The Hawaii Territorial Guard ( haw, O na La kiai) was the

state defense force In the United States, state defense forces are military units that operate under the sole authority of a state government. State defense forces are authorized by state and federal law and are under the command of the governor of each state. ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. As a result of the

National Guard of Hawaii The National Guard of Hawaii was established by Provisional Government of Hawaii. It was a military branch intended to deal with internal conflict in Hawaii. After the overthrow of the Hawaiian Monarchy the Provisional Government of Hawaii was ...

being federalized for the duration of the war, the Hawaii Territorial Guard was created to serve as the stateside replacement for the National Guard. During the war, it was the sole military force available to the

Governor of Hawaii , insignia = Logo of the Office of the Governor of Hawaii.png , insigniasize = 110px , insigniacaption = Gubernatorial logo , flag = Flag of the Governor of Hawaii.svg , flagborder = yes , flagcaption = Standard of the Governor , image ...

as its

captain general Captain general (and its literal equivalent in several languages) is a high military rank of general officer grade, and a gubernatorial title. History The term "Captain General" started to appear in the 14th century, with the meaning of Command ...

to use in defense of the state. Unlike the National Guard, as a state defense force, the Hawaii Territorial Guard was not subject to federalization or deployment outside of the borders of Hawaii, but rather answered only to the governor.

History of predecessor units

The National Guard and the state defense forces both trace their roots to the state militias which made up the majority of the United States Armed Forces prior to the implementation of the

Militia Act of 1903 The Militia Act of 1903 (), also known as the Efficiency in Militia Act of 1903 or the Dick Act, was legislation enacted by the United States Congress to create an early National Guard and which codified the circumstances under which the Guard cou ...

and the subsequent creation of the modern

National Guard of the United States The National Guard is a state-based military force that becomes part of the reserve components of the United States Army and the United States Air Force when activated for federal missions.Honolulu Rifles The Honolulu Rifles were the name of two volunteer military companies of the Hawaiian Kingdom. First company In 1857, the First Hawaiian Cavalry, an artillery and infantry company which was originally established in 1852, was renamed the Honolulu ...

, composed of non-native Hawaiians, which was created in 1884. After state militias were reorganized into the National Guard, the remaining Hawaiian militia units were reorganized into the National Guard.

Creation

The Hawaii Territorial Guard was created by

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Joseph B. Poindexter Joseph Boyd Poindexter (April 14, 1869 – December 3, 1951) was the eighth Territorial Governor of Hawaii and served from 1934 to 1942. Early life Joseph Boyd Poindexter was born in Canyon City, Oregon to Thomas W. and Margaret Pipkin Poin ...

, who ordered the mobilization of a Territorial Guard around 10:00 a.m. on December 7, 1941 during the

attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, j ...

Membership

Immediately after ordering the activation of the Territorial Guard, Governor Poindexter began the task of creating it. The University of Hawaii

Reserve Officer's Training Corps The Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC ( or )) is a group of college- and university-based officer-training programs for training commissioned officers of the United States Armed Forces. Overview While ROTC graduate officers serve in all ...

was activated and assembled at the University of Hawaii campus and immediately drafted into the Territorial Guard, alongside various high school JROTC students. At 11:00 a.m. on the same day, all members of the

American Legion The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is a non-profit organization of U.S. war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militi ...

were also called to duty via radio, thus adding between three hundred and four hundred members to the Territorial Guard ranks, whose membership would reach a strength of 89 officers and 1,254 enlisted men by December 31, 1941. In January 1942, due to suspicions of their loyalty, all ethnic Japanese members were dismissed from the Hawaii Territorial Guard. Hawaii Territorial Guardsmen who had been discharged petitioned General Delos Carleton Emmons, the Military Governor of Hawaii, to be allowed contribute to the war effort in another way, and in February they were assigned to a regiment of engineers as a 160-man auxiliary unit called the

Varsity Victory Volunteers The Varsity Victory Volunteers ( ja, 大学勝利奉仕団, ''Daigaku Shōri Hōshidan'') was a civilian sapper unit composed of Japanese-Americans from Hawaii. The VVV was a major stepping stone in the creation of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team ...

. After the temporary shutdown of the unit, the Hawaii Territorial Guard was immediately reactivated without its ethnic Japanese members and began recruiting replacements.

Duties

The Hawaii Territorial Guard was tasked with guarding against a potential paratrooper assault by the Japanese in the immediate aftermath of the Pearl Harbor attack. After the immediate threat had passed, they were assigned to guard key buildings and infrastructure against sabotage.

Equipment

Members of the Hawaii Territorial Guard were issued

M1903 Springfield The M1903 Springfield, officially the United States Rifle, Caliber .30-06, Model 1903, is an American five-round magazine-fed, bolt-action service repeating rifle, used primarily during the first half of the 20th century. The M1903 was first u ...

rifles.

Disbandment

The Hawaii Territorial Guard was disbanded in 1947.

Other militias

Several other militias composed of civilians but given limited recognition and training by the United States government existed in Hawaii during World War II, including the following private militia units: *

Businessmen's Military Training Corps The Businessmen's Military Training Corps was a white and part-Hawaiian militia unit to prevent collaboration of Japanese-Americans as a result of a Japanese invasion of Hawaii. The militia was made up of 17 companies, two thirds of which were ...

Hawaii Defense Volunteers The Hawaii Defense Volunteers was a predominantly Chinese-American militia in Hawaii and one of three in Honolulu during World War II. The militia also had Filipinos, Hawaiians, Puerto Ricans, Koreans, and Whites. See also *Hawaii Territorial ...

Hawaii Air Depot Volunteer Corp The Hawaii Air Depot Volunteer Corps (HADVC) was a civilian Paramilitary unit at Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii during World War II. The HADVC took on a wide variety of roles helping in the routine operations of the airfield. Along with the Busines ...

* Kauai Volunteers * Maui Volunteers * Molokai-Lanai Volunteers * Organized Defense Volunteers *

* Women's Army Volunteer Corp

Legal status

State defense forces are permitted by the federal government under Title 32, Section 109 of the

United States Code In the law of the United States, the Code of Laws of the United States of America (variously abbreviated to Code of Laws of the United States, United States Code, U.S. Code, U.S.C., or USC) is the official compilation and codification of the ...

. Currently, 23 states and the territory of Puerto Rico maintain active state defense forces. Hawaii state law also recognizes the Hawaii state defense force as a component of the militia of the state. Therefore, the existing legal framework makes it possible for the

or the state legislative to order the reactivation of a Hawaii state defense force in the future, inheriting the lineage and traditions of the old HTG.

References

{{State Defense Forces State defense forces of the United States Paramilitary organizations based in Hawaii Military in Hawaii 1941 establishments in Hawaii 1947 disestablishments in Hawaii