WWII hardware finds a home in Maui museum

By Christie Wilson
Neighbor Island Editor

NAPILI, Maui — Traces of blue paint on the left sleeve of the World War II flight suit show where the Navy pilot rested his arm outside the cockpit of his Grumman Hellcat in a familiar pose known as "riding the rail."

Alan DeCoite acquired this 1941 vehicle in 1990 and restored it for the 50th anniversary of the Pearl Harbor bombing. It's one of three DeCoite vehicles used in the film "Pearl Harbor." Christie Wilson • The Honolulu Advertiser

DeCoite, 47, a Marine veteran and U.S. military history buff, doesn't know who Gaston is, but he's determined to find out.

"If this could talk," he says, holding up the sleeve, "what stories it could tell. And I will get it to talk."

DeCoite's devotion to preserving and honoring America's military past has led to the recovery of nine aircraft that crashed in the Islands during World War II and an ever-growing collection of memorabilia on display at the Napili Plaza in West Maui.

Other items at the museum include artwork of famous battles, autographed photos of fighter pilots, samurai swords, a rare alcohol-fueled, turbine-driven Mark 14 torpedo, and a 1941 Dodge command car mounted with a .50-caliber machine gun.

The car was one of three vehicles owned by DeCoite that were used in the Disney movie "Pearl Harbor."

DeCoite, a member of a well-known Makawao ranching family, was a freshman at St. Anthony High School in Wailuku in 1967 when he first saw the car. He was collecting scrap wood from abandoned houses in Pu'un«n« for a school bonfire.

The owner, George Uwekoolani, had acquired it as military surplus and left it to rust amid tall weeds. Over the next 23 years, DeCoite visited the old man at least once a year to ask if he would sell it for cash or trade.

Uwekoolani finally relented in 1990, after DeCoite told him he wanted to restore it in time for the 50th anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor. True to his word, DeCoite drove the refurbished command car in a commemoration parade through Waikiki, with Uwekoolani at this side.

DeCoite, who served as a Marine reconnaissance specialist in 1973-77, said his fascination with military hardware began when he was a kid assembling model airplanes.

That childhood hobby would be realized on a much larger scale when DeCoite found himself pulling World War II plane wreckage from island jungles and mountainsides. Many of the aircraft, including three Grumman F3F fighters that crashed in 1941 on Haleakala during a nighttime training run, have been restored to flying condition.

When he's not working as foreman at Ironwood Ranch horseback riding stables, or riding herd on his family's 1,000-acre cattle ranch, or wrestling steers at a rodeo, DeCoite's spare time is spent researching his collection or looking on the Internet for new items to acquire.

He also attends military reunions, where his encyclopedic knowledge of U.S. military history has allowed him to penetrate close-knit veterans groups. His passion coaxes from veterans stories of war they haven't shared with their own children.

DeCoite figured the May release of "Pearl Harbor" would spark interest in World War II so he looked for a site to display his collection. Maui Land & Pineapple Co. agreed to rent him a spot in the Napili Plaza at a discounted rate.

DeCoite, who is at the museum from 1 to 6 p.m. daily, said he intended a limited run for the loosely organized exhibit but decided to keep it open for as long as he can. He spends $700 a month of his own money paying rent and electricity.

He has a ready answer when asked why he gives so much of himself to the museum.

"It's all about that flag," he says, pointing to a large hand-sewn, 48-star U.S. flag covering the back wall. "It's about the people who went before us to protect our flag and our country."

For more information on the Maui Military Museum, call (808) 665-0851. Donations to the nonprofit museum may be sent to P.O. Box 486, Makawao, HI 96768.