The Honouliuli National Historic Site on Oʻahu will kick off its 10th anniversary with two events this month.
Honouliuli was established first as a national monument in 2015, and then a national historic site in 2019.
In 1943, it opened as a 160-acre incarceration site run by the U.S. Army and was once the largest and longest-used confinement site in Hawaiʻi for U.S. civilians, including Japanese Americans, and prisoners of war.
The site included 175 buildings, 14 guard towers, and over 400 tents. Honouliuli was often referred to as "hell valley" because its secluded location in a deep gulch trapped heat and moisture.
Throughout the upcoming year, gatherings and activities will include a speaker series, special tours, film screenings and more. Many will be free through a partnership with its nonprofit organization, Pacific Historic Parks.
The Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaiʻi will host a panel on March 27 at 10 a.m. about how Honouliuli became part of the National Park System. It will include an update from park Superintendent Christine Ogura.
During a virtual event on March 30 at 3 p.m., two archaeologists will talk about their excavations at the park and other Japanese American confinement sites.
Commemoration events will run through January 2026. For more information visit the park's website.
