Hawaii Territorial Guard
Hawaii Territorial Guard | |
---|---|
Active | 1941-1947 |
Country | Springfield 1903 rifle |
Commanders | |
Civilian Leadership | Governor Joseph Poindexter |
The Hawaii Territorial Guard (Hawaiian: O na La kiai) was the state defense force of Hawaii during World War II. As a result of the National Guard of Hawaii being federalized for the duration of the war, the Hawaii Territorial Guard was created to serve as the stateside replacement for the National Guard. During the war, it was the sole military force available to the Governor of Hawaii as its captain general to use in defense of the state. Unlike the National Guard, as a state defense force, the Hawaii Territorial Guard was not subject to federalization or deployment outside of the borders of Hawaii, but rather answered only to the governor.
History of predecessor units
The National Guard and the state defense forces both trace their roots to the state militias which made up the majority of the United States Armed Forces prior to the implementation of the
Creation
The Hawaii Territorial Guard was created by
Membership
Immediately after ordering the activation of the Territorial Guard, Governor Poindexter began the task of creating it. The University of Hawaii
At 11:00 a.m. on the same day, all members of the American Legion were also called to duty via radio, thus adding between three hundred and four hundred members to the Territorial Guard ranks, whose membership would reach a strength of 89 officers and 1,254 enlisted men by December 31, 1941.[3]
In January 1942, due to suspicions of their loyalty, all ethnic Japanese members were dismissed from the Hawaii Territorial Guard.[4] Hawaii Territorial Guardsmen who had been discharged petitioned General Delos Carleton Emmons, the Military Governor of Hawaii, to be allowed contribute to the war effort in another way, and in February they were assigned to a regiment of engineers as a 160-man auxiliary unit called the Varsity Victory Volunteers.[5] After the temporary shutdown of the unit, the Hawaii Territorial Guard was immediately reactivated without its ethnic Japanese members and began recruiting replacements.[6]
Duties
The Hawaii Territorial Guard was tasked with guarding against a potential paratrooper assault by the Japanese in the immediate aftermath of the Pearl Harbor attack.[7] After the immediate threat had passed, they were assigned to guard key buildings and infrastructure against sabotage.[3]
Equipment
Members of the Hawaii Territorial Guard were issued M1903 Springfield rifles.[7]
Disbandment
The Hawaii Territorial Guard was disbanded in 1947.[8]
Other militias
There were several other militias composed of civilians, but these were given limited recognition and training by the United States government. These included the following private militia units:[3]
- Businessmen's Military Training Corps
- Hawaii Defense Volunteers
- Hawaii Air Depot Volunteer Corp
- Kauai Volunteers
- Maui Volunteers
- Molokai-Lanai Volunteers
- Organized Defense Volunteers
- Varsity Victory Volunteers
- Women's Army Volunteer Corp
Legal status
State defense forces are permitted by the federal government under Title 32, Section 109 of the United States Code.[9] Currently, 23 states and the territory of Puerto Rico maintain active state defense forces.[10] Hawaii state law also recognizes the Hawaii state defense force as a component of the militia of the state.[11] Therefore, the existing legal framework makes it possible for the Governor of Hawaii or the state legislative to order the reactivation of a Hawaii state defense force in the future, inheriting the lineage and traditions of not jst the old HTG but of the volunteer Hawaiian-American militia organizations of the Second World War.
See also
References
- ISBN 0870224336.
- ^ "Hawaii Territorial Guard". Densho Encyclopedia. Retrieved 13 July 2014.
- ^ ISBN 1585441813. Retrieved 13 July 2014.
- ^ "Army ROTC at the University of Hawaii Over the Years". www.goarmy.com/. Retrieved 13 July 2014.
- ^ "Report of the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians- Part I: Nisei and Issei". National Park Service. Retrieved 13 July 2014.
- ISBN 978-0806189062. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
- ^ a b "100th Infantry Battalion". Densho Encyclopedia. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
- Honolulu, Hawaii. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
- ^ "32 U.S. Code § 109 - Maintenance of other troops". Legal Information Institute. Cornell University Law School. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
- ^ Carafano, James Jay; Brinkerhoff, John R. (October 5, 2005). "Katrina's Forgotten Responders: State Defense Forces Play a Vital Role". www.heritage.org. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
- ^ "Hawaii Statutes - § 122A-2: Hawaii state defense force established". FindLaw. Retrieved 17 July 2014.