Dillingham Field soon to be called Kawaihapai

By Eloise Aguiar
Advertiser Staff Writer

For 53 years, a storied name in Hawai'i history has graced the tiny airfield at the northwestern tip of O'ahu.

But Dillingham Field had a long Native Hawaiian history before it became associated with a family considered one of the state's giants in industry.

Thomas Shirai displays research materials used in his quest to have Dillingham renamed Kawaihapai, the name of the ahupua'a in which most of the airfield lies. Cory Lum • The Honolulu Advertiser

Today the name of the airfield is on the verge of being changed.

A measure to do just that has received final approval in the Legislature and is poised to be signed into law by the governor.

Negotiations are under way to transfer the airfield from the military to the state. Once the transfer takes place, the name will be changed.

Board supports name change

For Thomas Shirai, it is part of a healing process from having the land confiscated by the military for an airfield in 1940.

Shirai, 40, pushed for the name change in honor of his ancestors. The new name will be Kawaihapai, the name of the ahupua'a in which most of the airfield lies.

Shirai grew up not far from the field, in Mokul«'ia, where his grandparents taught him to fish and grow taro. The family homestead and graves are in a coconut grove that now grows next to the runway.

"This is a tribute to my kupuna," Shirai said. "I do not do this to glorify myself. I do this for my grandfather and his ancestors."

The name change is supported by the North Shore Neighborhood Board, which sees the change as a way to preserve Hawaiian culture and language, said board chairwoman Kathleen Pahinui.

"The board wanted to honor the original place name," Pahinui said. "It was the right thing to do."

But not everyone shares that view.

About 30 years ago, Bill Star moved his glider operation from Bellows Air Station to Dillingham Airfield.

While many people in Honolulu don't know that the airfield exists, among glider enthusiasts it has a worldwide reputation for premier gliding conditions, he said.

"We're an institution," Star said, adding that he was never told about the change and he plans to make some noise about it.

The issue of reverting to Hawaiian names for landmarks and buildings in Hawai'i has stirred controversy in the past.

The city requires all its new and renamed streets to be Hawaiian words, but a proposal to change the street names at the old Barbers Point Naval Station drew criticism several years ago and those names will most likely remain.

The Legislature has named all of Hawai'i's airports and some of the state's roads, including Tetsuo "Tets" Harano H-3 tunnels and Joseph P. Leong Highway in Hale'iwa, said Marilyn Kali, state Department of Transportation spokeswoman.

Early residents fled drought

Kawaihapai Ahupua'a is nestled between Kealia and Mokul«'ia ahupua'a in the Waialua District. Next to Kealia is Ka'ena Ahupua'a.

An early 20th-century account of Kawaihapai and how it received its name in "Sites of O'ahu" describes life on the land as plentiful in the old days until a drought forced people to leave.

Two old men stayed and prayed for water and suddenly a cloud moved over the cliff. The men heard water splashing and when they looked up they saw water coming out of the cliff. Kawaihapai, which means lifted water, was named for this spring, and the spring is called Wai Kumu'ole, water without source.

Shirai said the two men who stayed were his ancestors. Eventually his family purchased land there when it became available.

There was evidence of low-land terraces at Kawaihapai, according to "Hawaiian Planter, Volume I," but Shirai's great-grandfather David Keao had reported in the book that taro could not grow in the low land because salt water seeped into the fresh water.

Keao grew many products and even employed several people, Shirai said.

"He had a cottage industry," he said.

By the mid-1920s, the Dillinghams had owned land from Mokul«'ia to Ka'ena. The U.S. government acquired about 105 acres from Walter F. Dillingham, whose father, Benjamin F. Dillingham, built O'ahu Railway & Land Co.

An additional 631 acres were acquired in 1946 by the Air Force by "Declaration of Taking."

And in 1952, another 4.8 acres were acquired by "Governor Executive Order." The property was transferred to the Army in 1974.

The area was originally called Kawaihapai Military Reservation in 1927 and later changed to Dillingham Military Reservation, said Amy Alie, a media relations officer for the 25th Infantry Division (Light) and U.S. Army, Hawai'i.

At the outbreak of World War II, the area was redesignated Moku-l«'ia Airfield and was expanded to accommodate bombers.

Renamed Dillingham in 1948

In 1948, the airfield was inactivated and the area was renamed Dillingham Air Force Base in memory of Capt. Henry Gaylord Dillingham, a B-29 pilot who was killed in action in Kawasaki, Japan, July 25, 1945.

A descendent of Hawai'i missionaries who came to the island around 1850, Dillingham was the grandson of Benjamin Dillingham, who started O'ahu Railway in the 19th century, and the son of Walter F. Dillingham, who started Hawaiian Dredging Co., which later became Dillingham Corp.

In Hawai'i, Dillingham Corp. built Ala Moana Center and Honolulu International Airport, deepened Honolulu Harbor, dredged and configured the Ala Wai Canal, created Ala Moana Park out of tidal flats and dredged the Pearl Harbor channel.

In 1962, the state initiated a series of short-term leases with the Air Force for use of the facility for general aviation. The military retained the right to use the field for night training.

Commercial use of the area has increased, Star said, adding that about 15 aircraft were there when he arrived and now about 50 are based there, including planes for sky diving, tours, thrill rides and the Civil Air Patrol. Star said the field could accommodate twice as many aircraft.

The airfield runway is 9,000 feet by 75 feet and is surrounded by a chain-link fence.

Glider hangars and a powered aircraft hangar are on opposite sides of the field.

The airfield also has a Universal Communication facility, aircraft rescue and fire-fighting equipment, fuel storage and operations facilities.

In the 1970s the state had examined the airfield's potential as a reliever airport.

Army claims to land disputed

Motivated by a promise he made to his grandfather after his death, Shirai petitioned his state legislator this year to change the name of the runway to Kawaihapai.

Peter Dillingham, who lives in Kona and is a cousin of Capt. Dillingham, said he wasn't aware of the proposal but had no objections to the name change.

"As long as it's not political," Dillingham said, adding that he understands "if they really feel it's justified."

Dillingham said he remembers coming out to the property as a youth to camp and ride horses.

His father and Capt. Dillingham's father started a ranch on some 2,000 acres of land there that stretched from Mokul«'ia to Ka'ena Point, where he also worked with cattle when he was older.

The Dillinghams also built a rock and sand quarry, and a polo field there.

Shirai said he has spent countless hours researching the history of the Kawaihapai and disputes claims the Army has on the land because his family never wanted to sell it to the Army.

Shirai said when his grandfather died three years ago, he promised to take care of business, including pursuing a name change for the field.

"This makes us all feel good," he said.