Schofield opens door to the past
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• Photo gallery: Schofield Barracks' historic sites
By Zenaida Serrano
Advertiser Staff Writer
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A portion of the gothic-style steeple of Schofield Barracks' Soldiers Chapel was part of a structure originally commissioned by Queen Lili'uokalani in 1913.
A few blocks away in an area known as the Quads, buildings were strafed during the Japanese attack on Dec. 7, 1941. It's also where celebrity A-listers Burt Lancaster and Frank Sinatra filmed scenes from the classic 1953 flick, "From Here to Eternity."
Farther down the road, the Post Stockade served as the site where the last person in Hawai'i died by capital punishment in 1947.
The sites along with their colorful connections to Hawaiian monarchy, old-time Hollywood glamour and world history are among the stops of the Tropic Lightning Museum's new walking and driving tours of historic Schofield Barracks. The tours, which began this month, were created to celebrate this year's centennial anniversary of Schofield Barracks.
There will also be a first-ever bus tour of the sites at the 38th annual 4th of July Spectacular and Schofield Barracks Centennial Celebration on Saturday at Sills Field.
Col. Matthew T. Margotta, commander of U.S. Army Garrison-Hawai'i, said the Army community is excited to celebrate its centennial festivities with the rest of the island, especially its neighboring communities.
"The Army shares a rich and wonderful history with our 'ohana in Wahiawa and Mililani, whose generations of families have supported the Army over the last century," Margotta said. "We want to offer the public an opportunity to relive history by opening a door to the past."
FREE, SELF-GUIDED TOURS
The walking and driving tours include Schofield's Historic District, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1998. Sites outside the district, which are part of the driving tour, include the Post Stockade, which is also on the National Historic Register, and the Post Cemetery, where 19 unidentified World War II remains and four Italian prisoners-of-war are buried, among others.
The free, self-guided daily tours are a great way to spend a summer day, said Kathleen Ramsden, museum technician at the Tropic Lightning Museum.
"You can really go as long or as short as you want, and see as much or as little as you want, and get something out of it," Ramsden said.
Among the highlights of the walking and driving tours:
The first chapel was built in 1913 and the second, larger chapel was built in 1920. Soldiers Chapel was moved to its current location in 1925. Scenes from the 1970 movie "Tora! Tora! Tora!" also included a scene with the Soldiers Chapel.
Scenes from the classic movie "From Here to Eternity" were filmed in C Quad. In F Quad, a theater renovation recently uncovered a painted-over mural of soldiers from the Revolutionary War to World War II, dated by historians at 1931 or 1932 and updated in the 1950s. The theater is not open to the public.
The facility held up to 450 prisoners during World War II, including home-based soldiers and Italian prisoners of war. There were several escape attempts during this period, some of them successful.
The last prisoner execution was on April 22, 1947, on the grounds of the stockade. Garlon Mickles, convicted of rape while on Guam, was the last person in Hawai'i to die by capital punishment.
The structure was placed on the National Historic Register on July 31, 1998.
PLENTY TO OFFER
Visitors will gain a greater appreciation of the history of the military in Hawai'i, said Kenneth Hays, architectural historian with U.S. Army Garrison-Hawai'i.
"They get to learn a whole lot about the U.S. Army soldiers' role here over the past 100 years and about U.S. history in the Pacific," Hays said.
The walking and driving tours offer something for everyone from history buffs to architecture enthusiasts, military families to Mainland tourists, Ramsden and Hays said.
"And you'd be surprised how many veterans come here and want to see the base where their dad or grandfather served," Hays said.
'HOMETOWN HISTORY'
Ramsden also encourages locals and longtime residents, especially those from the surrounding areas of Mililani and Wahiawa, to go on one of the tours, "because it's a part of their immediate history."
"It's not just O'ahu history, it's their hometown history," she said.
Welcoming the general public to the post's tours and its annual July Fourth event is a way for the Army community to celebrate its history in Hawai'i, but also to extend its appreciation to local residents.
"We have the wonderful excuse that we're turning 100 this year to be able to do something that really talks about the history, and gets people involved and interested," Ramsden said. "We hope this is something people can do even after the centennial."
TIMELINE
This year marks the centennial anniversary of the U.S. Army officially settling the land that is now Schofield Barracks.
Key dates in Schofield history:
July 1899: U.S. government acquires land.
December 1908: Army settles land for barracks and training ground. Capt. Joseph C. Castner begins construction of temporary cantonment.
April 1909: Post officially named after Lt. Gen. John M. Schofield, who recognized O'ahu's strategic significance in 1872 and advocated for a U.S. military installation on O'ahu.
May 1909: Railroad into camp completed and nicknamed the Pineapple Express.
1911: Secretary of war approves permanent construction for a seven-regiment post. The land was to become one of the Army's largest posts.
1914: The first permanent buildings in B Quad completed.
1918: Post Stockade constructed; it's placed on the National Historic Register in 1998.
Dec. 7, 1941: Japanese attack military installations on O'ahu. First bombs dropped at Wheeler at approximately 7:55 a.m.; buildings on Schofield Barracks strafed.
1953: "From Here to Eternity" filmed at C Quad.
September 1995: Planning begins for the Whole Barracks Renewal Plan a proposal for the post's modernization.
1998: Schofield Barracks Historic District added to National Register of Historic Places.
Source: Tropic Lightning Museum
