Tears shed upon hearing tale behind Wahiawa pool

Question: At a recent event for seniors in Wahiawa, we heard a woman talk about her father, the 442nd and the history of the Wahiawa District Park Swimming Pool. What a story, my wife, Maria, said. She is from Wahiawa and never knew this. Many other people also wanted the woman to stay and tell us more, but she said she had to go back to work at the Parks Department. Can you let us know how to get in touch with her so we can hear more of the story?

Answer: The speaker who enthralled the audience that day was Jeanne Ishikawa, deputy director of the city Department of Parks and Recreation.

Ishikawa is justifiably proud of what her father, George Ishikawa, and other members of the Wahiawa community did in getting that pool built 66 years ago.

It apparently was the first "regular" municipal pool to open on Oahu (as compared with the Waikiki Natatorium), she said, thanks in great part to "the boys" from Wahiawa, who served during World War II.

We asked Ishikawa to recount the story of how that pool came to be built, aptly on this Memorial Day.

When World War II broke out, although her father was older — in his 30s — he decided to enlist, becoming a member of the famed 442nd, Ishikawa said. If he were alive today, he’d be 105.

The town of Wahiawa threw a farewell "aloha luau" for the Wahiawa members of the 442nd and 100th Battalion before they shipped out to Camp Shelby in Hattiesburg, Miss. When they arrived, a care package was waiting for them.

Among the contents was a can containing $800. Unbeknownst to the young soldiers, the townspeople had collected the money during the luau.

"There was a note in there to my dad, because he was the older one, to take care of the Wahiawa boys and to use the money for something they wanted to do before they went into battle," Ishikawa said.

"Because he was a prolific writer, he wrote a letter to the town of Wahiawa just saying they had several meetings and decided they wanted to send the money back home for safekeeping because they were going to come home," she said. "Because they were going to come home, they would then do something for the town of Wahiawa."

The letter was signed by Ishikawa’s father and Joseph Itagaki, who was manager of Wahiawa’s landmark Kemoo Farm.

After the war, "they came home, minus 21" who had been killed.

Ishikawa’s father, who was a manager of Bank of Hawaii, helped to establish the Wahiawa Settlers Association, made up of different organizations, to decide what to do for the town as part of the postwar healing process.

"One of the things about Wahiawa people is that they like to swim," Ishikawa noted. Being "landlocked" and concerned about the safety of kids swimming in unprotected streams, the community decided it wanted a swimming pool.

"Within a year, they raised $39,000-something, which was really big money back then," Ishikawa said. "I have the canceled check, written to ‘the City and County of Honolulu, First Installation.’"

With help from the military, the pool was built by the community and turned over to the city in 1949.

The pool, at 1139-A Kilani Ave., initially was called the Wahiawa Memorial Swimming Pool, but "memorial" was taken off when the pool was turned over to the city.

However, a plaque there notes its beginnings and lists the names of the 21 soldiers killed in action.

Ishikawa said that when she previously told this story to another group, "people were crying" and asking, "How come no one knows this story?"

Now you know.

Mahalo

To Sharon and Anbar, who work for Star Protection Agency. I went to see a movie at Kahala Mall last month. Afterward, I tried to locate the exit and catch the bus home. The two guards asked if I needed help, then walked all the way out of the mall to show me where to catch the bus. Mahalo to them both!

— A Senior Citizen

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