Kaua'i - Hawaii - page 1062

ship passé. By the beginning of WWII, more than 30,000 visitors were landing in Hawaii
each year.
The Hawaii of popular imagination - lei-draped visitors mangling the hula at a beach
luau, tanned beachboys plying the surf in front of Diamond Head, the sounds of hapa
haole (Hawaiian music with predominantly English lyrics) - was relentlessly commodi-
fied. More hotels sprouted along the strand at Waikiki, which had until the late 19th cen-
tury been a wetland where the ali'i retreated for relaxation. The 1927 opening of the
'Pink Palace' (the Royal Hawaiian hotel) transformed Waikiki into a jet-setting tropical
destination for the rich and famous, including celebrities of the day - Groucho Marx,
Bing Crosby, Bette Davis, Clark Gable and even Shirley Temple.
This was also the era of Duke Kahanamoku, Olympic gold-medal swimmer, master
waterman, movie star and unofficial 'ambassador of aloha.' He introduced the world
beyond Hawaii's shores to the ancient sport of heʻe nalu ('wave sliding'), called surfing.
Duke was named after his father, who had been christened by Hawaiian princess Bernice
Pauahi Bishop in honor of a Scottish lord. Duke Jr grew up swimming and surfing on
Waikiki Beach, where he and his 'beachboys' taught tourists to surf, including heiress
Doris Duke, who became the first woman to surf competitively.
The popular radio program Hawaii Calls introduced the world to Hawaiian music. It
broadcast from the banyan tree courtyard of Waikiki's Moana hotel between 1935 and
1975, and at its peak aired on 750 stations around the world. CD compilations are avail-
able through www.mele.com .
Pearl Harbor & the 'Japanese Problem'
In the years leading up to WWII, the US government became obsessed with the Hawaii-
an territory's 'Japanese problem.' What, they wondered, were the true loyalties of 40%
of Hawaii's population, the issei (first-generation Japanese immigrants), who had been
born in Japan? During a war, would they fight for Japan or defend the US? Neither fully
Japanese nor American, their children, island-born nisei (second-generation Japanese im-
migrants), also had their identity questioned.
On December 7, 1941, a surprise Japanese force of ships, submarines and aircraft
bombed and attacked military installations across Oʻahu. The main target was Pearl Har-
bor, the USA's most important Pacific naval base. This devastating attack, in which
dozens of ships were damaged or lost and more than 3000 military and civilians were
killed or injured, instantly propelled the US into WWII. In Hawaii the US Army took
control of the islands, martial law was declared and civil rights were suspended.