During WWII, more than 40,000 American soldiers were stationed on Kaua‘i. Early on, they were deployed to defend the island against Japanese attack. Later, the Army established training camps, training areas, firing ranges and artillery impact areas for the purpose
During WWII, more than 40,000 American soldiers were stationed on Kaua‘i. Early on, they were deployed to defend the island against Japanese attack. Later, the Army established training camps, training areas, firing ranges and artillery impact areas for the purpose of training soldiers for combat in the Pacific. The Marine Corps also constructed a base and firing range at Marine Camp in Wailua.
Among the Army units stationed on Kaua‘i during the war were the 298th and 299th Infantry Regiments, elements of the 27th Division, the 40th Division, elements of the 33rd Division and two regiments of the 98th Division.
After the war, beginning in January, 1947, O‘ahu-based Army engineers began clearing dead and live shells from areas the Army had used for target practice during the war. These areas were located on Gay & Robinson land on the Waimea plateau, at Pu‘u Opae on property leased by Kekaha Sugar Plantation, on Grove Farm lands north of Knudsen’s Gap, and in the mauka areas of Wailua, Anahola and Moloa‘a.
At the 1,300-acre Waimea Impact Area, the first area the engineers tackled, more than 400 shell casings were found lying on the ground. Most of these were 105, 155, and 75 mm, with a few being 90-mm shell casings, which were buried or dumped into the ocean.
More than 115 live artillery shells and nose fuses were also located. These were blown up where they lay by attaching C-2 plastic explosive, setting off a blasting cap and retiring to a safe distance.
Mine detectors were used to recover 37-mm antitank shells and 60- and 80-mm mortar shells buried in the ground, which were detonated.
It was also necessary for engineers to construct roads with bulldozers and other equipment to access the Waimea range.
