Название: Kaneohe Bay: The Marines' Hawaiian Haven
Автор: Steve Mansfield
Издательство: Osprey Publishing
Серия: Osprey Superbase 16
ISBN: 0850459702
Год издания: 1990
Язык: English
Cтраниц: 132
Формат: PDF
Размер: 116,2 MB
On 7 December 1941, Japanese forces struck a blow against the United States which propelled both countries into World War II. The first bombs fell not on Pearl Harbor, however, but on a small naval Air Station just over the mountains, in Kaneohe Bay. The aim was to knock out the station's aircraft mainly PBY Catalinas - before the main attack began on the fleet at Pearl, just minutes later. The beautiful Mokapu Peninsula, on the south- east side of Oahu, Hawaii, first became home to naval aviators when a small seaplane base was built in 1939. But its history goes back much further. According to Hawaiian legend, life on Earth started when the gods created Man from the sands of one of its beaches. There are ancient burial grounds here, and the Nuupia Ponds, which virtually cut off the peninsula from the rest of the island, are ancient fish farms. The isolation appealed to the Marine Corps which started occupying the area in 1953 with a Marine-Air Ground Task Force. By 1956, airfield operations at Marine Corps Air Station Kaneohe Bay were in full swing and the task force became the 1st Marine Expeditionary Brigade, a vital part of the Fleet Marine Force, Pacific (FMFPac). The remoteness is good news for non-military occupants, too. The security of the base provides protection for many species of wildlife. The Marines' care for the land they inhabit has resulted in the Air Station picking up eight conservation and environmental awards. And they also win the gratitude of local and visiting bird watchers who have enjoyed the base's frequent wildlife tours.