EP 870-1-51 U.5. Army Engineers in Hawaii: An Inventory of Records before 1948 Located in Record Group 338 National Archives and Records Administration Archives II College Park, Maryland Prepared by Donald T. Fitzgerald Donita M. Moorhus Ruth E. Heller Chadwick Fleming for Office of History and Environmental Division Headquarters, U.S. Army Corps ofEngineers August 1997 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data United States . Army. Corps of Engineers . Honolulu District. U.S. Army Engineers in Hawaii : an inventory of records before 1948: located in Record Group 338, National Archives and Records Administration Archives II, College Park, Maryland / prepared by Donald T. Fitzgerald . .. [et al.], for Office of History and Environmental Division, Headquarters, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers . p. cm. Includes bibliographical references . I . United States . Army. Corps of Engineers . Honolulu District- Archives . 2. World War, 1939-1945-Campaigns-Pacific Area Archives. 1. Fitzgerald, Donald T. II . United States . Army. Corps of Engineers. Office of History. III . United States . Army. Corps of Engineers. Environmental Division . IV. United States . National Archives and Records Administration . V. Title. Z6207.W8U423 1997 [D767.9] 016.94054'26-dc2 I 97-1438 CIP EP 870-I-51 Approved for public release, distribution is unlimited. U .S. Army Engineers in Hawaii Foreword These little known records are a treasure-trove ofuseful information about the Corps of Engineers' construction in the Pacific Ocean region. Some of the files included in this inventory contain correspondence relating to projects dating from the 1920s and 1930s, such as territorial airfield construction, creation and inventory of roads and trails, creation ofthe network of coastal defense guns with its railroad logistical support system, and a string of island airfields from Hawaii to Australia initially intended to ferry aircraft to General MacArthur's Philippine air force. The specificity of the information and the wide range of sites included in this inventory will enable environmental researchers to quickly identify records worth examining. Use of this inventory should help researchers save time and money by showing them what is in this collection and where the relevant documents in it are located. This inventory is part of a larger series of records located in the National Archives at College Park, Maryland, and as such, reflect only a small percentage of possibly useful records there. This inventory represents ajoint effort of the Formerly Used Defense Sites team of the Environmental Division, the Office ofHistory, both ofHeadquarters, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the staffof the National Archives, which made the records available for inventorying and advised on this publication. It is one of several publications designed to help environmental researchers complete their studies. OTIS WILLIAMS Colonel, Corps of Engineers Chief of Staff An Inventory of Records before 1948 U.S . Army Engineers in Hawaii Preface The scope of this inventory is limited to the records of the U.S. Army Engineers that were retired as part ofthe general correspondence records of the U.S . Forces, Middle Pacific, (MIDPAC) and located in Record Group 338, Archives II, National Archives and Records Administration, College Park, Maryland. These MIDPAC records contain materials dated prior to World War II because the command incorporated -and retired-records from preceding organizations. Some engineer records created prior to or during World War II may be located elsewhere, but this is a large and diverse collection. Several people helped complete this project. Ruth E. Heller and Chadwick Fleming diligently completed the inventory. Donita M. Moorhus edited and formatted the inventory. Richard Boylan, then chief of the Military Branch at National Archives and Records Administration facility in Suitland, Maryland, helped all ofus. Dr. Martin Gordon at the Office ofHistory provided guidance and support throughout the project. We hope that researchers will find the inventory of records useful. Donald T. Fitzgerald December 1996 An Inventory of Records before 1948 U .S. Army Engineers in Hawaii Contents Foreword . .i Preface . .iii Introduction . Vii The Honolulu Engineer District . vii A History of the Records . ix Using this Inventory . x Subjects and Topics . x Places, Installations, and Geographic Designations . xiii Abbreviations . xv Inventory . 1 Section 1 : Boxes G-46 through G-48 . 1 Section 2: Boxes G-285 through G-495 . 3 Section 3 : Boxes G-574 through G-676 . 195 Section 4: Boxes G-984 through G-1001 . 251 An Inventory of Records before 1948 U.S. Army Engineers in Hawaii Introduction The Honolulu Engineer District The U.S . Army Corps of Engineers established the Honolulu Engineer District in 1905.' Until World War II the district concentrated on constructing, maintaining, and improving rivers and harbors; flood control projects; administering programs such as the Works Progress Administration; and constructing roads, trails, coastal gun emplacements, and other projects requested by military commanders. On 16 March 1942, in accordance with a directive from the Secretary ofWar dated 28 February, the commanding general ofthe Hawaiian Department assumed complete jurisdiction over and responsibility for military construction activities, including administration of existing construction contracts. The commander delegated these responsibilities to the department's engineer officer. A week later a special order from the Office ofthe Chief ofEngineers named this officer the district engineer of the Honolulu Engineer District and assigned him responsibility for the civil works activities ofthe district.' During the war Army engineers in Hawaii operated under three organizations . " On July 1943 the small, peacetime Hawaiian Department was reorganized and expanded into the United States Army Forces, Central Pacific Area under the command of Lieutenant General Robert C. Richardson, Jr. " The following July this command was renamed the United States Army Forces, Pacific Ocean Area, with responsibilities stretching from the Aleutian Islands southward to New Zealand and from offshore waters of the American mainland westward to a hypothetical boundary of Japan and the China coast. " The final wartime reorganization occurred on 1 August 1945 when the Pacific Ocean Area command became the United States Army Forces, Middle Pacific, (MIDPAC). With the subsequent end of histilities, MIDPAC's facilities and areas of responsibilities were gradually reduced.' On 1 July 1946 the responsibility for new military construction and real estate activities in this area was transferred from the overseas Army commander back to 'General Order No. 12, 1905, Office of the ChiefofEngineers. Special Order No. 62, 23 March 1942, Office ofthe Chief ofEngineers. 'War Department Theater Histories, The Army in the Pacific Ocean Areas; Histories of United States Forces in Middle Pacific and Predecessor Commands During World War11, 7 December 1941-2, Septemher 1945, Prepared by Historical Subsection, G-2 HUSAF1vMPAC, 1-3. An Inventory of Records before 1948 the chief of engineers, who assigned that responsibility to the Honolulu Engineer District. Under Corps ofEngineers command, the district performed these functions for the local Army command (and also for the Air Force command after it was established as a separate service) until 31 July 1950. The district continued to carry out its functions connected with the civil works program. Effective 1 August 1950 the Honolulu Engineer District was redesignated the Honolulu Area Engineer Office ofthe San Francisco Engineer District with no change in responsibilities ." Before 1942 the Honolulu Engineer District had operated under the South Pacific Division, San Francisco. From 1942 to 1946 the civil works activities ofthe district were under the Pacific Division, Salt Lake City and San Francisco (1944); from 1946 to 1950 it was under the Western Ocean Division, Sausalito, California; and in 1950 it was placed under the South Pacific Division, Oakland, California." The Army Engineer Division, Pacific Ocean, was established on 3 June 1957 with jurisdiction over the Honolulu, Far East, and Okinawa districts.' Several histories of the engineer wartime activities have been written. The basic history ofthe Honolulu Engineer District is Ellen van Hoften's History ofthe Honolulu Engineer District, 1905-1965, which the district published in 1970. The definitive history ofthe Army engineers in the Pacific theater during World War 11 is The Technical Services, The Corps ofEngineers: The War Against Japan, by Karl C. Dod, published in 1987 by the U.S. Army Center ofMilitary History, Washington, D. C. The War Department Theater Histories, The Army in the Pacific Ocean Areas; History of United States ForcesMiddle Pacific and Predecessor Commands During World War II, 7 December 1941-2 September 1945 contains a three volume history of the MIDPAC Engineer Section. "The Honolulu District and Pearl Harbor" by Lieutenant Colonel Willard P . McCrone is a typewritten manuscript dated December 1949. The three-volume history Historical Review, Corps ofEngineers, United States Army, Covering Operations During World War II, Pacific Ocean Area was prepared to comply with a directive from Lieutenant Colonel Henry E. Helmholdt, Historical Officer, Headquarters, U.S . Army Forces, Middle Pacific. Eugene P. Dashiell prepared a complete index of the three volumes in January 1988 ; a revision