War is Declared

The Attack on Pearl Harbor and Immediate Response

At 7:55 a.m. on December 7, 1941, the usual calm of a Sunday morning in Honolulu was shattered by the sound of explosions. Aircraft bearing the bright red insignia of Imperial Japan launched a devastating surprise attack on the naval base at Pearl Harbor and military airfields across Oʻahu.

Military personnel rushed to their stations, but there was little they could do to counter the ferocity of the assault. Within hours, the attack had destroyed aircraft and battleships, claimed the lives of military personnel and civilians, and thrust the United States into World War II.

Within hours of the attack, martial law was declared, placing the Territory of Hawaiʻi under military control. Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, military personnel, and police arrested individuals they considered potential security risks, including Japanese religious leaders, language school teachers and principals, martial arts instructors, community leaders, reporters and editors of Japanese-language newspapers, and Kibei (American-born Japanese who had spent part of their upbringing or education in Japan). Within two days of the attack on Pearl Harbor, nearly 500 individuals had been arrested and confined at Sand Island, which served as an initial detention center. German and Italian nationals were also arrested, though in far smaller numbers than Japanese residents.

On December 8, 1941, one day after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States declared war on Japan. Three days later, following Germany and Italy’s declarations of war against the United States, Congress declared war on both countries.

In the days and weeks following the attack, Hawaiʻi’s Japanese community lived in constant uncertainty and fear over what might happen next. Across the islands, families watched husbands, fathers, and community leaders taken away by authorities, often with little or no information about where they were being held or whether they would ever return home.

Japanese households throughout Hawaiʻi, particularly families connected to Buddhist temples, language schools, newspapers, martial arts groups, or community organizations, were often subjected to searches and intimidation. During these raids, family heirlooms, photographs, and possessions perceived as connected to Japan were frequently confiscated and, in some cases, destroyed.

Hawaii National Guard in the First Months of the War

During the December 7 attack on Pearl Harbor, the 1st Battalion of the 298th Infantry Regiment was stationed at Schofield Barracks, while the 2nd Battalion was deployed in defensive positions along Oʻahu’s windward coast, in areas extending between Bellows Field and Kualoa. Many of the AJA soldiers assigned to the 1st Battalion were away on weekend pass at the time of the attack but promptly returned to Schofield and reported for duty in the immediate aftermath.

For the next six months, through May 1942, American soldiers of Japanese ancestry in the 298th and 299th Infantry Regiments continued to serve in their assigned roles, with no sustained change in their participation in defensive duties. In the first days following the December 7 attack, some units imposed brief and uneven restrictions on access to weapons for AJA soldiers amid confusion and heightened alert conditions, but these measures lasted only a few days and were not uniformly applied. In practice, these Hawaii National Guard units remained actively engaged in frontline defensive duties, including coastal patrols, fortification work, and the operation of security positions throughout Oʻahu and the neighbor islands.

Military Intelligence and the Morale Section

On December 17, 1941, Lieutenant General Delos C. Emmons became military governor of Hawaiʻi and commanding general of the U.S. Army’s Hawaiian Department, replacing Lieutenant General Walter C. Short. In the weeks following the attack on Pearl Harbor, Emmons faced intense pressure to address concerns over Hawaiʻi’s large Japanese population. He initially believed that the population might pose a security risk, and in early discussions the possibility of mass evacuation was raised.

A key figure in the military government’s internal security structure was Lieutenant Colonel Kendall Fielder, who succeeded Lt. Col. M. W. Marston in July 1941 as Assistant Chief of Staff, G-2 (Military Intelligence) of the Hawaiian Department. Prior to this assignment, Fielder had helped train AJA soldiers in the 298th Infantry Regiment.

In December 1941, the Morale Section of the Military Governor’s Office was established to help manage civilian morale and race relations under martial law. It drew upon an existing network of prewar civic cooperation formed through the Council for Interracial Unity. Its members included Hung Wai Ching, Shigeo Yoshida, and Charles Loomis, all of whom emphasized the loyalty of Hawaiʻi’s Japanese American community and advocated for fair treatment.

An Emergency Service Committee was appointed by the Morale Section in February 1942 to work among the people of Japanese ancestry in Hawaiʻi. During a period of widespread suspicion and uncertainty, the committee played an important role in maintaining communication between military authorities and the local Japanese American community. It worked to ease racial tensions and dispel rumors, advocated for the rights and loyalty of AJA residents and soldiers, and supported the participation of Japanese Americans in the war effort, including the 100th Infantry Battalion, the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, and the Military Intelligence Service.

Working in coordination with Col. Fielder and FBI Special Agent Robert Shivers, the Morale Section and Emergency Service Committee assessed community sentiment and helped maintain stability during the early months of the war. Fielder worked closely with Shivers on intelligence and internal security matters and also coordinated with civilian advisers connected to the Morale Section and ESC.

The Hawaii Territorial Guard and the Formation of the Varsity Victory Volunteers

Shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Governor Joseph Poindexter created the Hawaii Territorial Guard (HTG) to serve as a territorial defense force under his authority, as the Hawaii National Guard had already been federalized and placed under U.S. Army command. University of Hawaiʻi Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) cadets were among those incorporated into the HTG and assigned to guard key installations across Oʻahu. Members were issued old Springfield rifles and, according to some accounts, a single clip of five rounds, and were deployed to protect generators, power stations, and other critical infrastructure.

However, in January 1942, amid pressure from Washington, Emmons ordered that approximately 317 AJA members of the HTG be relieved of their duties. On January 21, 1942, the Hawaii Territorial Guard was formally dissolved and immediately reconstituted without its AJA members. Surprised, angry, and disappointed, the men nonetheless remained determined to find another way to serve their country.

With encouragement from Hung Wai Ching of the Morale Section, 169 former HTG members signed a petition to Emmons about a month later, offering themselves “for whatever service you may see fit to use us.” Ching submitted the petition through Lt. Col. Fielder, who helped convince Emmons to approve their proposal to organize a volunteer labor battalion. Formed in February 1942, the unit became known as the Varsity Victory Volunteers.

Mass Incarceration and Internment

On January 5, 1942, the War Department reclassified Japanese American men of draft age as “IV-C enemy aliens,” rendering them ineligible for enlistment in the U.S. armed forces. Despite this change in classification, Japanese American soldiers already serving in the 298th and 299th Infantry Regiments continued to carry out their assigned duties in the defense of Hawaiʻi.

On February 19, 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, authorizing the forced removal and incarceration of more than 110,000 people of Japanese ancestry from the West Coast, most of whom were American citizens. Many were sent to camps in remote inland areas, including Arkansas.

In Hawaiʻi, where nearly 160,000 residents were of Japanese ancestry, mass incarceration was not experienced on the scale of the West Coast. According to statistics compiled by the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaiʻi, approximately 1,330 Japanese Americans and Japanese nationals from Hawaiʻi were interned during World War II, either in camps within the islands or on the continental United States. In addition, about 940 family members voluntarily relocated to mainland camps to remain with incarcerated relatives.

There was considerable debate among military and political leaders over whether Hawaiʻi’s large Japanese population posed a security risk and should be subject to mass internment. In the end, however, officials concluded that incarcerating such a large portion of the islands’ population was both logistically and economically impractical, as many Japanese residents occupied essential roles in Hawaiʻi’s workforce and held vital skilled labor positions. Furthermore, despite rumors of sabotage and espionage following the attack on Pearl Harbor, military authorities found no evidence that such activities in Hawaiʻi had been carried out by residents of Japanese ancestry.

While some early proposals explored restrictive or drastic measures, Emmons relied heavily on the advice of the combined network of intelligence and the Morale Section. Over time, he concluded that mass removal or broad restrictive measures were neither necessary nor practical given conditions in the islands.