Hawaii Chronicles III: World War Two in Hawaii from the Pages of Paradise of the Pacific

“Tourists” in Denim

“Tourists” in Denim DR. CLARENCE LEWIS HODGE E The defense boom in Hawaii, with its attractive wages and island glamour, has caused thousands of war workers from the mainland and other parts of the world to flock to Hawaii to work on war projects. Skilled and unskilled labor, they come from all walks of life and from every state in the Union and many foreign countries. Several thousand come from the sugarcane and pineapple plantations of the outer islands, and others from Honolulu and rural areas on Oahu. The number of war workers in Hawaii cannot be revealed for military reasons, but the islands teem with workers of all races, colors, creeds, and skills. They are here with one objective in mind—work to help Uncle Sam make this Pacific bastion safe from attack. An adventuresome and picturesque group dressed in their blue or brown work clothes, wearing reddish tin hats and little round identification badges on their shirts—they are the men who service and repair and keep the armed forces in first class fighting condition. Perplexing problems face these thousands of war workers who have come to Hawaii to help the government build a fighting fortress for freedom. Being thrown into a strange community operating under wartime conditions, away from home, family, and friends, and living in crowded construction camps, some of which are ill equipped to take care of the physical and mental needs of the men, have led to some discomforts and “gripes.” Inadequate housing and recreation facilities, poor food, delays in mail, costs of living, time off from work to shop, crowded transportation and shopping facilities, blackout and curfew laws, liquor, gasoline , and tire restrictions, lack of social contacts—these are only a few causes for complaints aired by war workers. But war workers in typical American fashion have taken these 84 First published November 1942. inconveniences in their stride, griped a bit, then laughed them off and gone on with their major task of helping to win the war. War workers may be divided into two major occupational groups: those working for the U.S. government, and those employed by private construction companies. The majority are single men between the ages of twenty and thirty-five. Because of the nature of the work, there are comparatively few women employed on war projects. Construction work is essentially a man’s job, although there are several hundred efficient war working women employed in the offices of the army and navy and in private construction firms. They are engaged mostly as secretaries, clerks, typists, bookkeepers, telephone operators, nurses and nurse’s aides. These thousands of skilled and unskilled workers are employed on a hive of war projects: naval stations, army camps, marine barracks, industrial shops, radio stations, docks and yards, ammunition depots, and at a host of other defense units springing up like mushrooms throughout the entire Hawaiian archipelago. Working twenty-four hours a day in three eight-hour shifts, this legion of men has, since the December 7 attack, literally transformed the topography of Hawaii into an arsenal for both defensive and offensive action. They have built gun emplacements and machine-gun nests, air raid shelters and ammunition dumps, machine shops and warehouses, barbed wire entanglements, barracks and recreation centers, and in addition, have serviced and repaired war equipment. Millions of dollars have been spent on war projects in Hawaii, and today with the nation at war, production, personnel, and payrolls have been accelerated in all departments to meet the needs of our fighting forces in action. Without these men in overalls who service and repair, Hawaii would be useless as a military and naval base.War workers in Hawaii are as vital to victory as the men who man the guns. To house and feed and provide recreation for the thousands of workers living at construction camps is a sizable task in itself. But the army and navy and private construction companies have handled the problem this way. War workers (with families) who are employed at Pearl Harbor and Hickam Field live in civilian defense housing units that have been constructed for them by the army and navy. War!—1942 85 The family units, built for permanent use, are attractively planned and are furnished with the most modern equipment. Since the attack, many wives and children living in these areas have been sent back to the mainland for safekeeping. At some other projects...