A 6 p.m. curfew and blackout was perhaps the most dramatic of the many changes in daily life for all Hawaii residents after the attack on Pearl Harbor left the islands under martial law.
No one was allowed to leave their homes in the evening, and people fumbled around in the dark since no lights were allowed that might give enemy planes a target or make it easier for spies to flash signals.
It severely restricted routines such as cooking dinner, reading and working. Even if essential lights were darkened with blue cloth, every window or opening had to be covered with blackout curtains or painted black. It was dangerous to drive or walk on the streets without headlights or streetlights, and people needed permits to be out after dark.
The Army’s military governor controlled almost all aspects of civilian life from 1941 to the end of World War II in 1945. People bent over backward to cooperate, but complaints rose as the danger of another attack lessened in later years, and restrictions were gradually relaxed.
The large Japanese community, suspected of disloyalty, suffered most with the suspension of writs of habeas corpus and civil courts when its members, including American citizens, were arrested and sometimes held.
Food and gasoline were rationed, with Hawaii’s dependence on the shipping of goods over ocean imperiled by Japanese submarines. Liquor sales were prohibited and saloons closed.
People planted’ “victory gardens” at home or larger ones in the community to increase food production. Ninety percent of the state’s vegetable farmers were Japanese noncitizens, some of whom were interned or hesitated to plant crops because of rumors that they would be relocated to the mainland.
Farmers of all races lost land taken for military installations or had their crops trampled.
Schools were closed for at least two months after the attack, and buildings were taken over for the war effort. When they reopened with shortened hours, students found many of their teachers were either interned or called into other types of service. The youngsters were pulled into helping scores of organizations, with manpower in demand in all fields because of the war.
Teachers also did the brunt of registering and fingerprinting all civilians over 6 years of age. Islanders were required to carry ID at all times so they could be identified if killed in an attack.
Censorship affected telephones, radios, newspapers and post offices to detect the passing of information that could be of military value. Even photographic film could be developed only with a permit.
The censorship of mail became the most obvious to the average person, who sometimes received letters pockmarked with holes where words were cut out, or had mail confiscated. Delays in mail delivery made it hard for businesses especially to function.
Next to blacking out the house, families needed to dig a bomb shelter, but it was beyond the physical abilities of many and supplies were scarce.
With thousands of military servicemen and mainland industrial laborers coming to Hawaii, interracial marriages between Asian women and Caucasian men zoomed, along with the number of divorces. Welfare workers noticed a breakdown of family solidarity, neglect of children and a demand for more partying.
War-making boosted wages, bringing economic security to many, and allowed them upward mobility. By 1944, union membership paved the way for labor to influence politics and legislation.
