Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The attack brought immediate changes to the islands. Martial law was declared, stripping
the Big Five cartel of its absolute power in a single day. Japanese Americans and German
Americans were interned. Hawaii was “blacked out” at night, Waikiki Beach was strung with
barbed wire, and Aloha Tower was painted in camouflage. Only young men bound for the
Pacific came to Hawaii during the war years. Many came back to graves in a cemetery called
Punchbowl.
The postwar years saw the beginnings of Hawaii's faux culture. Harry Yee invented the
Blue Hawaii cocktail and dropped in a tiny Japanese parasol. Vic Bergeron created the mai tai,
a drink made of rum and fresh lime juice, and opened Trader Vic's, America's first themed
restaurant that featured the art, decor, and food of Polynesia. Arthur Godfrey picked up a
ukulele and began singing hapa-haole tunes on early TV shows. In 1955, Henry J. Kaiser built
the Hilton Hawaiian Village, and the 11-story high-rise Princess Kaiulani Hotel opened on a
site where the real princess once played. Hawaii greeted 109,000 visitors that year.
The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
Statehood
