COMMUNITY COMMENTARY
by Sue Wagoner
Maui ’ s Day of Infamy
I heard the bombs ; I was five years old and it was December 7 , 1941 . The screaming sound of the incoming artillery and their ultimate explosion was the most frightening thing I had ever heard . The villagers of Spanish “ B ” Camp at the Sugar Plantation had no idea what was happening . I remember my parents pushing us kids under the bed with two mattresses piled on top . There was not a sound from house # 400 as the missiles continued their whizzing sound between us and the Robello ’ s home next door . Later that morning when the bombing had stopped , we all gathered around the upright Zenith Radio – our only source of information . We learned that Japan had attacked Pearl Harbor and that thousands had been killed . Their submarines had entered Kahului Harbor and had made an effort to take out the Pineapple Factory and the Sugar Mill . I don ’ t think any of their artillery did any damage to either of the intended targets . However they gave us a scare we will never live down . As a child I understood that we could not let any light escape from our home and all our window panes were painted black . Everyone had to be inside their home by 8 PM each night . It also meant that I had to carry an ugly heavy gas mask to school and carry an ID Card everywhere I went . For two years we had a sad Christmas because there were no toys or Christmas trees with lights . The Plantation Grocery Store was bare with no spam , Vienna sausages , corn beef , pork & beans , sardines or salmon . These were basic items in the plantation diets and there were no goodies in the candy store . My fears lessened when the American Troops set up camps in various parts of Maui . It was a comfort and security for us knowing that we would not be attacked again and that these men would protect us . My favorite camp was at the rear of Puunene School . Each day when I walked home I would encourage my classmates to join me at the chain link fence so we could thank them for protecting us . They welcomed talking with the local children and the soldiers always gave us lemon and lime candies . Without exception , they wanted to know if we had older sisters or aunts . For many months thereafter I would wake up in the morning to the sound of the troops marching through our village road . It was so reassuring . I will always remember the unity and love of country that America possessed at that time . I pray for a return of that reassurance .
WISE WORDS
“ A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover that they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury . From that moment on , the majority always votes for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury , with the result that every democracy will finally collapse over loose fiscal policy , ( which is ) always followed by a dictatorship ."
-Alexander Tyler , Scottish history professor at the University of Edinburgh , 1887
Pono Press , May 2013 , Page 7