[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 109 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 109

Acknowledging and honoring brave young men from Hawaii who enabled the 
    United States to establish and maintain jurisdiction in remote 
 equatorial islands as prolonged conflict in the Pacific led to World 
                                War II.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 24, 2015

    Mr. Schatz (for himself and Ms. Hirono) submitted the following 
    resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Acknowledging and honoring brave young men from Hawaii who enabled the 
    United States to establish and maintain jurisdiction in remote 
 equatorial islands as prolonged conflict in the Pacific led to World 
                                War II.

Whereas in the mid-19th century, the Guano Islands Act (48 U.S.C. 1411 et seq.) 
        enabled companies from the United States to mine guano from a number of 
        islands in the Equatorial Pacific;
Whereas after several decades, when the guano was depleted, the companies 
        abandoned mining activities, and the control of the islands by the 
        United States diminished and left the islands vulnerable to exploitation 
        by other nations;
Whereas the Far East during the late 19th century and early 20th century was 
        characterized by colonial conflicts and Japanese expansionism;
Whereas the 1930s marked the apex of the sphere of influence of Imperial Japan 
        in the Far East;
Whereas military and commercial interest in Central Pacific air routes between 
        Australia and California led to a desire by the United States to claim 
        the islands of Howland, Baker, and Jarvis, although the ownership of the 
        islands was unclear;
Whereas in 1935, a secret Department of Commerce colonization plan was 
        instituted, aimed at placing citizens of the United States as colonists 
        on the remote islands of Howland, Baker, and Jarvis;
Whereas to avoid conflicts with international law, which prevented colonization 
        by active military personnel, the United States sought the participation 
        of furloughed military personnel and Native Hawaiian civilians in the 
        colonization project;
Whereas William T. Miller, Superintendent of Airways at the Department of 
        Commerce, was appointed to lead the colonization project, traveled to 
        Hawaii in February 1935, met with Albert F. Judd, Trustee of Kamehameha 
        Schools and the Bishop Museum, and agreed that recent graduates and 
        students of the Kamehameha School for Boys would make ideal colonists 
        for the project;
Whereas the ideal Hawaiian candidates were candidates who could ``fish in the 
        native manner, swim excellently, handle a boat, be disciplined, 
        friendly, and unattached'';
Whereas on March 30, 1935, the United States Coast Guard Cutter Itasca departed 
        from Honolulu Harbor in great secrecy with 6 young Hawaiian men aboard, 
        all recent graduates of Kamehameha Schools, and 12 furloughed Army 
        personnel, whose purpose was to occupy the barren islands of Howland, 
        Baker, and Jarvis in teams of 5 for 3 months;
Whereas in June 1935, after a successful first tour, the furloughed Army 
        personnel were ordered off the islands and replaced with additional 
        Kamehameha Schools alumni, thus leaving the islands under the exclusive 
        occupation of the 4 Native Hawaiians on each island;
Whereas the duties of the colonists while on the island were to record weather 
        conditions, cultivate plants, maintain a daily log, record the types of 
        fish that were caught, observe bird life, and collect specimens for the 
        Bishop Museum;
Whereas the successful year-long occupation by the colonists directly enabled 
        President Franklin D. Roosevelt to issue Executive Order 7368 on May 13, 
        1936, which proclaimed that the islands of Howland, Baker, and Jarvis 
        were under the jurisdiction of the United States;
Whereas multiple Federal agencies vied for the right to administer the 
        colonization project, including the Department of Commerce, the 
        Department of the Interior, and the Navy Department, but jurisdiction 
        was ultimately granted to the Department of the Interior;
Whereas under the Department of the Interior, the colonization project 
        emphasized weather data and radio communication, which brought about the 
        recruitment of a number of Asian radiomen and aerologists;
Whereas under the Department of the Interior, the colonization project also 
        expanded beyond the Kamehameha Schools to include Hawaiians and non-
        Hawaiians from other schools in Hawaii;
Whereas in March of 1938 the United States also claimed and colonized the 
        islands of Canton and Enderbury, maintaining that the colonization was 
        in furtherance of commercial aviation and not for military purposes;
Whereas the risk of living on the remote islands meant that emergency medical 
        care was not less than 5 days away, and the distance proved fatal for 
        Carl Kahalewai, who died on October 8, 1938, en route to Honolulu after 
        his appendix ruptured on Jarvis island;
Whereas other life-threatening injuries occurred, including in 1939, when Manuel 
        Pires had appendicitis, and in 1941, when an explosion severely burned 
        Henry Knell and Dominic Zagara;
Whereas in 1940, when the issue of discontinuing the colonization project was 
        raised, the Navy acknowledged that the islands were ``probably worthless 
        to commercial aviation'' but advocated for ``continued occupation'' 
        because the islands could serve as ``bases from a military standpoint'';
Whereas although military interests justified continued occupation of the 
        islands, the colonists were never informed of the true nature of the 
        project, nor were the colonists provided with weapons or any other means 
        of self-defense;
Whereas in June of 1941, when much of Europe was engaged in World War II and 
        Imperial Japan was establishing itself in the Pacific, the Commandant of 
        the 14th Naval District recognized the ``tension in the Western 
        Pacific'' and recommended the evacuation of the colonists, but his 
        request was denied;
Whereas on December 8, 1941, Howland Island was attacked by a fleet of Japanese 
        twin-engine bombers, and the attack killed Hawaiian colonists Joseph 
        Keliihananui and Richard Whaley;
Whereas in the ensuing weeks, Japanese submarine and military aircraft continued 
        to target the islands of Howland, Baker, and Jarvis, jeopardizing the 
        lives of the remaining colonists;
Whereas the United States Government was unaware of the attacks on the islands, 
        and was distracted by the entry of the United States into World War II;
Whereas the colonists demonstrated great valor while awaiting retrieval;
Whereas the 4 colonists from Baker and the 2 remaining colonists from Howland 
        were rescued on January 31, 1942, and the 8 colonists from Jarvis and 
        Enderbury were rescued on February 9, 1942, 2 months after the initial 
        attacks on Howland Island;
Whereas on March 20, 1942, Harold L. Ickes, Secretary of the Interior, sent 
        letters of condolence to the Keliihananui and Whaley families stating 
        that ``[i]n your bereavement it must be considerable satisfaction to 
        know that your brother died in the service of his country'';
Whereas during the 7 years of colonization, more than 130 young men participated 
        in the project, the majority of whom were Hawaiian, and all of whom made 
        numerous sacrifices, endured hardships, and risked their lives to secure 
        and maintain the islands of Howland, Baker, Jarvis, Canton, and 
        Enderbury on behalf of the United States, and 3 young Hawaiian men made 
        the ultimate sacrifice;
Whereas none of the islands, except for Canton, were ever used for commercial 
        aviation, but the islands were used for military purposes;
Whereas in July 1943, a military base was established on Baker Island, and its 
        forces, which numbered over 2,000 members, participated in the Tarawa-
        Makin operation;
Whereas in 1956, participants of the colonization project established an 
        organization called ``Hui Panala'au'', which was established to preserve 
        the fellowship of the group, to provide scholarship assistance, and ``to 
        honor and esteem those who died as colonists of the Equatorial 
        Islands'';
Whereas in 1979, Canton and Enderbury became part of the Republic of Kiribati, 
        but the islands of Jarvis, Howland, and Baker remain possessions of the 
        United States, having been designated as National Wildlife Refuges in 
        1974;
Whereas the islands of Jarvis, Howland, and Baker are now part of the Pacific 
        Remote Islands Marine National Monument;
Whereas May 13, 2015, marks the 79th anniversary of the issuance of the 
        Executive order of President Franklin D. Roosevelt proclaiming United 
        States jurisdiction over the islands of Howland, Baker, and Jarvis, 
        islands that remain possessions of the United States; and
Whereas the Federal Government has never fully recognized the contributions and 
        sacrifices of the colonists, less than a handful of whom are still alive 
        today: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) acknowledges the accomplishments and commends the 
        service of the Hui Panala'au colonists;
            (2) acknowledges the local, national, and international 
        significance of the 7-year colonization project, which resulted 
        in the United States extending sovereignty into the Equatorial 
        Pacific;
            (3) recognizes the dedication to the United States and 
        self-reliance demonstrated by the young men, the majority of 
        whom were Native Hawaiian, who left their homes and families in 
        Hawaii to participate in the Equatorial Pacific colonization 
        project;
            (4) extends condolences on behalf of the United States to 
        the families of Carl Kahalewai, Joseph Keliihananui, and 
        Richard Whaley for the loss of their loved ones in the service 
        of the United States;
            (5) honors the young men whose actions, sacrifices, and 
        valor helped secure and maintain the jurisdiction of the United 
        States over equatorial islands in the Pacific Ocean during the 
        years leading up to and the months immediately following the 
        bombing of Pearl Harbor and the entry of the United States into 
        World War II; and
            (6) extends to all of the colonists, and to the families of 
        these exceptional young men, the deep appreciation of the 
        people of the United States.
                                 <all>