The Passive Side of Conflict Archaeology:
The 2016 to 2019 Excavations of a POW
Mess Hall in the Honouliuli Internment and
POW Camp, Island of O‘ahu, Hawai‘i
The Passive Side of Conflict Archaeology:
The 2016 to 2019 Excavations of a POW
Mess Hall in the Honouliuli Internment and
POW Camp, Island of O‘ahu, Hawai‘i
Date
06/01/21 12:00 AM
Authors
Belcher, William R.
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Volume
15
Number/Issue
1
Starting Page
15
Ending Page
23
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Abstract
The archaeological investigation of Prisoner of War (POW) camps offers a glimpse
into the passive side of conflict archaeology; that is, those parts of conflict related to
imprisonment of enemy combatants and not active areas like forts and battlefields. This
paper presents the research and field operations conducted at the Honouliuli National
Historic Site during the 2016 to 2019 field seasons as part of the University of Hawaiʻi
West Oʻahu (UH West Oʻahu) archaeological field schools, particularly focused on
the discovery and partial excavation of a mess hall concrete foundation or platform
associated with a POW population during World War II. Based on comparison with
other mess hall platforms within the Honouliuli Internment and POW Camp, the sizes
differed, probably based on the population density in the administrative compounds, but
the plans as well as the location of garbage incinerators appears to be a standardized
plan. However, it appears that the massive influx of prisoners from the Pacific Theater
may have taxed the capacity of prisoner areas such that specific mainland Department
of War standards were not followed. However, the story of the POWs in this area needs
additional work in various archives to understand the activities as well as relationships
represented by these various prisoner areas.
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Keywords
POW,
historical remains,
archaeological remains,
excavations
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10 pages
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