Changing the Name of Roosevelt Ave
The City council voted to change the name of Roosevelt Ave to ???
A really DIRTY DEAL by Tupola. Just because a few people in Wakea Apts complained the name was to long to receive their mail. Everyone also uses FDR and FD Roosevelt which are on the street signs.
I think Tupola was paid off by Hunt because they are constantly smashing and tearing down historic buildings and sites for their real estate developments.
They are also targeting the Hawaiian Railway and scheming how to get HRS
removed to build a major highway through the rail yard.
Tupola's reasons very bogus. You will likely find a "donation" by Hunt to
Tupola. This was passed by the City Council in just one meeting. No consulting the Ewa Community! It is all very shady. Hunt benefits by renaming streets, like also knocking down the NASBP memorial, etc. It's all about their development schemes.
In 1944 during the visit of FDR, MacArthur and Nimitz I was 6 years old going on 7. Without warning sirens blared and along came a large open topped limo with the three wartime chiefs. A friend hoisted me on his shoulders so I could get a better view. Due to wartime conditions the route was unannounced as was the time when they came passing by. Memories of my past. Bob Paoa
I called the City DPP guy in charge of this and he said that the Police and Fire Departments do not see any good reason to change the name of the avenue named for the US Wartime Commander in Chief. Especially because it is associated directly with his very historic visit to MCAS Ewa in 1944 with Gen. MacArthur and Adm. Nimitz. The local street signs already are named "Roosevelt Ave." and "FD Roosevelt Ave." And anyone can use this abbreviation in their USPS address.
They are also checking with the USPS which will most likely concur. John Bond
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Road names
now in Kalaeloa were RENAMED in the
1960's after the Navy
took over former MCAS Ewa. The roads were built by US Marines
in WW-II and named for US Marine pilots killed in action
and awarded the Medal of Honor by
President Roosevelt.
Ceremonies
were held at MCAS Ewa dedicating these roads during WW-II to
forever honor and remember the pilots who gave their lives and
awarded the nation’s highest military honor- the Medal of Honor.
These
roadway names were discarded after the 1952 closure of MCAS Ewa
when the Navy assumed control of the former Marine base. NAS Barbers
Point was eventually returned back to state
use in 1999 and the Navy
names retained by default.
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Original US Marine Corps WW-II base road name:
Fleming Road,
named for Richard E. Fleming, killed in action, Battle
Name
today: Philippine Sea - A large WW-II Navy Battle Hawaii
TheBus
still uses the Fleming Road
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Original US Marine Corps WW-II base road name:
Bauer Road,
named for Harold W.
Bauer, killed in action, Battle
Name
today: Vinson Road United States Representative from Georgia Hawaii
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Original US Marine Corps WW-II base road name:
Elrod Road
named for Henry T.
Elrod, killed in action, in the defense of Wake Island 1941,
from Ewa Field, awarded Medal of Honor by President Roosevelt.
Name
today: Bismarck Sea - A large WW-II Navy Battle but
no direct connection With Hawaii
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Original US Marine Corps WW-II base road name:
Hanson Road,
named for Robert M.
Hanson, a top air ace, killed in action, 1944, from
Ewa Field, awarded Medal of Honor by President Roosevelt.
Name
today: Essex Road Essex County ,
Massachusetts Hawaii
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Since 1954, city law has established four
criteria for naming NEW streets:
1. The Hawaiian names, words or phrases
must be 'appropriate' to cultural, scenic, and topographic features
2. There must be no duplication in
spelling, or similarity in sound from existing street names
3. Street names cannot exceed 18
characters (in order to fit on the street sign)
4. Street names must be spelled with
diacritical markings
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Controversy about renaming streets in
Kalaeloa in 2000
Wednesday, February 16, 2000, Star-Bulletin
Nine weeks ago, the city said state law
doesn't require street names at Kalaeloa to be changed into Hawaiian words.
City ordinance requires only new or streets to have Hawaiian names.
"Are
the sacrifices of our veterans so meaningless, so trivial, so unimportant, that
we should discard these historic names and search for new ones?" Mark
Moses, a retired U.S. Marine Corps officer.
This
is not an issue of who arrived first, but an obligation to the memory of those
who gave so much," Santos
In 2000, Senate Bill 3118, which required the use of Hawaiian
names, terms and phrases in the Kalaeloa Community Development District, the
old Barbers Point Naval Air Base did NOT
pass.
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Recognizing
and Honoring Eleven U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Ewa Medal of Honor Recipients
During The 2012 Medal of Honor Society Convention Week
The Medal of Honor is
the highest award for valor that can be bestowed upon a member of the U.S.
Armed Forces. The award was created on July 14, 1862, when President Abraham Lincoln signed into law the Medal of
Honor award. Since then, more than half of those who have received the Medal of
Honor did not survive the action for which it was awarded.
Each year, the Medal
of Honor Society gathers to reunite living members, as they continue their
legacy of inspiring our youth, honoring patriots and memorializing those recipients
who have passed. And so, this year the gathering is in Honolulu ,
Oahu , where still living Medal
of Honor recipients are with us to remind all of us that freedom is not free
and great sacrifices have been made in wartime by those in uniform.
The Medal of Honor
sets specific provisions for recipients where at least two eyewitnesses must
provide “incontestable evidence” to a deed that proves to “be so outstanding,
that it clearly distinguishes gallantry beyond the call of duty from lesser
forms of bravery, involve the risk of life, and be the type of deed, which, if
not done, would not subject the recipient to any unjustified criticism.”
We stand today on the
site of historic MCAS Ewa Field, which was the birthplace of United States
Marine Corps aviation in the Pacific when it was Ewa Mooring Mast Field, and
subsequently attacked on December 7, 1941, during the Pearl Harbor air raid by
Imperial Japanese naval air forces. Four US Marines were killed defending the
airfield and it is sacred, hallowed ground, where bullet strafing marks in
this concrete ramp still give testimony to that early morning air attack and
the deaths of those Marine Corps defenders.
2012 is the year of
the United States Marine Corps Aviation Centennial, recognizing 100 years of US
Marine aviation, and so along with 2012 Medal of Honor Society Convention Week,
it is especially fitting that we recognize the special contributions made by
the eleven Medal of Honor awarded US Marine Corps pilots from MCAS Ewa Field
during WW-II.
Today called Kalaeloa,
during WW-II the still existing streets of former MCAS Ewa, built by US Marines
and US Navy SeaBee Construction Battalions, were later given the names of naval
sea battle as a result of the Ewa marine air base closing in 1952 and being incorporated
into Naval Air Station Barbers Point. In 1999 the base lands were processed
into various land holders, which is still on-going.
Today called Bismarck Sea Road MCAS Ewa street Elrod Road Wake
Island , who died in combat on December 23, 1941. His heroism was
un-documented until the end of Pacific War by returning Prisoners of War from Wake Island . President Truman awarded him the Medal of
Honor.
Today called Philippine Sea Road MCAS Ewa street Fleming Road
Today called Vinson Road Guadalcanal
which was credited with downing 92 Japanese planes and helping to sink two
destroyers.
Today called Essex Road MCAS Ewa street Hanson Road
We also wish to honor and remember the names
of these courageous Medal of Honor winning US Marine Corps aviators and
survivors of World War II from MCAS Ewa whose names include the legendary ace
pilot Gregory "Pappy" Boyington, Marine Corps aces Joseph
"Joe" Foss, John Lucian Smith, Kenneth A. Walsh, James Swett, Jefferson
DeBlanc, and Robert Edward Galer.
In 2012, the National
Park Service American Battlefield Protection Program has now recognized the
historic significance of MCAS Ewa and provided a $54,000 grant to begin a
process of historic identification and cultural documentation of MCAS Ewa Field
and the nearby related WW-II era Ewa Village plantation community, which could
lead to an Ewa heritage museum and a future National Park Service recognized
visitor attraction.
We are truly humbled
and proud to stand with our nation's most revered heroes and profoundly
grateful to those who are making it possible to create a once-in-a-lifetime
tribute befitting these great men and their families. These are humble men of
incredible character. They embody the true meaning of heroism, and reinforce
the values of courage, sacrifice and freedom.
This honorary
certificate and ceremony today on the MCAS Ewa December 7th
battlefield site presents an appropriate and significant occasion to honor and respect
these visiting Medal of Honor recipients by the Honolulu City Council and the
City and County of Honolulu and remember those brave US Marine Corps pilots who
sacrificed themselves so that our land can remain free.
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Honolulu has
been selected to be the proud host for the 2012 Medal of Honor Society
Convention during October 2 – 6, 2012 with an expected 54 Medal of Honor
recipients, their guests and local military and veteran community also
attending.
Based
upon our historic research, Marine Corps
Air Station Ewa Field , Hawaii Pearl
Harbor .
Veterans
had been planning a special ceremony in December to remember and commemorate
the four killed in action US Marine Corps Medal of Honor pilots by asking the
city and state to rename still existing roadways on the former base back to
their original names that honored these four pilots killed at Wake
Island , Midway and in the South Pacific. These pilots were Henry
T. Elrod, Richard E. Fleming, Harold W. Bauer and Robert M. Hanson, all
United States Marine Corps aviators. These roadway names were discarded after
the 1952 closure of MCAS Ewa when it was eventually returned back to city and
state use.
In
addition, plans are to honor and remember the names of these additional
courageous Medal of Honor winning US Marine Corps aviators from MCAS Ewa whose
names include the legendary ace pilot Gregory "Pappy" Boyington,
Marine Corps aces Joseph "Joe" Foss, John Lucian Smith, Kenneth A.
Walsh, James Swett, Jefferson DeBlanc, and Robert Edward Galer
It is also especially appropriate that
we hold a special ceremony this year as this is the 100th Anniversary of Marine Corps aviation and nothing
could be more fitting than to remember MCAS Ewa’s heroic ace pilots and Medal
of Honor winners this year.
The National Park Service American
Battlefield Protection Program has also now recognized the historic
significance of MCAS Ewa and provided a $54,000 grant in 2012 to begin a major
process of historic identification and cultural documentation of MCAS Ewa Field
and the nearby related WW-II era Ewa Village plantation community, which could
lead to an Ewa Field heritage museum and a future National Park Service
recognized visitor attraction.