Great Local Documentary. Big Mahalo for all involved in making it. As a kid in the 50s growing up in Waianae and Pearl City I was told I was a Hapa Haole, for me this meant white boy born n raised in the islands since my father spent 15 of his 22 year Navy career stationed at Pearl. In the mid 50s my dad was transferred to help construct the DEW line in Alaska and Canada as a chief navigator on a LST (Landing Ship Tank). The LST were the ocean going 18 wheel Tractor Trailer for the Navy. They had a big set of doors on the bow with a large flip up and down ramp mounted behind the doors just so the flat bottom ship could take advantage of it’s unique design and drive right up on the beach sand just an hour or so before low tide and off load heavy equipment and construction supplies directly on to a dry beach. In an hour or so later the tide would turn and begin to come back in and by than the LST was almost finished off loading. By off loading tens or tons of equipment and supplies the LST would easily float off the beach. Than the rear mounted anchor chain and vary strong hoist pulled back the LST back into deeper water where it could engage it two propellers and move off shore even further so it could safely turn bow back out to sea. In 1978 or 79 I began to come to the Big Island to help large corporations conduct business in Kona’s hotels. Later in the early 1990s I earned my commercial helicopter pilots license at the Kona airport. Than later in 1997 I married my lovely late Colombian wife on Alii drive in that little ocean side Blue and White church near Magic Sands beach. See www.3cats.com/wedding.htm to see my lovely late bride and I getting married on Alii drive if you care to. In in early January of 2016, just weeks before learning my late wife’s ovarian cancer had returned we visited the Pacific Tsunami Museum. There to my shock and Great Pleasure on the wall of the Museum was a photo of my dad’s LST, the San Bernardino County - LST 1110. Due to the fact that in WWII there were over 1,100 LST made, combined with the fact the big doors covered the ships registration normally displayed on the out side bow. All LST’s registration numbers are also boldly painted in white above the large ramp I mentioned earlier. Turns out my dad’s LST was heading back to Alaska with construction supplies when the 1957 Tsunami stick Hawaii. The eleven ten as my dad called it was re directed to Hilo since it had a load of telephone poles and other electrical supplies along with a bulldozers on board and was told to drop off these supplies in Hilo. Why a great surprise to discover my late father ship’s foto on the wall in the Pacific Tsunami Museum.
10:03 - This photo of the Hawaii Planing Mill Co. building actually shows damage from the 1946 tsunami, not the 1960 one. After 1946, almost all the buildings on the makai side of Kamehameha Avenue, including this one, were demolished and the area was left in open space. HPM moved across the street from this location. That's the building that he's describing as being completely destroyed. All that was left of it was the concrete foundation with some of the linoleum tiles still adhering to it.
Great Local Documentary. Big Mahalo for all involved in making it.
As a kid in the 50s growing up in Waianae and Pearl City I was told I was a Hapa Haole, for me this meant white boy born n raised in the islands since my father spent 15 of his 22 year Navy career stationed at Pearl.
In the mid 50s my dad was transferred to help construct the DEW line in Alaska and Canada as a chief navigator on a LST (Landing Ship Tank).
The LST were the ocean going 18 wheel Tractor Trailer for the Navy. They had a big set of doors on the bow with a large flip up and down ramp mounted behind the doors just so the flat bottom ship could take advantage of it’s unique design and drive right up on the beach sand just an hour or so before low tide and off load heavy equipment and construction supplies directly on to a dry beach.
In an hour or so later the tide would turn and begin to come back in and by than the LST was almost finished off loading. By off loading tens or tons of equipment and supplies the LST would easily float off the beach. Than the rear mounted anchor chain and vary strong hoist pulled back the LST back into deeper water where it could engage it two propellers and move off shore even further so it could safely turn bow back out to sea.
In 1978 or 79 I began to come to the Big Island to help large corporations conduct business in Kona’s hotels. Later in the early 1990s I earned my commercial helicopter pilots license at the Kona airport. Than later in 1997 I married my lovely late Colombian wife on Alii drive in that little ocean side Blue and White church near Magic Sands beach. See www.3cats.com/wedding.htm to see my lovely late bride and I getting married on Alii drive if you care to.
In in early January of 2016, just weeks before learning my late wife’s ovarian cancer had returned we visited the Pacific Tsunami Museum. There to my shock and Great Pleasure on the wall of the Museum was a photo of my dad’s LST, the San Bernardino County - LST 1110. Due to the fact that in WWII there were over 1,100 LST made, combined with the fact the big doors covered the ships registration normally displayed on the out side bow. All LST’s registration numbers are also boldly painted in white above the large ramp I mentioned earlier.
Turns out my dad’s LST was heading back to Alaska with construction supplies when the 1957 Tsunami stick Hawaii. The eleven ten as my dad called it was re directed to Hilo since it had a load of telephone poles and other electrical supplies along with a bulldozers on board and was told to drop off these supplies in Hilo.
Why a great surprise to discover my late father ship’s foto on the wall in the Pacific Tsunami Museum.
10:03 - This photo of the Hawaii Planing Mill Co. building actually shows damage from the 1946 tsunami, not the 1960 one. After 1946, almost all the buildings on the makai side of Kamehameha Avenue, including this one, were demolished and the area was left in open space. HPM moved across the street from this location. That's the building that he's describing as being completely destroyed. All that was left of it was the concrete foundation with some of the linoleum tiles still adhering to it.
2025❤