Warbird Information Exchange

70th - 100th Anniversary events scheduled at former Barbers Point Naval Air Station on December 10, 2011:

This is the 4th Annual Save Ewa Field Commemoration event. What's currently planned BELOW:

Saturday, December 10, 10 am to 11 am, 70th Anniversary of Pearl Harbor - Ewa Field attack commemoration. Marine Corps Honor guard with MARFORPAC band and invitation to the MARFORPAC commander as our special guest speaker.
We are also inviting other special guests, including Dec. 7 Ewa Field combatant John Hughes, Maj. USMC, Ret., Pearl Harbor survivors and families, community and political representatives, JROTC programs, veterans organizations, US Coast Guard and National Park Service representatives.

This year we have combined our 4th annual Ewa Field commemoration with the 100th Anniversary of US Marine Corps aviation. VMA 214 "Black Sheep"
Harriers are expected, as well as other invited military aircraft. The
VMA-214 squadron was originally from Ewa Field and later became famous under legendary commander "Pappy" Boyington.
MCAS Ewa as the US Marine Corps Pacific aviation hub helped train and support the 125 Marine Corps ace pilots and 8 Medal of Honor winners of the WW-II Pacific Islands campaigns.

The commemoration event area will be set up with the VMA 214 "Black Sheep"
Harrier at one side, speaker podium, covered 200 seating, and will run about 50 minutes. Visitors can then inspect the assembled static display military and civilian aircraft. There may also be some live Big Band music playing later. Classic planes on display will include an SNJ and N2S painted in pre-war military colors and also some classic cars and military vehicles will be exhibited.

We expect to also have a patriotic sky-dive event.

We still plan to have a smaller scale Save Ewa Field event at the actual Ewa Field battlefield site, but have chosen the former Naval Air Station location this year in order to have a larger weekend - Saturday public commemoration event so that more people can attend and also view visiting military aircraft as part of the Centennial of Marine Corps Aviation.

Also on the same day if you can make it:

9 AM - Our annual Pearl Harbor attack commemoration at Fort Barrette, which lasts about 30 minutes and then a convoy over to the former Naval Air Station Barbers Point hanger and ramp for the 10 AM ceremony.

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Planned for Friday, December. 9:

Friday is planned for various West Oahu JROTC programs to come over to the former Naval Air Station Barbers Point WW-II hanger to view the new special edition release of "Tora, Tora, Tora." A morning showing is planned for around 9 AM to 12 noon, then an afternoon showing from around 1 PM to 4 PM.
Then an evening showing would be at 6:30 PM to 9:30 PM- to allow the general public to see it. The NPS will also be showing the movie in their own theater at Pearl Harbor in case we cannot accommodate everyone who wants to see it on Friday, Dec. 9 at Kalaeloa Airport in the hanger.

The movie runs around 2 hours and 45 minutes with a brief intermission about halfway through.

The former Naval Air Station Barbers Point and Marine Corps Air Station Ewa was the 20th Century Fox base of operations for the filming of "Tora, Tora, Tora" in 1969. All the aircraft were kept there and key action scenes were filmed at former MCAS Ewa.

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John Bond, Event Coordinator
70th - 100th Anniversary Events
gm@december7.com
or
www.december7.com

A hero of the December 7, 1941 Ewa Field battle will be attending the 70-100 Anniversary Ceremony at Kalaeloa Airport, the once former Naval Air Station Barbers Point, on Dec. 10, 2011. The event starting at 10 AM combines the 70th Anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor and Ewa Field with the 100th Anniversary US Marine Corps aviation. MAG-21 at Ewa Mooring Mast Field grew into the mighty Marine Corps Air Station Ewa which helped train and support
125 Marine ace pilots and 8 Medal of Honor winners.

John Hughes, Major, USMC Ret, now 92 years old, is one of the very last living historic links to the initial Japanese attack on Oahu on December 7, 1941. The main Japanese naval air force units flew directly past Ewa Field on their way to Pearl, and one of the first Marines who immediately recognized what was happening and head for the Ewa Field armory was then Sgt. Hughes.

John Hughes is seen loading his 1903 bolt action Springfield rifle in the center of the "pool site" photo.
One of the very few rare photos that actually show December 7 combat action.
He was also an eye-witness to the air combat over Ewa Field and saw an Army P-40 shoot down two Japanese planes just seconds apart.
Several Navy SBD's from the USS Enterprise were also shot down near Ewa Field by Japanese Zero fighters.

Hughes applied for flight school and became a decorated Marine Corps pilot, flying 150 missions in the Philippines and the Solomon Islands as a dive-bomber pilot and was later a helicopter pilot in the Korean War.
The Distinguished Flying Cross is among his decorations and he retired from Marine Corps aviation in 1964. His story of being among the very first to fight, going from Marine ground infantry to decorated WW-II Marine combat pilot is one of the great stories in US Marine Corps aviation.

Stories from our 2009 event at Ewa Field:

http://www.marines.mil/unit/marforpac/P ... ongfirstto
battleJapanese.aspx

http://www.marines.mil/Pages/PhotoDetai ... marines.mi
l/unit/marforpac/PublishingImages/2009/091206-M-9161A-004.JPG


http://www.marines.mil/Pages/PhotoDetai ... marines.mi
l/unit/marforpac/PublishingImages/2009/091206-M-9161A-003.JPG


http://www.marines.mil/Pages/PhotoDetai ... marines.mi
l/unit/marforpac/PublishingImages/2009/091206-M-9161A-001.JPG


http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/artic ... 070347.htm
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http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/artic ... 050305.htm
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John Bond, Coordinator
70 - 100 Anniversary Event
www.december7.com