West O'ahu will get a double dose of Dec. 7, 1941, history tomorrow — a day before the anniversary of the infamous attack — with observances planned at Fort Barrette in Kapolei and at the nearby Marine Corps Air Station 'Ewa.

Although local historians say most people don't know it, service members were killed at both locations in the surprise Japanese attack.

Four Marines died at 'Ewa Field, and Cpl. Joseph A. Medlen was killed at Fort Barrette.

'Ewa Beach historian John Bond organized both observances.

"It's to remind the general public that these places still exist, and that people died for their freedom," Bond said.

Bond said he decided to hold the observances the day before the big Pearl Harbor commemoration so there wouldn't be a conflict. Both events tomorrow are open to the public.

Among those expected to attend the 10 a.m. commemoration at 'Ewa Field is retired Marine Sgt. Maj. Allan Kellogg, a Medal of Honor recipient who in 1970, during the Vietnam War, threw himself atop an enemy grenade, saving fellow Marines.

John Hughes, a Marine who defended 'Ewa Field on Dec. 7, 1941, and Ray Emory, a Pearl Harbor survivor, also will attend the event, Bond said.

'Ewa Field, although weedy and neglected, still has 1941 runways partially intact, and impact marks from machine gun and cannon rounds. Few seem to even know that one of the first battles of World War II happened over 'Ewa Field, or, for that matter, that the base even existed.

Many confuse the Marine Corps air station with the separate but adjacent airfield at Barbers Point. 'Ewa Field lies just off Geiger Road where it skirts around the old Marine Corps runway to become Roosevelt Road.

At the time of the Dec. 7 attack, there were nearly 50 aircraft on the ground at 'Ewa Field. Most were damaged or destroyed in strafing passes by the Japanese.

"It is incredibly important. There is no doubt about the integrity of that site," said Daniel Martinez, chief historian for the USS Arizona Memorial and larger World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument.

"It is the only total Marine Corps story we have in Pearl Harbor," Martinez said. Additionally, "the famed Torpedo Squadron 8 that would be wiped out at Midway was there. That's the last place of land that was American territory that they took off from."

On June 4, 1942, the relatively young pilots left the deck of the carrier USS Hornet as one of the first squadrons to launch against the imposing Japanese force at Midway.

The older, slower dive bombers came under intense fire, and before Torpedo Squadron 8 was able to make a hit on the enemy fleet, 29 were killed in action. Only Ensign George Gay survived.

Bond, who hopes 'Ewa Field's Navy owners will go along with a plan to preserve the battlefield, said Marine Forces Pacific is providing a color guard and rifle team for a salute, and a bugler.

At 8 a.m. tomorrow, an observance also will be held at Fort Barrette, off Fort Barrette Road. A Wai'anae High School ROTC color guard will honor the single Dec. 7 loss there.

Martinez will be the speaker, Bond said.

Fort Barrette originated as part of a military buildup that began in the early 1900s for a naval invasion that never came.

Completed in 1935, the Kapolei fort's two 16-inch guns could hurl a 2,240-pound shell 25 miles.

Medlen, who was killed in a strafing run at Fort Barrette, was a railway engineer at the coast defense gun emplacement, Bond said.

Medlen was hit as soldiers at the fort sought to cover the big guns so they wouldn't be bombed, he said.

Tomorrow, privately-owned military vehicles will lead a "convoy" from Fort Barrette to 'Ewa Field between ceremonies, Bond said.

The route between the two sites follows Fort Barrette Road to Roosevelt Avenue to Corregidor Road — all familiar names in U.S. military history.

"This is all historic," Bond said. "So you couldn't ask for a better place to have a little history seminar."