HAWAII AVIATION PRESERVATION SOC

HAWAII AVIATION PRESERVATION SOCIETY

MISSION STATEMENT: WE ARE DEDICATED TO PRESERVING HAWAII'S AVIATION HERITAGE BY RESEARCHING AND RECORDING THE AVIATION HISTORY OF THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS. we will endeavor to preserve historic aircraft and to memorialize the aviators who gave their lives in the service of their country. Our goal is to inform and educate the public of the rich aviation heritage of Hawaii.

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Historic Hawaii Airfields Pages Historical Articles & Anecdotes

Photo of The Month

VC-1 F8 Crusader on the Ramp at BPNAS 7/26/1970

Courtesy FAPL Pearl Harbor

Dave Trojan Article on a Mystery P-40B wreck in Kailua Bay. Could it be one of the December 7th shoot downs?

Louis Zamperini, RIP

We first contacted Louis in 2005 when we were researching B-24 crashes on Oahu. In his then recent book, "Devil at My Heels", he had mentioned a crash above Wheeler AAF that killed the whole crew. We had 3 B-24 crashes we were investigating in the area that fit his description in his book . I did phone interviews with him and met him twice subsequently. He was a hero, not only for his incredible survival in a raft at sea and torture in Japanese POW camps, but he also was an inspiring athlete before the war. After returning from Japan post-war, he inspired others by teaching survival techniques in the wild and mentoring troubled youth. He will be missed by many. Author Laura Hillebrand wrote the book "Unbroken" that probably better told his story than he did in his own autobiography, humble man that he was. The movie "Unbroken" debuted on Christmas day in theaters around the country. Google his name and you will find many accounts of his life and times.

DeMoss Crash Site Located. See update below.

Courtesy DeMoss Family Collection

Ensign Harold Patrick DeMoss, KIA 6/23/45 (BNR)

Harold went missing on a night formation flight out of NAS Barbers Point. Click here to view the accident report on the HAPS microfilm reader. His remains lie buried next to the F6F-3 he was flying that night 66 years ago. Still surviving family members recently contacted Ted Darcy of Wreck Finders International, a group that specializes in finding and returning US war dead home for family burial and closure. This 1948 letter from the Bureau of Medical and Surgical Dept gives the details of Harold's demise to his father after his request for more information. This additional photo of Harold and fellow pilots was taken on the ramp at NAS Melbourne sometime in 1944.

In 1967, Harold's mother made a presidential inquiry as to her visiting of her son's grave, she received this response from President Lyndon B. Johnson's Deputy Undersecretary of the Navy

We are are trying a public awareness campaign concurrently with DeMoss family members and the press with the hope of having the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command launch a recovery mission similar to the Ensign Harry Warnke recovery in 2006.

DeMoss Update With Crash Site Photos

As of the end of January 2015, there is no word from the reorganized JPAC with regards to Ensign DeMoss' recovery