Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 12, Number 9, 1 September 1995 — Our Readers Write [ARTICLE]

Our Readers Write

Hui Panalā'au In your last issue there was an article, "Hui e nā hui!" (calling to) Hawaiian clubs. We of the "Hui Panalā'au" would like to reactivate, as we were very active prior to World War II and during the war but drifted apart when peaee was declared. In the early 1930s we young Hawaiian kids were selected to colonize the equatorial islands such as Jarvis, Howland and Baker for the Department of the Interior, just to hold the islands until sovereignty was established. Later on, Canton and Enderbury islands were included. Due to hazards and hardships in living, the personnel was rotated every six months. Because we were a select group, we formed the "Hui Panalā'au" club. When Amelia Earhart failed to reach her destination on Howland Island in 1937, these islands became a very

important part of the Territory of Hawai'i, (conscious of) a strong possibility of war with Japan. We are all up in the 70s and 80s by now and I don't know who ean and will ramrod this organization of the Hui Panalā'au but I could be contacted by writing to me at 1521 Willow Rd., Hutchinson, KS 67502-2613 to see who will volunteer to head this group in the State of Hawai'i. Aloha 'oukou. Samuel K. A. Kahalewai Hutchinson, Kansas