There were no signs of activity on the ground. “Just as they passed over Barbara's point, the altitude of the plane was slightly under 500 meters.” He could see the parked planes clearly in the sunlight. During an interview in 1950 Junichi Goto, who led a group of torpedo planes from the Akagi during the first attack wave stated. And it's interesting, you could see a Japanese pilot sitting there at the right extreme of the photograph. And you see the unmistakable configuration of the airfield being Ewa in the lower left hand corner.
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You see in the lower photo, a map board from the Akagi, which was one of the carriers involved in the attack. On their first strike at Ewa field Japanese fliers approach as low as 20 to 25 feet above the tarmac, attacking single airplanes with short bursts of gunfire.Īnd this is Admiral Yamamoto that Nancy mentioned before. If no enemy aircraft were encountered in the air, the units would immediately shift to the strafing of parked aircraft. The general order stated that the fighters or the first wave would acquire air superiority by destroying any American aircraft in the sky. Japanese war planners believed that the destruction of US forces at Pearl Harbor and surrounding military facilities would allow them to consolidate their defenses, including the seizure of Southeast Asia. And there's a number of presently sugarcane fields at an elevation about 30 to 50 feet above sea level.Įwa Field as seen from approaching Japanese aircraft, December 7, 1941 The air base is known geographically as Ewa Plain and so essentially it's a former coral reef. That's the location of Ewa field MCAS Ewa stands for Marine Corps Air Station Ewa. That points to Ford Island, the location of Battleship Road to great extent, the focus of the Japanese attack. You can see the arrow that says Pearl Harbor. And it was actually attacked two minutes before Pearl Harbor. The Battle of Ewa Plain took place just before 8:00 AM on December 7th, 1941 and was part of the larger surprise attack by the Imperial Japanese navy on the US military base at Pearl Harbor. Our presentation today involves an unknown battlefield, a lost battlefield. Director, GAI Consultants Presentationīen Resnick: December 7th, 1941 that date is seared into the American memory along with the words Pearl Harbor and Day of Infamy. Because of these studies, Ewa Plain Battlefield was determined eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places at the national level of significance under Criteria A and D.īen Resnick, Asst. Local community involvement was critical to the success of the project along with the completion of extensive archival research, informant interviews, a pedestrian reconnaissance, and a geophysical survey. Working closely with local preservationists, a National Register nomination was prepared for the battlefield and for the south revetment historic district. It was at Midway in June 1942 that Navy flight crews crippled or sunk four aircraft carriers against a superior Japanese enemy in what would come to represent a turning point in the Pacific theater.
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Marine and Naval aviators trained at Ewa Field participated in most of the major engagements in the Pacific including Wake Island, Guadalcanal, and the Battle of Midway. In 1942, Ewa Field became a major marine and navy aviation training facility for Carrier Aircraft Service Unit (CASU) flight crews and mechanics. The intention of this defensive measure was to conceal the location of aircraft, making it more likely of protecting these critical wartime resources. government expanded the base considerably including the construction of half-dome, concrete revetments. Home to the former Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Ewa and several plantation villages, this area was subjected to waves of strafing by Japanese aircraft. The Battle of Ewa Plain began in the morning of Decemand was part of the larger surprise attack by the Imperial Japanese Navy on United States military forces stationed at Pearl Harbor. The Ongoing Battle of Ewa Plain, Hawaii: Resurrection of a Lost Battlefield Watch a non-audio described version of the presentation on YouTube. Military Heritage: World War II to the Cold War, June 4-6, 2019, held in Fredericksburg, TX. This is a transcript of a presentation at the Preserving U.S.