WAIMEA, ISLAND OF HAWAII, Hawaii -- The Marine Forces Pacific Band performed here Feb. 7 at the 11th Annual Waimea Cherry Blossom Heritage Festival, helping to mark the first time that the annual festival has included a military tribute to local residents and military personnel who served during World War II.
Introducing the band and some of its selections was special guest Dr. George Durham, a retired Marine from Hilo. Durham trained at nearby Camp Tarawa in 1944 as the 18-year-old drum major with the 5th Marine Division Band, before and after the Battle of Iwo Jima. He spoke about the influence of the military in Waimea during wartime and what the support of the community meant to Marines and Sailors far from home.
The band performed at Parker School, which during World War II served as the United Service Organizations for the more than 50,000 Marines and Sailors of first the 2nd, then the 5th Marine Division.
A historical document and photography exhibit provided by the Pacific War Memorial Association allowed visitors to read about and see images of Waimea and the Marines who trained there. Set up inside the school's main entrance hall, the exhibit commemorated the military's influence in Waimea.
Ms. Alice Clark, PWMA chairperson, and her husband, "Bee," put the exhibit together; it is stored at Lyman House Museum in Hilo when it is not on display. Historical videos shown throughout the day in the school theater included footage taken at Camp Tarawa during World War II and interviews with local residents who remembered the Marines.
Cherry Blossom Heritage Festival organizers enthusiastically welcomed Clark's suggestion that the annual community celebration begin this year to include commemoration of the history that exists between Waimea and the U.S. Marine Corps.
Several different cultures were represented on the Big Island of Hawaii prior to World War II, but the majority of Waimea residents were Japanese. Many of them had come to Hawaii from Hiroshima.
When 2nd Marine Division survivors of the Battle of Tarawa came to Waimea in December 1943, the community consisted of about 400 residents whose homes were lit by kerosene lamps. The Marines brought and installed a grid to provide electrical power, cut and paved roads, and dammed the Waimea River to create a reservoir so water could be piped throughout the area. Marines built an ice house and made ice cream - something the townspeople had never had before. Local entrepreneurs soon learned how to prepare a wide variety of recipes the Marines shared, including how to grind up beef, grill it, stick it in a bun and sell it as a "hamburger." Local stores began to stock colorful muumuus and other items for the Marines to buy and send home to wives or girlfriends.
Saturday's festivities were focused around the Japanese tradition of celebrating the annual blooming of the cherry tree, Japan's national tree. The hundreds of festivals held in Japan each year, from January to June, are an important part of the Japanese culture. Cherry trees are not native to the Hawaiian Islands, but have adapted surprisingly well to the climate in Waimea since the first ones were imported and planted there in 1953.
Attendance at the festival has grown from about 300 to more than 8,000. It's a way for the community to honor the Japanese culture and to experience the traditions that were so prominent in the lives of their families in Japan.
Other features of this year's festival included traditional Japanese tea ceremonies, songs and dances of Japan, a farmer's market, origami and calligraphy instruction, a taiko drum performance, a quilting exhibit, hula presentations, mochi making, an open house at a local Buddhist mission, a cultural craft fair and a plant sale.
Good weather prevailed throughout the day, as residents and visitors enjoyed the various activities, including the band's concert at Parker School. More than 100 people sat on benches on the school's covered porch, stood on the lawn and sidewalk out front and clustered in the shade across the street to enjoy the music. Along with music selections, which included "The Men of Iwo Jima March" (composed in 1944-45 by members of the 5th Marine Division at Camp Tarawa) and a Japanese piece, "Sakura, Sakura," that is traditionally played at Cherry Blossom time.
The Marine Corps' friendship with the community of Waimea has continued through the years. The Waimea Civic Club dedicated a small monument in 1984 at what was once a gate to Camp Tarawa, to honor the 2nd and 5th Marine Divisions and the V Amphibious Corps. Fourteen years later, a three-paneled granite memorial was added through the efforts of the Camp Tarawa Historical Foundation, another non-profit organization chaired by Clark. Also through the years, former, active duty and retired Marines have come to Waimea, to share its history.
Former Marine Charlie Tutschek and his wife, Yvette, both of Waikoloa, joined five active duty Marines last week in Waimea to spend several hours carefully cleaning the brass plaque on the original Camp Tarawa monument, in preparation for the community festival.
"The Marines had come down from Pohakuloa Training Area [PTA] to clean the plaque," said Tutschek. "We saw them working on it as we were driving into town. The two of us have frequently come to the monument to help erase the effects of wind and weather, so we stopped to help.
"This was the largest Marine training camp in the Pacific during World War II. Marines will never forget what it and the friendship of the people here have meant to us," Tutschek added.