With support from the University of Richmond

History News Network

History News Network puts current events into historical perspective. Subscribe to our newsletter for new perspectives on the ways history continues to resonate in the present. Explore our archive of thousands of original op-eds and curated stories from around the web. Join us to learn more about the past, now.

Preserving One of Hawaii's Internment Camps

It was a dark chapter in Hawaii's history. Island residents were removed from their homes and put into internment camps during World War II.

Sixty-five years later, former captives remember the day when the gates to their camp opened.

Approximately 300 Hawaii residents, most of them American citizens, were sent to the Honouliuli internment camp in 1943. Now, more than 6 decades after their release, the area could soon become a national historic site.

Being at the Honouliuli camp site touched the lives of many including former internee Harry Urata. He says he has forgiven and forgotten the treatment he had endured at the site and hopes Honouliuli can be preserved to educate others about the impacts of war.

"After the war everything is peace and all that. We're going to forget. To the generation after us, they got to remember what happened, that's important," said former internee Harry Urata.

During an archeological site survey, plate fragments were found, along with insulation from a water pipe both in the administration area of the site. Researchers believe it's important to continue looking for more evidence of how people spent their time at the Honouliuli camp site.

What you're doing then is showing more clearly how people lived what they were doing, how they coped, how they were confined. It makes the story a lot more real," said Archeologist Mary Farrell.
Read entire article at http://www.khnl.com