crime cases, said that since 1950 “there have been no executions from court martials held in Hawaii.”

Sullivan said military capital crime cases have been “very rare” since 1997, when the option of life without parole became a possibility.

“Capital crime cases are very expensive,” Sullivan said, “and very difficult to try.”

DeArmond’s court-martial could come within 90 days. Under military regulations, the case must be tried before a panel of at least five military members.

Earle Partington, a local lawyer who specializes in military cases, said the military generally evokes the death penalty in “very heinous cases.

“The classic cases generally involve multiple homicides,” Partington said, “with a rape involved in the crime.”

Partington said he cannot recall any military member being charged with a capital crime since he moved here in 1975.

There are now six men — three Marines and three soldiers — awaiting execution at Leavenworth’s U.S. Disciplinary Barracks. All six on the military’s death row were convicted of premeditated murder or felony murder.

The National Law Journal reports that 35 people have been executed by the Army since 1916. The last military execution was held April 13, 1961, when Army Private John Bennett was hanged after being convicted of rape and attempted murder.

In 1983, the Armed Forces Court of Appeals held in U.S. v. Matthews that military capital sentencing procedures were unconstitutional for failing to require a finding of individualized aggravating circumstances.

In 1984, the death penalty was reinstated when President Ronald Reagan signed an executive order adopting detailed rules for capital courts-martial. Among the rules was a list of 11 aggravating factors that qualify defendants for death sentences.

Only the president has the power to commute a death sentence, and no service member can be executed unless the president personally confirms the death penalty.

Capital punishment was abolished in Hawaii in 1957. However, debate over the issue was renewed recently when a state senator said he would propose that the death penalty be reinstated when a child is murdered.

During a pretrial hearing held in November, witnesses testified that DeArmond believed that his Singapore-born wife was seeing sailors whom she met at a Pearl Harbor “single sailors’ bar,” where she worked as a waitress.

Jeanette William-Wallace, DeArmond’s first wife, testified that DeArmond was afraid to divorce his second wife because he was fearful that she would leave him and flee to Singapore, taking with her the couple’s children, Danny, 5, Courtney, 3, and Brandon, 2. The children are now living with foster parents.

DeArmond, 33, is a hull technician assigned to the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard.

His wife’s family members in Singapore have said they thought that she wanted to leave her husband because he was abusive.

She met DeArmond in San Diego while on a trip, and the two were married in 1996. Saniah was killed a day before she was supposed to return to Singapore.

Zaleha DeArmond’s 90-year-old father also had been living with the couple until he returned to Singapore in January.

Zaleha DeArmond had sought a restraining order May 3, saying her husband trashed the dining table until it broke, threw away the Quran, tossed their wedding photo in the toilet and threatened her.

DeArmond’s current enlistment was supposed to expire on Dec. 7 but has been placed on hold pending the outcome of the double homicide charges. He has been in the Navy for 13 years.
Schofield held execution in 1947

Star-Bulletin staff

One of the last reported military executions here occurred in 1947 at Schofield Barracks.

On April 22, 1947, Army Pvt. Garlon Mickles, 19, was hanged for beating and raping a female War Department employee on Guam a year earlier. “Death came 20 minutes after the trap door was sprung,” the Honolulu Star-Bulletin reported, noting the soldier mounted the Schofield Barracks gallows at 6:45 a.m. at a place called execution gulch.

The newspaper reported the Missouri man seemed to have accepted his fate: His final hours were spent in “gay spirits,” the provost marshal said. At 5:30 a.m., Mickles sat in the Schofield Barracks stockade eating sweet rolls and drinking coffee.

On the gallows, when he thought the noose was properly placed around his neck, Mickles made a last request to the guards: that his mother be informed he “died like a man.”

Source: http://archives.starbulletin.com/2003/01/09/news/story1.html

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