Luke Field

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Luke Field and NAS Pearl Harbor

on Ford Island

Arizona statue of Lt Frank Luke, Jr.

WWI Medal of Honor (posthumous)

334 acre Moku'ume'ume Island, later named Marin's Island, after Don Marin, famed botanist and interpreter to the king. Next, in 1825 named Rabbit Island, because of Marin's goats, hogs and rabbits left behind. Then finally Ford's Island, Named for Dr Seth Porter Ford, a prominent Connecticut physician who arrived in Hawaii in 1851 and acquired the island in late 1866. Ford died at the age of 48 on 11/19/1866. (Honolulu Advertiser 1927)

Moku'ume'ume, or "Island of Attraction", was named for the racy ancient Hawaiian game of 'ume played there and was reserved for married couples with no offspring. The game entailed swapping sexual partners with the aim of impregnation of hitherto childless women. ( Kawena Pukui, 7/16/53)

In 1917 the Army purchased Ford's Island for $236,000 and in October moved the 6th Aero Squadron there. The field was later named in honor of Lt. Frank Luke of Arizona Medal of Honor winner who was shot down and killed in Europe after a short but blazing combat career when he shot down four enemy aircraft and 14 balloons in 17 days. At the time of his death, Luke was the leading ace of the U. S. Air Service, having 18 confirmed victories. Luke AFB in Arizona is now named in his honor.

In 1923, the USN moved it's aircraft from the Pearl Harbor Navy Yard to the East side of Luke Field and operated various squadrons there with Cdr. John Rodgers commanding. The Army, Navy and Pan Am shared facilities at Luke Field until the Army moved to Hickam Field in November of 1939 and Pan Am relocated to Pearl City in 1940.

The WWII massive buildup plus the geographical constraints on the now renamed Ford Island, relegated the field to a command and support mission throughout most of the war. CASU 1 continued to provide support for the many carriers that passed through Pearl Harbor during the war and NAS Barbers Pt. became the main hub of naval aviation passing through Hawaii. The Army Air Forces relocated to Hickam Field a mile away in November of 1939 and the Navy continued its wartime buildup at Naval Air Stations Barbers Point, Pu'unene, Kahului and Hilo

Ford Island's runway is now closed to air traffic and the island itself is being refurbished through a massive amount of dollars going towards new shopping, MWR facilities, Naval training units and military housing. See a 1943 Map of Ford Island courtesy of John Bennett in PDF Format

The new Pacific Aviation Museum opened as a first class aviation museum in 2006 on Ford Island. The museum eventually will occupy two historic hangars opening in stages over the next several years

Of particular interest to aviation and conspiracy buffs, the PAA "Hawaii Clipper" being blessed at the Pearl City landing adjacent to Ford Island in 1936 in the gallery below, went missing in 1938 and claims have been made that it was hijacked by renegade Japanese naval officers on July 29, 1938, more than three years prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor. The crew and passengers (15 people) were supposedly murdered and buried in concrete at the then new Japanese naval hospital on Truk Island. For more info, go to: http://www.hawaiiclipper.com/

The first photo gallery below depicts the military use of Ford Island from its beginnings in 1917. The photos were provided courtesy of the 15th Airlift Wing History Office, Fleet Imaging Pearl Harbor and the National Archives.